Men and dogs safe and sound in camp


All the dog teams that were stranded out in the storm last night made it safe and sound to camp this morning. In order to give a chance to those teams, who had to cover some distance this morning to catch up to everybody else, to recover from their adventure, the race officials postponed the departure for one more day. The weather slowly clearing up, the dog teams should hence be on their way again tomorrow morning, to end this action-packed race in Aupaluk, tomorrow afternoon.
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It turns out that Masiu Nassak and Nutaraaluk Iyaituk were camped in an igloo just half a mile away from the rest of the crew. The two men said they had a good night rest and didn’t seem affected by the experience at all.

As for the other three teams missing last night, the support crew’s search party found them a little further. They were camped out on the land a few miles down the small but elongated hill leading to the lake were the rest of the crew set up camp yesterday afternoon. They finally joined their peers just before lunchtime.

As for George Annanack’s dogs, they were recovered early this morning by the support crew search party. They had found shelter behind a big rock, not too far from the campsite.

The people travelling from Tasiujaq to Aupaluk by snowmobile to go see the end of the race, and who were also stranded in the storm last night, were also found by the search party. With the weather clearing up, they headed out again and made it safely to Aupaluk by lunchtime as well.

As for the wives, family and friends of the mushers and support crew, they are still awaiting for the weather to get better up the Ungava Coast for their flight to bring them to Aupaluk, where they will await the arrival of the dog teams.

Hopefully, everybody will have made it to Aupaluk by tomorrow afternoon, as the dog teams are expected to cross the finish line just after lunch.

But in the meantime, the mushers and their support crew are taking advantage of this break to rest, play games, and also make some repairs to their sleds or snowmobiles. Some even tried fishing on the Qaummarik lake, where their small tent community is settled, but didn’t get lucky with a catch. Instead, they had the pleasure of getting a visit from a small group of muskox passing by this afternoon.

Rank Racer Today’s Time Total Time
1. Peter Kiatainaq 3h 17m 22s 29h 05m 26s
2. Willie Kulula Sr. 3h 44m 36s 30h 15m 25s
3. Aisara Kenuajuak 3h 44m 15s 31h 08m 05s
4. Novalinga Novalinga 4h 18m 05s 32h 14m 36s
5. Willie Cain Jr. 3h 43m 45s 32h 57m 15s
6. Tamusi Sivuaraapik 4h 12m 56s 33h 21m 33s
7. Adamie Inukpuk 4h 16m 19s 34h 12m 19s
8. John Jack Séguin 4h 22m 07s 34h 53m 28s
9. Juusipi Qisiiq 4h 17m 16s 35h 23m 48s
10. George Annanack 4h 40m 24s 35h 47m 45s
11. Masiu Nassak 4h 54m 37s 36h 35m 42s
12. Simeonie Elijassiapik 4h 12m 17s 36h 38m 45s
13. Harry Okpik 4h 16m 04s 37h 12m 40s
14. Nutaraaluk Iyaituk 4h 46m 54s 37h 58m 45s
15. Lucassie Alayco Sr. 5h 00m 53s 41h 54m 31s
16. Johnny Arnatuk 4h 58m 54s 43h 25m 53s

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The return of the Inuit Dogs

At the end of the last century, the pure-breed Husky dog was nearly extinct in Nunavik. Nowadays, Inuit people mostly travel by snowmobile. Yet, the memories of another time when dogs were man’s most reliable partners are not so far behind. Long known to be man’s best friend, dogs were once essential to the survival of Inuit in the merciless arctic environment. In fact, only a few decades ago, sled dogs were a foundation of the Inuit nomadic way of life.

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