and then there were none
January 22, 2012 at 2:16 am xamble 6 comments
Steve Mullen of the leading, and only remaining, team has withdrawn.
The race is over for 2012.
What can I say? I have little information so all I can give at this point is feelings.
Being human (and canine) not everything is within our control but we do the best we can with the weather and the terrain. From my warm indoor setting I can only dimly imagine what it was like for those who were actually out there on the course – the mushers; the dogs. And the volunteers and race staff. Call me crazy but I do feel a bit of envy. It is unfortunate that the race was not completed but I have to hand it to you, all of you – you really tried.
Thank you for that.
And after the feeling has returned and you’ve had some rest … please consider coming back and doing it again …
Entry filed under: 2012 Race. Tags: .
1.
Tim Tedford | January 22, 2012 at 7:19 am
Way to hang in Steve. Has it not occurred to the organizers in the last 2 years of this race that they need better and more grooming, maybe not just running a quick snowmachine over the trail? It would be a shame to lose this race because hardly anyone can finish it.
Tim
2.
tim Tedford | January 22, 2012 at 7:53 am
This race has had the same problem 2 years in a row. Trail grooming is a major issue, and your race is lucky to have been graced by mushers who care about their dogs, otherwise you may have some dog deaths to deal with. Way to hang on Steve
3.
Bruce | January 22, 2012 at 2:10 pm
At this time of the Post Olympics Sled dog fiasco, sled dog racers have found a friend and supporter in the Boundary Sled Dog Assoc and the volunteers of the Boundary area. The Association and the volunteers have put out a lot of time and a lot of money in to this race just so a few people, who don’t even live in our community, can go hooting through the bush and maybe win a prize. For people to come up with the trail wasn’t good enough is an insult, a slap in the face. We did our best.
We do not control the weather nor do we control life and death issues. We did have packers lined up but when the lead man had to deal with life and death issues it somehow seemed more important then a race. As a result, fifteen miles of trail had 30cm of fresh wet snow on it. We know this makes for a hard trail, but it was hard for each musher. If a musher chooses not to rest, or feels compelled to push on for any reason, that is his/hers personal choice. Our volunteers waited patiently while the hours ticked away. They didn’t whine about how slow the musher’s where. They didn’t leave because the musher’s where taking away too much of their personal time. They sucked it up and made the best of it.
Huge congratulations to Steve Mullen. I understand it was not his idea to end the race, and in fact, he was willing to go to the finish line.
4.
Tim Tedford | January 24, 2012 at 7:02 am
This race was not put on out of the goodness of someone’s heart. The original purpose was to highlight the towns in the area of the race,and to try to improve tourism etc. I have no intention of “slapping” anyone in the face, but facts are facts, the trail has been an issue from the start, both the extreme amount of climbing required and the difficulty with keeping a solid base for the dogs to run on. I fully believe the volunteers have done a great job, the issues are with the organizers and trail comittee. It would be a shame to lose the race because mushers believe it generally ununfinishable. Check out the “groomer” photos on sled dog central. The single snow machine,even with a tobogan,does not make a solid enough base.
5.
Jackie | January 22, 2012 at 12:42 pm
last year proved to be the precursor to this year as far as the poor weather and trail conditions. My granddaughter Brandi Mullen was in the 100 mile portion while my son Steve Mullen was in the 200 mile one. There was a point where she had to get in the harness and break trail for her team in a whiteout condition. Her race was called…Steve finished his and won but it was another example of strength and training and experience of true athletes (him and his dogs) and this year seems to be a repeat…the biggest concern being that one of his dogs is now retired due to an injury resulting from a cattle guard crossing. There needs to be more experienced trail people and preparation going in to this race. There is no good reason for there to be crossings for small dog’s feet that are meant for bovine hooves. this is really a sad outcome and disappointment.
6.
Bruce | January 26, 2012 at 12:47 pm
Tim, where did you get the tourism thing? You should think about that one for a while before you put personal opinions in print. We are a dog sled association not a tourism association.
As to why we put this on, we thought it would be a fun thing to do plus bring something new to our area. We saw it as a way to link the many small towns in our area in a co-operative fun endeavor. We actually did that, but now it’s your turn to get out of the arm chair and lend us a hand. It would seem that we need your expertise.