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About Xtra Dog
2012 Events Xtra Dog
JENNY GREGER WINS JUNIOR RACE TO THE SKY!
The Junior Race to the Sky is complete except for awarding prizes! Jenny Greger of Bozeman, Montana, came across the finish line at 6:55 a.m. on Monday, February 14, at Morrell Creek Trailhead near Seeley Lake. She took the lead in the first leg by one minute and then opened that lead by 16 minutes over Aiyana Ferraro of Victor, Montana. Ferraro finished in second place at 7:11 a.m. followed by Josi Thyr of Cataldo, Idaho, at 8:01 a.m. ahead of Garrett Warren of Council, Idaho, at 8:41 a.m. in fourth place and Taylor Berge of Glenrock, Wyoming in fifth on Monday morning. Grace Ibsen of Helena, Montana, withdrew at White Tail Ranch due to illness.
The Junior Award Ceremony will be at 1:00 this afternoon at the Seeley Lake Community Hall on the north edge of the town of Seeley Lake. Juniors were racing for $2,000 in prize money plus about $1,500 in prizes after finishing 100 miles continuously.
They started the race at 3:00 Sunday afternoon under the archway at Hi Country Snack Foods near Lincoln.
Check back soon for more race updates, as our reporter Pam Beckstrom sends us the latest from all the excitement in Montana. Latest satellite maps of the mushers can be found at www.racetothesky.org
Pam Beckstrom's Race Update 14 February 2011
The Race to the Sky got off to a windy start on Saturday just north of Butte and Sunday was no different for the Restart of the Race to the Sky 350 and Junior Race to the Sky starting at Hi Country Snack Foods, under the archway just outside Lincoln, Montana. Excessive winds blew down trees in the Lincoln area overnight and they were reported in excess of 40 miles per hour. Teams and their passengers started at just after 2:00 p.m. today on their first leg of the continuous part of the race, about 62 miles to the White Tail Ranch near Ovando. Junior mileage to the White Tail Ranch was about 50 miles with the 350 mile teams running an extra leg before heading to Ovando.
At 9:00 p.m., Sunday, February 13, seven teams into the White Tail Checkpoint as part of the 350 mile race and two from the Junior Race. With the fastest time for the 350 mile race was Bino Fowler of Bend, Oregon with a time of 4:56 minutes. Next was Curt Perano of Queensland, New Zealand, with a time of 5 hours and 19 minutes and third was Laura Daugereau of Port Gamble, Washington, with a time of 5 hours and 21 minutes. Next was Al Hardman of Ludington, Michigan, 5 hours 27 minutes; Alan Berge of Glenrock, Wyoming, 5 hours 39 minutes; Chris Adkins of Sand Coulee, Montana, 5 hours 40 minutes and Joe Gutowski, Goodrich, Michigan, 5 hours 56 minutes.
For the Junior Race to the Sky, Jenny Greger of Bozeman, Montana, had the fastest time, running 50 miles from the Lincoln Restart to White Tail Ranch in 4 hours and 56 minutes; next in was Aiyana Ferraro of Victor, Montana, just one minute behind in 4 hours and 57 minutes.
At this time, still awaiting arrival at White Tail Ranch are Terry Adkins of Sand Coulee, Montana, Bill Smith of Deer Lodge, Montana, Steve Madsen of Cougar, Washington, Steve Riggs of Olney, Montana and Mark Ibsen of Helena, Montana.
Teams are being tracked by GPS again this year and can be seen on the map at www.racetothesky.org. Xtradog.com are thrilled to be following this race. Pam and Jack Beckstrom who make the Zima X-back harness are marshalls on this fantastic race.
Race to the Sky, Montana’s 350 mile sled dog race, is coming to Butte this Friday and Saturday. As mentioned above, amongst the marshalls for the event are Pam and Jack Beckstrom from Adanac Sled and equipment who make the world famous Zima X-back harness. These harnesses are now available in the UK from Xtra Dog (www.xtradog.com).
Race to the Sky by Pam Beckstrom
Race to the Sky is a long distance sled dog race in its 26th year. Dog mushers from six states and two countries will gather in Butte on Friday, February 11 for the annual vet check from noon until 3:00 p.m. at West Park Street in Butte. International Sled Dog Veterinary Assocation (ISDVMA) veterinarians will assemble from across the United States to give each racing dog a physical and deem them ready to run the 350 mile distance race starting on Saturday, February 12 at 10:00 a.m. northeast of Butte on Lowland Road, near Elk Park.
Also on Friday are two other events. From 4:00-6:00 p.m. there will be a Mutt Pull Competition behind The Depot in Butte. There will be four weight classes: 15 and under, 16-20 pounds, 31-50 pounds and 51 pounds and up. Sleds and harnesses will be supplied by the Race to the Sky. Any breed of dog can take part in this event. It is specifically for pet dogs and their owners.
Friday is packed with dog events and the evening is no different. From 6:00-9:00 p.m. The Depot, 818 South Arizona, Butte, will host a Mushers Dinner, Dance, Raffle and Auction. Entertainment will be provided by Mountain Moon Grass. The public is invited to all of Friday’s events. Dogs are invited to come to the Mutt Pull Competition but organisers ask all dog owners to keep their dog(s) home (or in their vehicles) for the rest of the events.Saturday, February 12, is the official start of Race to the Sky. This is the first time Butte will host the official start which will happen northeast of Butte on Lowland Road near Elk Park at Exit 138 off I-115. At 10:00 a.m., thirteen 12-dog teams will race approximately 65 miles across mountainous terrain to historic Camp Rimini, just outside Helena. The last part of this trail was used by dog mushers during World War II to train sled dogs to go to war at Camp Rimini War Dog Reception and Training Camp in 1943-44. The Race to the Sky commemorates Camp Rimini each year and pays tribute to the over 800 sled dogs and 100 pack dogs that were trained at this facility and later used for search and rescue efforts in remote areas of Greenland, Newfoundland, Baffinland, Labrador and Alaska. The public is encouraged to come to the race start to cheer the mushers on the first leg of their 350 mile race.
On Saturday, after the mushers leave on their journey to Helena, the public is encouraged to drive to Helena to watch the six Junior Race to the Sky mushers and teams have their vet checks from 3:00-4:00 p.m. The Junior Race to the Sky mushers will travel 100 miles and also need to have the ISDVMA give their sled dogs physicals as well. Junior mushers are between the ages of 14 and 17 years old. This year there are five young ladies and one young man from Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Two mushers are returning after last year’s first Junior Race to the Sky was run and four of the mushers entered this year are rookies (first time here).
After the vet check, drive to Camp Rimini, just off Highway 12, west of Helena, turning south on Rimini Road and proceeding past Moose Creek Campground to the snowmobile parking lot. Mushers should be finishing the first leg of their race between 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. on Saturday night. Come and watch the teams come into Camp Rimini.
On Sunday, February 13, is the Official Restart of Race to the Sky 350 mile race and it marks the continuous part of the race, running about 300 miles. The Restart takes place at 2:00 p.m. under the big wooden archway at Hi Country Snack Foods (Beef Jerky Plant) just west of Lincoln on Highway 200. The Junior Race to the Sky mushers will start at 3:00 p.m. under the same archway. All teams will run about 50 miles to White Tail Ranch and the junior mushers will have a six hour mandatory rest there before continuing that evening to their finish 50 miles away at Seeley Lake Trailhead, just north of Seeley Lake. They will finish in the early hours of Monday morning and will have an awards ceremony that afternoon at the Community Center in Seeley Lake. The 350 mile teams continue to the Seeley Lake checkpoint, Owl Creek Wilderness, back to Seeley Lake checkpoint and back to the arch at Hi Country Snack Foods to finish their race in the late hours of Tuesday evening. The public is invited to come to the checkpoints to watch the teams.
The culmination of the 350 mile race is the Awards Ceremony and Dinner on Wednesday night, February 16, at 6:00 p.m. at the Lincoln Community Center. All the events are free to the public except the Musher’s Dinner, Dance, Raffle, and Auction has a charge to attend. The public is invited to all the events.
Twelve teams will start on Saturday on the first leg of their 350 mile adventure into some of Montana’s most beautiful mountains and forests.
This year, there is a father and son competing in the same race. Veteran musher Terry Adkins of Sand Coulee, Montana and his son Chris will be competing in the 350 mile race. Terry has run Iditarod numerous times along with winning the Beargrease and competing in Race to the Sky. Chris finished Iditarod last year and has run Race to the Sky numerous times.
Also interesting are the father/daughter team of Alan Berge and Taylor Berge of Glenrock, Wyoming. Both are rookies to Race to the Sky and Alan is running the 350 mile race while 15-year-old Taylor is running her first Junior Race to the Sky traveling 100 miles continuously to the finish at Seeley Lake.
Another father/daughter team is Mark and Grace Ibsen of Helena, Montana. Mark has finished Race to the Sky but this is Grace’s first Junior Race to the Sky. She has handled for her dad but never run this race herself.
Curt Perano will be running this race under the banner of Queensland, New Zealand, and is a rookie as well.
Other rookies entered are Joe Gutowski of Goodrich, Michigan, Al Hardman of Ludington, Michigan and Steve Riggs of Olney, Montana
Veteran Steve Madsen of Cougar, Washington, Bino Fowler of Bend, Oregon, and Bill Smith of Deer Lodge, Montana, are also running the Race to the Sky 350 mile sled dog race.
Another rookie junior entered to run the 100 mile Race to the Sky in addition to Taylor Berge and Grace Ibsen is Garrett Warren of Council, Idaho. Running for a second year in a row are Jenny Greger of Bozeman, Montana and Aiyana Ferraro of Victor, Montana.
For more information on the mushers, go to www.racetothesky.org and read the musher biographical information, get a copy of the race schedule and, during the race, follow the mushers through their gps tracking device. There will be a map on the website tracking each musher’s progress by a gps device that each musher must carry with him/her.
