Hans Gatt wins inaugural Yukon Journey sled dog race

Veteran Whitehorse musher Hans Gatt has won the very first Yukon Journey sled dog race.

The roughly 374-kilometre race began in Pelly Crossing, Yukon, on Wednesday and Gatt crossed the finish line in Whitehorse at 10:34 a.m. on Friday. He was followed, three minutes later, by another veteran musher, Ed Hopkins.

"We were pretty even the whole race, Ed and me," Gatt said at the finish line.

Gatt said he was leading Hopkins by about a half hour for much of the route, but the gap closed toward the end of the race when Gatt struggled with his sled. 

"So I could see Ed coming up behind me. And yeah, the rest is history," he said.

"The dogs were unbelievable. Unbelievable. They just pulled their heart out and as hard as they could. It was enough — that's all that counts at the end." 

The Yukon Journey was organized this year as a sort of replacement for the territory's major annual dog sled event, the Yukon Quest. That race, which typically draws mushers and fans from around the world, was cancelled this winter because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gatt has won the Yukon Quest — a much longer race that takes mushers over about 1,600 kilometres from Whitehorse to Fairbanks, Alaska or vice versa — four times, most recently in 2010. He has also run the Iditarod in Alaska more than a dozen times, finishing second in 2010.

Watch mushers Hans Gatt and Ed Hopkins cross the Yukon Journey finish line:

Eleven mushers entered the Yukon Journey this year but not all will finish the race. Gatt said the trail was mostly in good shape, but there were some sections to navigate around because of overflow and open water.

"Unfortunately, two mushers did scratch at Braeburn, just to look out for their dog safety and make sure that they weren't being overworked on the last leg of the trail," said Steve Hossack, a spokesperson for race organizers.

"Because we sort of knew that this would be where the overflow and those sort of challenges would arise." 

Hossack said the remaining mushers were all expected to reach Whitehorse sometime on Friday.

It's uncertain whether the race — organized by mushers — has a future beyond this year. Organizers of the Yukon Quest, meanwhile, have said that race will return in 2022.

Hossack said one of the goals of the Yukon Journey was to focus on the care of the dogs, with more mandatory rest stops than many other races. He said it's been a great success.

"It's been really fun to see a new race format implemented in the Yukon. And hopefully this sort of inspires some other races to maybe, you know, rethink their race rules and their policies," Hosack said.

Gatt agrees.

"The dogs get a lot of rest. It's a fast-paced race and a hell of a lot more fun than a thousand-mile race, I can tell you that," he said.