29 mushers begin 1,600 km race toward Alaska

With the thermometer hovering around -30 C, 29 mushers set off from Whitehorse on Saturday to make their way toward Fairbanks, Alaska, 1,600 kilometres away.

Rookie British musher Mark Sleightholme led the way out of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.

"I get at least a few minutes in the lead," Sleightholme, who drew the No. 1 starting spot.

The field for 2009 is comprised of mushers from around the world, including Yuka Honda from Japan and Newton Marshall from Jamaica.

"[It's] a dream and a nightmare," Marshall said. "So I'm just hoping for the best and the best for everybody else."

Alaskan musher Lance Mackey who has won the Quest a recordfour consecutive times decided to drop out of this year's race after initially signing up, saying he wanted to focus his efforts on the Iditarod.

His younger brother, Jason Mackey, 37, will be making his Quest debut after previously finishing 26th and 33rd in the Iditarod in 2004 and 2008.

But three-time Quest champion Hans Gatt, local Yukon favourite William Kleedehn, and four-time Iditarod champion Martin Buser are considered some of the frontrunners for the race, according to Quest insiders.

But with 15 veterans in the lineup and kilometres of trail and weather ahead of them, the race could be won by anyone.

Competitive field

"It's a really competitive field," said Kyla Boivin, a Whitehorse musher. "There are a lot of good teams here and I think that we're going to see a lot of finishers, a lot of people do well."

For most teams, it will take about two weeks to reach their final destination. Over the course, mushers and their dogs will race over mountains and across rivers and jumble ice while competing for a share of the $150,000 US pot.

The winner of the Quest receives at least $30,000 US. The amount increases if mushers decide to withdraw before reaching the end of the trail.

"It's not going to be easy and it's not supposed to be," Kleedehn said. "I think it's going to be a good race."

Rookie Coleen Robertia said she was feeling rather emotional as she readied her 14 dogs for the long journey ahead.

Buser, who despite his wins in the famous Alaska state race, will hit the Quest trail as a rookie.

"I am looking forward to experiencing a new trail," he said. "The dogs were right, the timing was right."

Spirits were high as the racers departed the Yukon capital.

Veteran Sebastian Schnuelle entertained the crowd by donning a stuffed animal Husky hat while heading out onto the trail.

Meanwhile, line trapper Wayne Hall earned smiles from his wife and handlers as he pulled out a bag of chocolates and yelled, "Happy Valentine's Day" as he took off.

Mushers were expected to begin to arrive at their first checkpoint in Braeburn about 160 km from Whitehorse late Saturday night or early Sunday morning.