Broken legs + hypothermia + dogs = The Yukon Quest

In 1987 the Yukon Quest dogsled race was happening for just the fourth time. Thirty-two years later, it looks pretty much the same.

• CBC NEWSlReady, set, go: Yukon Quest sled dog race sets off from Whitehorse

That year, as it didon Feb. 2 of this year, the race began in Whitehorse and was to take36 competitors four of them Yukoners to Fairbanks, Alaska.

"A lot of time, energy and money has gone into preparing for this race," said Yukon reporter Bob Sudeyko for the program Focus North. "We should know in about two weeks which combination of musher and dogs winds up in Fairbanks."

Musher shares her Yukon Quest strategy

38 years ago

Duration 1:26

Loreena Mitchell describes the challenges on the trail and how she plans to overcome them.

Dog whistling

Musher LoreenaMitchell was one of several women in the race, and it wasn't her first time unlike 20 of the 36 human competitors.

She hada pretty good idea of what she had signed up for.

"Until you've experienced it firsthand, I think you underestimate the dangers," Mitchell said.

The CBC cameras captured Mitchell as she rode behind her canine team, whistling to urge them along.

"Once I get out on the trail, I can't sleep," she said. "And that's OK for a few days, but pretty soon you get hypothermia because your body needs rest ... you might make a mistake that you wouldn't make otherwise."

Mitchell had run the first Yukon Quest in 1984 and said this time around sheused a different training regimen that would mean fewer hours on the trail.

She also conferred with a teammate about their strategyin the early going.

"I talked about it with my lead dog," she said. "We both like to sleep a lot when it's dark, so we're going to do most of our moving by day and most of our camping by night."

What motivates Yukon Quest mushers?

38 years ago

Duration 1:12

CBC reporter Bob Sudeyko explains his findings to Midday host Peter Downie.

'Broken legs' and 'hypothermic states'

After it began, the race got attention far to the south.

"A lot of us wonder what possesses people to do this," said Peter Downie, host of CBC's Midday, while interviewing Sudeyko.

"They're not in this thing for the money," said the reporter, explaining that the top prize was $15,000 and it could cost that much just to enter.

"The sense that I get from them is it's the love of being out there ... of testing themselves, a challenge against nature," he said.

In the end, the winner was Bill Cotter of Nenana, Alaska. Only one Canadian, Francois Veregasof Dawson City, Yukon, managedto finishthe race. He came seventh.