Handler Concept Revisited

I know I already discussed a bit about being a handler in my previous post, but I wrote a little something for the SPK Dog Log and figured I might as well post it here too.

2011 Copper Basin: Handler’s Perspective

For many folks unfamiliar with the world of dog sled racing, I’ve decided to give a slightly different perspective of the CB300 and highlight a group of people easily overlooked: the handlers. Before I delve into the trail, checkpoints, and challenges of the race from the eyes of handler, I’ll first explain who/what exactly is a handler.

Handlers are essential to most races (excluding the Iditarod), and yet we can do so little during the actually competition. In fact, the term ‘handler’ is a bit misleading, seeing as we cannot touch the dogs or assist the musher once the race begins. Perhaps, a more accurate title would be ‘observer’. Essentially, we’re like a pit crew at Talladega that can’t actually touch the car, instead saying, “Hey Dale, it looks like you’ve got a flat tire. You might want to fix that.” We can’t help bootie or feed the dogs; we can’t heat up water; we can’t lie out straw; we can’t even pet or massage the dogs.
So what can we do? We can scout out a checkpoint before our musher arrives and stomp out the perfect spot for our team to camp. We can find where the water, drop bags, straw, food, and lodgings are located. As the mushers tire, we can gently remind them that they were going to wrap so-and-so’s wrist, or that they wanted to feed the two wheel dogs too. We can keep track of their rest times and wake them up when it’s time to leave. Once the musher and the dogs hit the trail, we can clean up their campsite, pack up the truck, take any dropped dogs with us, then drive to the next checkpoint to wait and watch some more. In between driving, waiting, watching, and cleaning, we catch a few moments sleep.
After reading the responsibilities of a handler, you may wonder who in their right mind would sign up for that job? And the answer is…everyone. Often times we’re volunteers who just like to be a part of the dog sledding world for a weekend. For many, meeting and interacting with the other handlers is half the fun. We’re an eclectic bunch, ranging in age, profession, interests, and experience, but for some reason we all find ourselves standing at -10, anxiously waiting for a light to start winding its way through the trees. Among the many characters I met were a young couple from Norway, a fellow Alabamian experiencing her first Alaskan winter, a guy from Anchorage with zero dog knowledge, and a “multi-handler” who has no real kennel affiliation but shows up to races and handles for whoever needs assistance. The excitement of racing and the enthusiasm of the dogs draw people from all walks of life who just want to be a part of the experience, myself included.

Now that I’ve established who/what is a handler, we’ll look at the Copper Basin 300 through the eyes of a participant who never sees more than 50 yards of the trail. Let’s start with the weather. During most of the race, the temperatures were warm by Copper Basin standards: 10 to -10 degrees. For handlers, this was wonderful. It is much more enjoyable to wait outside in these temps than the typical -30 to -40 degrees commonly found during Copper Basin. For the musher, however, this meant more open water and deep overflow, so that they returned from runs wet and cold. This year’s trail route also varied from previous years. The race started from Paxson, and once all teams were on the trail, the handlers could drive the 3-4 hours to the next checkpoint, Chistochina. For the mushers, starting in Paxson meant that they were able to tackle the enormous hill with a fresh dog team right from the beginning. For the handlers, the already long drive from Paxson to Chistochina was further complicated by the 2-hour time differential between the first and last bibs (aka Aliy and Allen). The addition of the Spot Trackers in this year’s race was also incredibly helpful for the handlers, when they worked. Now only if we could get wireless or even cell phone reception at each of the checkpoints. And finally the finish in Paxson along Paxson Lake and the airstrip, while long for the mushers, gave the handlers a heads up as to their arrival so that we weren’t caught sleeping when they crossed the finish line.

Overall, handling for the SP Kennel teams in the Copper Basin 300 was three days packed with fun and excitement. I had the chance to learn from veteran CB300 handlers, Ray and Bob, and I’m looking forward to the upcoming races!

Weather Swing

One week ago, we were experiencing -40 to -45 temperatures, and today? Yes, we're not running dogs because it's too WARM! Record high of 45 above zero!


MIDDLE TANANA VALLEY-
INCLUDING...FAIRBANKS...FORT WAINWRIGHT...EIELSON AFB...ESTER...
NORTH POLE...MOOSE CREEK...TWO RIVERS...FOX...CHATANIKA...CHENA
HOT SPRINGS...SOURDOUGH CAMP
447 AM AKST SUN JAN 2 2011

...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES THIS MORNING...
.TODAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS 30 TO 45. TEMPERATURES SLOWLY
FALLING IN THE AFTERNOON. EAST WINDS 10 TO 20 MPH. LOCAL GUSTS TO
25 MPH ON THE HILLS IN THE MORNING.
.TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS 10 TO 20 ABOVE. SOUTHEAST WINDS
AROUND 15 MPH.
.MONDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS 15 TO 25 ABOVE. EAST WINDS 10 TO 20 MPH.
.MONDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS ZERO TO 5 ABOVE ZERO. EAST
WINDS 15 TO 20 MPH.

The Sheep Mountain 150

Last weekend we competed in our first race of the season, the Sheep Mountain 150 (Allen, Aliy, and Bridgett raced. I handled). After months of training and preparation, the racing season has finally arrived. This is what we’ve been waiting for. The many hours on the back of a sled in below zero temperatures, the shovel full after shovel full of dog poop, the sorting and resorting of gear, the frustration of nothing working at forty below--- has all come down to this: Racing. Some folks might ask, “Why do you enjoy racing sled dogs?” But this is a question best left unanalyzed. No good will come of pondering why you paid money to drive a dog team at 3:00 in the morning after sleeping two hours when it’s -20 degrees and you can’t feel you fingers. The fact is we race because we want to. I’ll admit I don’t enjoy every second of a race, but something about working with dogs and overcoming the challenges Mother Nature can dish out makes racing surprisingly rewarding. And with maybe five people waiting at the finish line, it better not be for the glory.

At this particular race, I was handling for Allen, Aliy, and Bridgett. For those unfamiliar with sled dog racing, a handler is a person who assists the musher during a race by taking dropped dogs and helping manage run/rest times. Ironically, the term ‘handler’ could not be farther from the truth in a race setting. I do no ‘handling.’ I can’t even touch the dogs. I’m like a pit crew at Talladega that can’t touch the car, but instead says, “Hey Dale, it looks like you need to change your tires. You might want to do that.” The inactivity can be slightly frustrating when all I want to do is start rubbing down the dogs or help booty the team. Rather than “handler,” I should be called an “observer.”

Even as an “observer” I thoroughly enjoyed the Sheep Mountain 150. I had the chance to watch 40 dog teams in action and compare the checkpoint routines of some of the top distance mushers. Combine that with the breathtaking beauty of the surrounding mountains, and the Sheep Mountain 150 is one of the best.

I put together a short video of the race:

It's 40 Below What?

Talk about extremes: currently my older brother, Nick, is working for Runa, an entrepreneurship based in the Amazon of Ecuador (where it rarely gets below 60 degrees). After every few blog entries (http://www.guayusagoodtome.blogspot.com/), he ends with a compare and contrast of our two lifestyles. It makes for a very funny read!







Oscar Wilde was quoted to say, “Conversation about the weather is the last refuge of the unimaginative.” Oh, how I beg to differ. Fairbanks weather is most certainly conversation-worthy. We have hit the days of an average 20 below, with lows dipping to a frigid -40 degrees Fahrenheit/Celsius. (Yes it’s so cold out, you know longer have to specify if it’s Fahrenheit or Celsius, it’s just plain cold). Rather than lose interest when the grocer says, “This week, it’s supposed to be a little colder,” I snap to attention. How cold? Will the cars start? Will it burn when you touch metal with your bare hands? Should I cover every inch of skin when I go outside? And before I moved into my own cabin with indoor plumbing, do I really need to use the restroom tonight? That first day of -40, something about me must have screamed amateur because everyone I met kindly smiled and said, “Is it your first winter here in Fairbanks? Don’t worry, soon 20 below will feel warm.” Perhaps it was the huge parka I wore or how slow and stiff I was doing chores. Or maybe my shining red nose. Luckily, I consider myself a quick learner, and I’ve already picked up on a few tricks of the trade.
1. A parka ruff is a necessity. If don’t want your face to peel away, you have to get used to the idea of surrounding your face with wolf and wolverine fur.
2. Hand and toe warmers are no longer for the wimpy and sensitive.
3. Cold metal burns, then sticks. As Li’l Debbie demonstrated, licking metal is a bad idea.
4. Nothing works in the cold. Everything will take longer.

Anyway, I’ve made my point. It’s cold, and we talk about it.

So you may ask, when it’s that cold, how do the dogs handle it? The answer is, they’re made for cold weather. If it’s below -20 during a run, we’ll put dog jackets (complete with pee protectors) on the boys and short-coated girls, but that’s it. Right now, it’s 30 below, and the dogs are spinning around, playing with their neighbor, and causing raucous. The fact is these Alaskan Huskies are just tougher than we are. Right now, our dogs are getting ready for their first race, the Sheep Mountain 150. It consists of three consecutive 50-mile runs. To prepare, we’ve been taking the dogs on 45-60 mile runs in an effort to get them comfortable with cruising at a steady 10-11 mph pace for 50+ miles. I doubt there is a human athlete that could run 50 miles at an 11 mph pace, much less do it comfortably. This weekend, we’re traveling again to the White Mountains for a 50-mile run, campout, 50-mile run. And we’re still at the beginning of the season! As the saying goes, “These athletes eat raw meat, run naked, and sleep in the snow.”

A short clip taken in the White Mountains.

WAR EAGLE!!!!!

Postponed running dogs to watch the game. WAR EAGLE!!!

Treadmill Study Video

In the previous post, I mentioned the treadmill work our SP Kennel dogs have been practicing. To give everyone a better idea of what exactly the dogs are up to, we made this video:

A Recap

I don’t know if you’ve been following the weather up here in Alaska, but we are currently experiencing a record-setting amount of freezing rain. Yes, freezing rain. You may think “Freezing rain? Is that not also called ice?” Let me explain. Freezing rain is even better than ice, hail, sleet, slain, or any other combinations of rain and ice. Freezing rain is exactly as it’s name suggests: rain that falls from the sky as water and upon impact with the cold ground, freezes, resulting in a layer of ice covering any packed surface like dog circles, driveways, and roads. A small amount of freezing rain fell back in February 2003, but other than that, the last recorded occurrence of substantial amounts of freezing rain was in 1936. Over the past couple of days, we’ve received approximately one inch of freezing rain, which (I try not to think about) is the equivalent to about 10 inches of snow. But instead of walking out to a nice layer of snow, we walk out to ice filled puddles in dog circles and an ice skating rink on the roadways. Driving has become treacherous, so the entire Fairbanks is closed down, and the few foolhardy travelers crawl along the roads at 15 mph. Yesterday, Aliy and I took out two dog teams with four wheelers for a 40 mile run before the trails turned into ice chutes. As we paralleled the road, a SUV came puttering up behind us with one set of tires in the snow berm and the other on the glare ice. We were almost going as fast as the car! But enough complaining. Snow and cold weather is in the forecast, so with a little luck, we’ll be back on sleds and complaining of the subzero temperatures in no time.

Before all this freezing rain, we had nice, snow packed trails. Even though we couldn’t really set a snowhook, we were taking out sleds with teams as large as 12 dogs. On Friday, we decided to take the dogs to the White Mountains for a fifty-mile training run. It was my first time to the White Mountains, and I was looking forward to running dogs on new terrain. We loaded up the dogs in the morning and drove the hour and a half to the trailhead. Seeing two snowplows in the parking lot is always a good sign. We harnessed, bootied, and hooked up our teams, then started out on the fresh, unbroken trail. Along the way we passed forest service cabins, two moose, and a few larger birds. The sunset was a rush of vivid red and orange streaked across the sky. I posted a picture of the sunset, but even the photo just can’t capture the intensity of the colors. Combine that with the rolling hills, the scraggly black spruce, the winter stillness, and an enthusiastic dog team, and it was a wonderful experience. I look forward to our other training runs in the White Mountains.

The day after we trained in the White Mountains, Aliy and I drove 20 dogs down to Denali to practice running on a treadmill. The SP athletes are not practicing running on a treadmill for everyday exercise, but rather because they are subjects in various studies conducted by veterinarian, Mike Davis, from the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Davis has obtained different grants over the years to study the physiology of sled dogs. Prior studies have explored the circumstances of gastric ulcers. Currently, he is working on studying the effects of high altitude on the dogs and eventually VO2 max of these incredible athletes. I’ll post of video of the study in the near future. But for now, we’re keeping busy doing chores and waiting for the ice to disappear!













A fun video with Sam and Tig testing out the kids sled! Tig isn't quite a sled dog, but she pulls her weight and then some.