Alexandra Rochat and team calmly enjoy the run. Good to see some booties in use.
Crispin Studer "Now, I'm sure I put a sandwich in here somewhere"
The new, and twistier, Twister 8 mile course was thoroughly enjoyed by 18 teams - 11 sled teams and 7 skijor teams. The skijor teams won on both the number of falls, and each fall's individual technical difficulty (as in " how do people bend like that and not break?"), but more importantly 3 skijorers finished in the top 5. This is not too surprising, as the sleds were limited to 4 dogs, just one more than the skis.
Next race may be a different picture as the sleds increase to 5 dogs, and the skis stay at 3.
A pleasant day at around -15'c, with some cloud and occasional light snow, just covering a hard, often narrow, well packed trail that wound through the trees from Icy Waters Ltd up above the old War Eagle Pit, before an excellent one mile glide downhill with just one corner to upset all the male skijorers before a sharp left hander along the new dump fence and about 10,000 dog distracting Ravens to the end loop and a return run along the cut line before more woods and a delightful sidehill downhill before the inevitable climb back to the finish line. 17 teams followed the trail marking and volunteers; erm, 1 team confused some trail marking and did a shorter course, but everyone got back safely, some didn't get any bruises!
Jon Lucas showed he isn't ready to give up the trophy just yet, posting a 2 minute lead over second place Luc Tweddell. Luc put on fresh runner plastic immediately before the race, and Crispin Studer is sure that's how Luc beat him into third by 1 second. Expect to see more of Trevor Braun, finishing in 4th, as he's moved a lot closer than Braeburn where he was based last year, and Darryll "Wheeze, cough, splutter, I am so out of shape" Sheepway finished in the points to take 5th.
Kyla Boivin showed there was little between her A and B teams, as she finished 6th, with guest monkey Kyla Johnson bringing the B team in 7th just 1 min 46s later and ahead of Fabian "Leon" Schmitz (recipient of the incredibly warm Midnight Sun Alpaca socks - most excellent stocking stuffers for Christmas - see the RM to order, and your loved ones' toes need never be cold again) who pushed (well not literally) skijoring Linda Lewis (who drove in all the way from Destruction Bay - and presumably back after the race - what dedication! As she had to leave early, she said "give my prize to the Kids race" - She wasn't to know, but it was some glass packaged Yukon Brewing T shirts) into 9th. Alexandria Rochat was 10th in 37:51, 9 seconds ahead of Moe Boksa of "Moe Better Kennels" (presumably that isn't referring to speed), who finished 54 seconds ahead of unfortunate Cynthia Corriveau who short circuited the course and earned herself a 10 minute penalty from the understanding, yet formidably firm, RM. (Cynthia though really had her day made for her when the random allocation of prizes assigned her the YAA T-shirt as a prize, it was XXXL, she can't even use it as a nightshirt - she might get lost in there! ... erm ... as well). Marcelle Fressinau came in lucky 13th, although not as lucky as Olivier Peligry who's 14th pace landed him 6 smaller sized refreshing glass wrapped T shirts. Deb Knight, in her inaugural Twister landed 15th, 30s ahead of Claudia Wickert, herself 13 minutes ahead of Wendy Morrison and 21 mins ahead of Red (well, miniature sandy coloured) Lantern winner Janet Keller and her freightpulling Siberians.
The Kids race was a sisterly battle between Lori and Louve Tweddell, Louve won, as Lori lost her sled, but the real winnner was Dad Luc, who picked up Linda Lewis' generous donation to the Kids race.
Newcomer Tiramasu pulled skate skier Pippa Lawson to victory in the Pet Dog, with Asha ("Why do we do this? I get lots more treats and you get better prizes in freight pull - you'll have to ski faster if you want to win, this is just tedious") the Rottie and Jon Lucas taking second and Leanne Kormos working very hard with Pongo and a GT racer in third.
Results at a glance
8 mile CHT
all 4 dog sled unless otherwise stated
1--Jon Lucas - Snowpigs - Bluto - 3 dog skis - 28.50
2--Luc Tweddell - Echoes - Hotshot & Goose - 30.54
3--Crispin Studer - no name - Banshee & Storck - 30.55
4--Trevor Braun - no name - Shipton & Bella - 3 dog skis - 33.06
5--Darryll Sheepway - Smokin' Paws - Polar & Grizzly - 3 dog skis - 33.30
6--Kyla Boivin - Doggone Racing - Pebble & Chaos - 34.10
7--Kyla Johnson - Doggone Racing - Posee & Kanga - 35.56
8--Fabian Schmitz - no name - Hydro & Swamp - 36.37
9--Linda Lewis - Chettyna - Naghay & Dlua - 2 dog skis - 37.41
10--Alexandra Rochat - no name - BigBear & Suomi - 37.51
11--Moe Boksa - Moe Better - Tux & Velvet - 38.00
12--Cynthia Corriveau - no name - Nahanni & Raven - 2 dog skis - 38.54
13--Marcelle Fresinau - Alayuk Adventure - Jade - 40.00
14--Olivier Peligry - Alayuk Adventure - Apache - 42.00
15--Deb Knight - Jesaris - Willow & Vegus - 43.50
16--Claudia Wickert - no name - Maddy & Klein - 2 dog skis - 47.00
17--Wendy Morrison - The Zoo - Wilson & Dude - 2 dog skis - 60.00
18--Janet Keller - Grizzly Blizzard - Ringo & Kuzma - 68.00
5km Kids' Race
1--Louve Tweddell - Echoes - Tayo & Minto - 18.55
2--Lori Tweddell - Echoes - Ozzy & Phantom - 26.35
5km Pet Dog Race
1--Tiramasu - Pippa Lawson - Tiramasu - skis - 13.56
2--Asha - Jon Lucas - Snowpigs - skis - 17.37
3--Pongo - Leanne Kormos - Doggone Racing - 39.00
Many thanks to all the volunteers, it's not possible without you, please come back for the Dec 6th Chocolate Claim Race Day; the Reach For the Sky and Take the Beer Poker Run and First Mate Extreme Freight Pull, both on the 13th Dec.
Also thanks to Yukon Brewing, Alpine Vet, Icy Waters Ltd, Midnight Sun Alpacas, Grizzly Pigs Farm, First Mate Dog Foods, Yukon Agriculture Assocn and Aurora Booties for all the prizes!
See you all on Dec 6th!! 10am, Icy Waters Ltd. Sleds 2-5 dogs, Skis 2-3 dogs.
It's a poker run - speed is not important, so long as you can complete the 22 miles in 4 hours (that's 5.5mph) and collect the cards, you've got a chance to win all that luverly cash and Air North flight certificates - and we have applied for a Gambling Licence, so we're legal (honest), and there is a $20 entry fee!
It's a poker run - speed is not important, so long as you can complete the 22 miles in 4 hours (that's 5.5mph) and collect the cards, you've got a chance to win all that luverly cash and Air North flight certificates - and we have applied for a Gambling Licence, so we're legal (honest), and there is a $20 entry fee!
