Nunavik’s Ivakkak dog sled race takes off March 16

Puvirnituq musher Novalinga Novalinga’s dog sled team hustles to Ivakkak’s finish line March 18. (PHOTO BY PIERRE DUNNIGAN/MAKIVIK)

The 14th edition of Nunavik’s Ivakkak sled dog race, set to begin March 16, will feature 12 dog sled teams this year from across the region — as well as some veteran mushers and a few new ones.

The annual race kicks off from Kuujjuaraapik March 16, after which teams will wind their way up the Hudson Bay coast to this year’s finish line in Puvirnituq.

2014 race winner Allen Gordon of Kuujjuaq will be back to defend his title, as will 2013 Ivakkak winner Peter Ittukallak from Puvirnituq.

But the race will also feature participants new to the event, such as George Kauki of Kuujjuaq, who won the 2014 Easter dog sled race at Kuujjuaq’s Stewart Lake.

“Once the dog teams go through the communities, they’re making an impact,” said Michael Gordon, vice-president of economic development at Makivik Corp., which coordinates the race. “That’s something we’ve noticed. There’s a younger group of people participating now.”

The 600-kilometre trail will follow the same route along the shores of Hudson Bay that dog teams ran in 2013, which winning mushers Peter Ittukallak and Juani Nutaraaluk of Puvirnituq completed in about 56 hours.

As in 2013, this race is timed to coincide with Puvirnituq’s bi-annual snow festival, which runs from March 23 to March 28, under this year’s theme “Qulliq — the light of life.”

While most Ivakkak races see at least some bad weather, organizers hope this year’s cold weather won’t be too much of a deterrent for participating teams.

“It’s been a cold winter this year, so we thought starting in a more southerly community would help,” Gordon said. “But it’s been a steady cold, and they’ll get some nice, brisk westerly winds.”

Given the race route this year, mushers and their dog teams will get a break from the action at check points along the way, while feasts are planned for stops in both Umiujaq, Inukjuak and at the finish line in Puvirnituq.

Apart from race coordinators Makivik Corp., Ivakkak is sponsored by the Kativik Regional Government, Air Inuit, First Air, Hydro-Quebec, the Fédération des Coopératives du Nouveau-Québec and other regional organizations.

Air Inuit will start flying dog teams to Kuujjuaraapik March 12, Gordon said.

The first-ever Ivakkak was launched by Makivik in 2001, to help encourage Nunavimmiut to carry on with their dog sledding tradition, a practice that was nearly lost following the killing of Inuit dogs in the 1950s and 1960s.

You can follow this year’s race at http://ivakkak2015.com.