Fairbanks — Alaska
The 36th annual Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race (the lesser known but arguably much more difficult cousin of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race) started Saturday in downtown Fairbanks.
Having a team of dogs towing mushers on a sled more than 1,000 miles across Alaska and Canada is a world-wide phenomenon.
Over river ice, across wind-scoured tundra and through frozen boreal forest, mushers rely on their dogs to safely traverse some of Earth’s most inhospitable conditions.
A dog from the team of Two Rivers musher Richie Bettie howls in excitement before the start of the 2020 Yukon Quest on Feb. 1 in Fairbanks.
Running hard out of the gate at the start of the 2020 Yukon Quest in Fairbanks.
Dog Mushing is the Official Sport of Alaska, and Yukon Quest competitors are often subjected to temperatures of 40 below or colder, unpredictable and dangerous wildlife, extreme isolation and sleep deprivation.
I was fortunate enough to photograph the race twice for my local newspaper, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, traveling hundreds between Fairbanks and Whitehorse, Yukon, by both airplane and car.
This year I was content to simply spend a few hours photographing the start in temperatures around 20 below.
Canadian musher Jason Campeau leaves the starting chute of the 2020 Yukon Quest in downtown Fairbanks on Feb. 1.
Spectators line the race course on the Chena River in downtown Fairbanks to cheer dog teams on the start of the 2020 Yukon Quest.