Feb. 9-11, Fort St. James hosted the 23rd annual Caledonia Classic sled dog races, the only race in Canada combining sprint and long distance races with a diverse scenic route with lake, bush and mountain trails.
This is the third time the Caledonia Classic has increased its long distance race to 200 miles to be a Yukon Quest qualifier, but not since the first two races in 1995 and 1996 and once a 300 mile qualifier.
“Being a Yukon Quest Qualifier is a big deal. It is one of two 200 mile qualifiers in the country. That means you race for 200 miles (320 km) [over 50 hrs’ racing with just a couple of rest stops] without receiving any outside assistance. You cook for the dogs and yourself, and you sleep outside while the dogs are resting. In ideal conditions this distance is surprisingly easy on dogs that are well trained,” says Craig Houghton, race participant and one of the event organisers.
Then came the massive snowfall, just days before the race. Dave Burgess, Gayle Tencarre, Bob Hughes, Bill Howell, Grant Luck and Archie Warren with the generous help of the Fort St. James Snowmobile Club, worked around the clock to restore the trail back to conditions a dog team could travel on.
Snow conditions for the dog teams are always a concern. This year the fresh deep snow made the racing much tougher and slower for the dogs - like running on beach sand. The huge snowfall a couple of days before also meant that although volunteers worked around the clock consecutive days to get the trails groomed and ready, the start still had to be delayed a day and the 200 mile route adjusted (circuiting back instead of doing a loop).
The cold temperatures over the weekend were a little on the chilly side hovering around - 30’C till the afternoon but the clear skies and sunshine allowed the teams pleasant runs on the lake and trails. There were plenty of spectators out to watch the variety of events.
“From an organiser’s perspective this year’s event went extremely well. It was fantastic. Actually, it’s a miracle how everything came together, with all the extra snow which made the race tougher. Plus having to adjust the route a bit,” says Houghton. “From a racer’s perspective it was wonderful,” says Houghton. He mentioned how fantastic it was to be out there and watch the sun come up as they team of dogs lead them along the route.
Originally there were 12 teams registered for the 200 mile Caledonia Classic. The huge snowfall meant the race start was moved out a day and the distance shortened to 150 miles with an optional 50 miles add on for those wanting to qualify for the Yukon Quest 1,000 km race. A combination of snow-related factors switched things up a bit for both the organisers and participants.
Not only were the trail conditions impacted, so too were the roads. Some competitors could no longer brave the roads to travel to the Fort. “Even our Race Judge was stranded in Quesnel. Thanks goes to James Waddell for kindly stepping in and helping our Race Marshall, John Douglas, at the checkpoint. Thank you to our Sprint Race Marshall, Kurt Schroeder, our Starter, Lindsay Jennings, our Timer, Terri-Ann Houghton, UNBC Sports & Recreation student helpers and our super-organized and extremely competent main organizer and Announcer, Joanne Vinnedge. This race would not happen without all the wonderful community support and generosity,” says musher and organiser, Ann Douglas.
The snow dump right before the Caledonia Classic was not only tough on the dogs and caused travel advisories on highways, the extra trail grooming time meant organisers had no choice but move the race date out a day. In the end only seven of the 12 registered teams took off from the starting line on Stuart Lake Saturday morning. Everyone did well to make it to the 75 mile halfway checkpoint. Three teams finished the 150 race, and one of those mushers, Eva Peck, completed the 200 miles to qualify for the Yukon Quest. A 150 mile race finisher, Aaron Peck, is a professional dog musher on his way to The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, an annual long-distance 1,000km sled dog race in Alaska early March.
The Caledonia Classic is an important recreational and sporting event for the community. It is a way to promote the sled dog sport of all levels from novice beginners all the way to professional musher. We can be proud of our mushers, like Quest Operations Manager Laura Vinnedge, who is one of our own mushers from Fort St. James!
The Caledonia Classic is a fun spectator event and it is unique in that it’s the only race in Canada that combines sprint and long distance races into one weekend. Other events included Sprint Races (4, 6, 10 dog) along with Kid’n’mutt, Politicians Race and the Junior Musher Race. The politicians teams had to race to build a fire to make tea and cook bannock for the judges.
The Kid’s race was very popular with some very young little novice mushers giving the one dog sled race a try. Perhaps one year organisers will try adding skijoring; a cross-country skier pulled by one to three dogs. “Our Cottonwood beach trails are fantastic for skijoring and we expect that this will be a popular event in the year to come,” added Douglas.
RESULTS:
75 mile midpoint
Well done all mushers who made it to the midpoint checkpoint:
Eva Peck, Grande Prairie, 8:52 p.m.
Aaron Peck, Grande Prairie, 9:15 p.m.
Craig Houghton, Fort St. James, 9:22 p.m.
Rob Gifford, Fort St. John, 11:44 p.m.
Sandy Burke, Quesnel, 11:45 p.m.
Lisa Joinson, Whitehorse, 11:59 p.m.
Josh Lichti, Grande Prairie, 6:03 a.m.
150 mile race
Bravo! Race finishers who continued from the midpoint checkpoint following a 6hr layover:
Eva Peck, Grande Prairie, 30hr 41:06
Aaron Peck, Grande Praire, 30hr 49:30
Craig Houghton, Fort St. James, 37hr 25:37
200 mile race
Congratulations to Eva Peck who continued after a 12 hour layover with another 50 miles to complete 200 miles in 51hr 25:03
4-dog sprint
Cory Hommy, Prince George, 34:38
Nadjesda Ogilvie, Sparwood, 35:03
Jerry Joinson, Whitehorse, 40:26
Lydia Gifford, Fort St. John, 51:02
Sally Swan, Prince George, 1:06:26
Karen Joseph, Prince George, 1:08:06
6-dog sprint
Terry Quesnel, Beaverlodge AB, 46:15
Nadjesda Ogilvie, Sparwood, 51:24
Robyn Devins, Smithers, 53:39
Jerry Joinson, Whitehorse, 54:46
10-dog sprint
Danny Savic, Meadow Lake AB, 1:16:19
Ian Kitchen, Fort St. James, 1:45:09
Cory Hommy, Prince George, 1:46:50
Nicole Swan, Prince George, 2:07:08
Politicians’ race
Chief Alex McKinnon 4:26; Diane Smith, Mackensie, 4:51 ; Mayor Rob McDougall 5:36