Day 1 of Nunavut Quest ends with big smiles and happy dogs
Mushers travel 66 km with Lee Inuarak leading the pack
Aidan Qaunaq, the youngest musher of this year’s Nunavut Quest race, and his team stop Tuesday at checkpoint 1 with a bylaw official for his daily evening check. (Photo by Shanshan Tian, special to Nunatsiaq News)
On the first day of this year’s Nunavut Quest, mushers travelled approximately 66 kilometres to Tuqqajaat.
When everyone woke up Tuesday morning, Pond Inlet had whiteout conditions with poor visibility. The weather gradually got better as the mushers prepared their dog teams.
A large crowd gathers on the sea ice Tuesday morning in front of Pond Inlet to see mushers off for the Nunavut Quest, while competitors and support teams finish final preparations. (Photo courtesy of Shanshan Tian)
Tuesday was the first day of the annual dogsled race, which this year, will take eight teams on a route that’s approximately 500 kilometres from Pond Inlet to Igloolik.
Students and staff from Ulaajuk Elementary School prepared bannock and served hot chocolate on the ice to the mushers and their families as everyone gathered to see the race begin.
The start of the race was pushed back by half an hour. But when ready, the starter official released the mushers one at a time — each one a minute apart — starting with race pinnie number 1 to number 8.
The first to arrive at the Tuqqajaat checkpoint was Pond Inlet’s hometown favourite, Lee Inuarak. Last year’s champion Jinneal Nanuraq Uttak from Igloolik followed closely behind him.
Isaac Irngaut from Igloolik came in the middle of the pack. As he passed the checkpoint, he said with a giggle, “Wow, those guys are fast!”
It’s obvious the mushers have a lot of respect for each other.
The snow was hard packed with some rough ice for the first leg of the race. The mushers and their dog teams were impressively fast and ran a close race.
Closing the day was the arrival of Aidan Qaunaq, a 19-year-old musher from Pond Inlet racing in his first Nunavut Quest. He came in with a big smile and happy dogs.
After spending Tuesday next to Pond Inlet’s beautiful mountains, the mushers arrived in warm tents with hot meals prepared by their support teams and families. The mushers were set to rest well for the evening.
A dog team waits patiently Tuesday to be harnessed. Nunavut Quest regulations require all mushers to race in fan hitch, used traditionally by Inuit hunters. Tandem hitch style mushing, in pairs on two parallel lines, used in the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod, is not allowed in this race. (Photo courtesy of Shanshan Tian)
The order of arrival on Day 1:
- Lee Inuarak (#6)
- Jinneal Nanuraq Uttak (#1)
- Joshua Qiliqti Ivalu (#7)
- Donovan Qaunaq (#4)
- Isaac Irngaut (#5)
- Daniel Inuarak (#3)
- Tom Naqitarvik (#2)
- Aidan Qaunaq (#8)
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