8:14 PM
| Sunrise at | 9:11 AM | in direction | 124° | Southeast |  |
| Sunset at | 5:00 PM | in direction | 236° | Southwest |  |
I am finding it very hard to write about anything other than the Yukon Quest right now. Last night I sat up until nearly midnight waiting to see who the first musher into Dawson City, race mid point, would be. It was none other than Allen Moore, the musher running the team I spoke about in A Special Moment, Saturday, February 4th. Alaska is remote, but it is not as isolated as you would think .. the internet ties villages to larger cities and larger cities to other states and other nations. In fact, a special effort is underway to provide faster internet service to villages in remote areas of Alaska.
Last year, the Yukon Quest race staff decided to make use of the popularity and ease of use of Facebook. The result is the most amazing dialogue and FUN for everyone involved. As midnight approached, a flurry of posts went back and forth in anticipation of who would be in first. Once again, tracker spots had ceased to update location, this time for two of the three we knew to be in the lead about 45 miles from Dawson City. We had absolutely no way to predict with certainty who would be the first in as we watched the Facebook page for someone to post who came down the chute first. Just recently, this YouTube video was posted on the same page: Racing Your Team and Not the Competition with Allen Moore and Lance Mackey. The internet and this tool is creating a unified fan base and providing an opportunity to introduce more people to Alaska's state sport, mushing, and to the Yukon Quest in particular.
The Yukon Quest Official Site posted the following stats about its audience:
Day 6 and the leaders are into Dawson! FB Fan numbers over 11,600 last night with almost 3,500 fans talking at any given time. FB Fans now coming from 19 countries, speaking 19 languages!
As a further example, I posted a comment on distinct differences between the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod. Several people commented or indicated they "Liked" the post. Of those who had locations associated with their name, there were posts from 8 different states in the US, 4 out of various provinces in Canada and one from the UK and another from Norway.
One particular thread was stronger today than usual. The Red Lantern, as the last person in the race is called, had not reported GPS location for over a day. Early on I mentioned that the entry of two Russian mushers added interest to the race. Nickolay Ettyne scratched two days ago. He was running a team from New Hampshire and made the determination that the team was not prepared to run 700 miles and returned to Circle City. His countryman, Mikhail Telpin is running his own dogs, but the team is small and he is proceeding carefully. They are his livelihood.
Mikhail is the Red Lantern. The topic came up several times during the day as to his whereabouts. One thread was unique in that discussion though. I copied one of the threads because 1) it was longer than most, 2) there was rebuttal language in the some of the statements, 3) it focuses on predicaments of this sport as it plays out in the far north. Anything bordering on debate is rare among the active users. The Yukon Quest Facebook followers are among some of the most polite and civil people I've interacted with at this level.
Michael Telpin is okay. A Quest snowmobiler just chatted with him. He has a relaxed pace, is camping at night & moving during the day, just easing on down the trail. He's feeling fine and the team is also in good shape. All the dogs are doing well although the temperatures may be a bit warm for his thickly coated traditional sled dogs. Michael may simply be enjoying some vacation time in beautiful Alaska!
The Yukon Quest Official Post got into trouble by suggesting Mikhail was taking this as a vacation. People took exception to it, because both the Yukon Quest or Iditarod are more than races. For many, just completing the race is a a major accomplishment. However, Mikhail certainly has lingered farther beyond the rear of the pack and most at this stage of the race. Hank DeBruin was 3 days behind the winner in 2011 and 8 hours behind the second to last musher. Telpin, who is now tarrying in Eagle, is already over 6 hours behind Marcelle Fressineau who left Eagle earlier today. A vet and YQ official must be available at every checkpoint if he continues to race.
The thread also reflects a balance of concern and support for this person who is not only running at the back of the pack, and is deliberately running farther behind than most would be comfortable in doing. People are genuinely concerned about his status being so far back in the pack. Despite assurances that he conquers much more severe conditions at home, those watching want to know he continues to be safe in unfamiliar surroundings.
As a resident of Alaska (and I imagine the Yukon Canadians feel the same way), I want to know that is the case. He is master of his surroundings, but learning ours. The officials will ensure his safety and it will be interesting to see when he actually arrives in White Horse. One thing is certain, there will be a crowd to greet him.
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