Yukon Quest is the world’s toughest dog sled race, especially in 2006

This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by Chris Mei from The Weather Network, featuring stories about people, communities and events and how weather impacted them.

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The Yukon Quest is a sled dog race that has taken place every February since 1984.

The event is officially known as the Yukon Quest 1,000-mile International Sled Dog Race, as it takes place between Fairbanks, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon.

Yukon quest map

Courtesy of Yukon Quest

It’s considered to be the most difficult dog race in the world because the conditions are extremely harsh.

Each team consists of a dog leader (called a musher) and six to 14 dogs. The teams race across frozen rivers, mountain ranges, and isolated villages. The race takes 10-20 days to complete.

Yukon race

Courtesy of Mia Gordon

During the race, temperatures can drop as low as −51°C, and wind gusts can reach 80 km/h.

On Feb. 12, 2006, five teams in the race were making their way through the course when a massive storm hit. The storm caused the teams to get stuck on Eagle Summit.

Eagle Summit is 1,105 metres high.

The mushers and teams experienced aggressive winds and freezing temperatures while stranded on the mountain. Race officials tried to send search teams, but the conditions were too poor and that specific rescue mission was called off.

Yukon Race

Courtesy of Mia Gordon

A few hours later, the race officials asked the American military to help with recovery. The military sent a Black Hawk helicopter, a Robertson R44 helicopter, and a Cessna 208 airplane.

The military used infrared devices to locate the missing teams. Luckily, all of the mushers and their pups were rescued and no one was injured.

yukon race

Courtesy of Mia Gordon

To learn more about the Yukon Quest, listen to today’s episode of “This Day In Weather History.”

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Thumbnail courtesy of Wikipedia