Rosebud. Such a sweet name for one heckuva hill. Rosebud Summit is the peak between Two Rivers checkpoint and Mile 101. It takes the teams from the Chena River Valley up and over to the Birch Creek Valley. It has an elevation of 3,640ft and when the race goes from Fairbanks to Whitehorse it is at it’s steepest.
When the wind blows it smooth, both the dogs and humans have a hard time getting traction to get up it. Allen carries small crampons and sometimes has to take booties off the dogs to increase their grip. It is not known as being as steep as Eagle Summit but it is steeper for a longer amount of time. You really do feel like you are leaving home behind after you get over Rosebud. You will no longer hear the huskies howling from the Chena River Valley.
Allen and the Black Team ran through Two Rivers checkpoint around 11.30pm, after camping on the trail for three hours near Angel Creek. In this race you will see all the teams camping on the trail at various points so don’t be alarmed when you see trackers stopped for hours at a time. It is not really feasible to run this race by running checkpoint to checkpoint as the distances between them are so great in places.
The handler team is scooting up the Steese Highway to meet the team at Mile 101 checkpoint. It is around 40 miles by dog team and 101 miles on dodgy, slippery roads by dog truck so they have tucked tail and are racing the team (very cautiously and conscientiously) to get there first.
Eagle Summit 2016 (photo Jen Nelson)
After Mile 101, the next peak is Eagle Summit. Another huge climb to an elevation of 3,652ft. In this direction the steepest face is when the team is heading down with a gee (right turn) soon after the steepest part.
The trail then goes across a windswept, north facing slope that often has exposed gravel and rock. Only after a few miles do you then go down to the protected area of the trees; so most of that climb is exposed to the elements and wind. It’s technically difficult and coupled with sometimes inclement weather it is always a challenge.
Central is the next checkpoint after that at race mile 133.6.
There is some great information on the Quest Website about the trail to give you more idea of what the mushers have ahead of them.
We will wait to hear from the handler crew, hopefully in Central checkpoint, but until then your best place to get updates is the GPS tracker, the leaderboard and YQ Facebook Page.
Wonderful midnight update Moira!
It looks like the Black team is doing fantastic.
Thank you!
I was JUST wondering where Rosebud was in relation to Eagle….even had the topo map up and was scanning it when I checked in with the Dog Log! LOL….I should have started there! Thank you for the post….very timely! I see Allen and the Black Team are up and over Rosebud….Eagle Summit next! Hope the weather is nice for the Teams up there! Safe travels to the Handler Crew….what a trek!
Drive safe handlers, Moira and whoever else is part of the crew. You all put in a lot of road miles during the YQ. At this moment Allen and team are cruising at a pretty good pace while climbing. Go SPK Black team.
What an elevated start to such a long race. The dogs were eager to begin in the starting chute! Go Allen & SPK.
Thanks for all the info as it is so amazing to hear what it is like for Allen and dogs.
Refresh, Refresh and Cheering via the computer! Allen is so tough!
Off to a good start! See the usual suspects are already crowding the leaderboard. Go Black Team!
WOOF WOOF WOOF – love what seems to me to be a tactical race for Black Team!!!
Go Black Team! The Yukon Quest seems like a challenging race with all the steep summits to climb. GO SPK!!
Allen’s team looks to be moving along great! I think they snuck up on the 101 checkpoint . I didn’t see video of him arriving on the Quest Facebook page. 😉
The standings say he came in and left with 14 dogs.
WOOHOOO! Happy dance.
Allen’s in first but this is a painfully long race. Did Kodiak and Commando lead all the way up (and down) Rosebud and Eagle? Wow. Almost to Central. GO SPK!!! Thanks to the team for keeping us updated. Drive carefully and stay warm. What are trail conditions like? Seems like a lot of teams are charging out of the gate. Time will tell who can keep the pace up. GO BLACK TEAM GO!
Wow!
What a run to Central for the Black team!!!
In and out in about a half hour…..
with 14 dogs!
WOOHOO!
Wow! Loving this race so far. Keep up the great pace. Continued cheers from Erie!
Lisa&Charlene