Whitehorse Daily Star

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

ON THE LOOSE – Didier Moggia’s team finishes the race without him after losing control during the DPSAY Icycle Sports Twister Race Sunday at Takhini Hot Springs.

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Cindy Baker

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Coralee Gilet, 10, gets a lift from Martin Haefele after loosing her team in Sunday's Twister race at the Takhini Hot Springs.

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Lisa Kozakewich, front, finishes the race with Adam Robinson mushing Coralee Gilet’s team after she lost control. Robinson started out skijoring.

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Didier Moggia hitches a lift with Alex Rochat after loosing his team on the trail.

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Martin Haefele takes a corner early in the 10 mile race.

Icy trails make for challenging DPSAY race

Dogs running into the finish line without a musher on the back of the sled.

By Dustin Cook on March 22, 2018

Dogs running into the finish line without a musher on the back of the sled. A skijor hopping on the back of another abandoned sled to bring another team into the finish. And a musher being carried in on another sled.

This was the scene at the Dog Powered Sport Association of the Yukon’s (DPSAY) Icycle Sports Twister Race Sunday due to the icy conditions.

In the days leading up to the race, DPSAY president Simi Morrison said it was touch and go if the race was going to run because of the warmer temperatures and melting snow.

But the day before the race they made the call the snowpack was still enough and they would be able to run the race on the Takhini Hot Springs course.

But the icy conditions in the morning still had a major impact on the 10 mushers who participated in the 10-mile race.

“There were some icy corners. It doesn’t take much even for experienced mushers. React a second too late at the wrong time and you tip the sled and I think that’s what happened,” Morrison said.

Two mushers lost their teams on the course, Morrison said, but with the help of other mushers, every musher and all the dogs were safe and made it back to the finish line.

“The whole team was like a big team effort if you look at it that way, which is great,” she said. “People always help each other out and put the competition behind. You need to get home.”

The first team into the finish line was without their musher on the back. Didier Moggia lost control of his team of dogs about a kilometre out from the finish line, Morrison said, and the team was able to make it back on their own before Moggia made the trip back with the help of Alexandra Rochat on her team.

Another young musher lost control of her team near the start of the race, Morrison said, and she was able to get a ride to the finish in the sled of Martin Haefele.

The team of dogs was corralled by Adam Robinson who was skijoring with only two dogs. Morrison said Robinson put his two dogs at the front, put his skis in the sled and mushed his way to the finish line with all of the dogs in tow.

“There was lots of excitement, that’s for sure,” Morrison said of potentially the last Twister Race of the season.

The weather conditions for this last race further cemented the tough season for the association in planning these races. Earlier in the year they faced lack of snow, severe cold and even rain during their race weekends.

“Our first thing is always is it safe,” Morrison said. “At least enough snowpack to start the team and put a snow hook in. We can’t always have perfect trails, it’s just what the sport is about too.”

Morrison said she has noticed the last couple of years they have always had to postpone their first race of the season until December due to lack of snow where before that they were usually able to run in November.

“That hasn’t happened for years now because we never have snow. For the last three, four years, we’ve always been pushing the first race into December,” she said.

But what the recent large dumping of snow might bring to the association is the chance for another race in April – unless there is another melt in the near future.

“We’ll see what the weather will be like. If it will be melting again next week, we’re probably not going to be going back to icy conditions,” she said.

Once the snow is gone, the association will transition to their warmer Hot Hound races starting at the end of May.

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