I’ve heard it said that life is a collection of experiences – but you must be willing to go out and get them. This morning, I opened my Fairbanks, Alaska hotel room door and was greeted by the friendly face of a tall man whom the door across the hallway who asks, “Are you a PolarTREC teacher, too?” Immediately, a smile comes to my face and I feel very welcomed in a strange place, far from home.
“Yes,” I reply and I notice he, like myself, is bundled up way too much to be staying inside for long. “I was just heading to the start of the Yukon Quest Dog Sled Race.” He introduces himself as Nick LaFave, from South Carolina, and we quickly agree to walk down to the Chena River in downtown Fairbanks together. Immediately, we are joined by another friendly face, Heidi Rupp, a PolarTREC researcher from the United States Geological Survey, whose door is also opening to do the same thing we are. At that point, I realize we are all here for PolarTREC but we all came early to witness the start of this grueling 1000 mile-long race, something that none of us had seen before. Perhaps this is what unites the teachers and researchers in PolarTREC – the curiosity to do science and explore new experiences.
How to stay warm at -20 below.
We have about an hour before the start of the Yukon Quest on the frozen highway that is the winter appearance of the Chena River. Although it is only about half a mile away from our hotel, we are each bundled up with the warmest clothes we have and start trudging through the snow to the festivities. Heidi is at a serious disadvantage, as she has a broken foot and is wearing a walking cast with numerous pairs of socks covering her toes, but no boots. Still, she walks as fast as we do, even with snow gathering around her toes. I am impressed with her toughness; it is extremely cold, with the Mt. McKinley bank sign reading -20°F. As we descend into the river basin, I can feel the temperature drop even more where the dense cold air has settled. Although it is around 10:00 am, the sun has not been up long this far north and the day is just beginning to brighten from the bright spot that is only slightly higher than the horizon to the south east of town. All three of us simultaneously pull our coat zippers higher up our necks and our hats lower over our ears. We find a great place on the middle of the frozen river, where the dogs will pass just in front of us, but we keep moving farther down river as more and more Fairbanks locals and tourists like ourselves congregate to see the spectacle. Besides, moving keeps our toes warmer; even Heidi, who is a veteran of polar research expeditions in Antarctica has to feel the cold through those socks, which are no match for the bitter air. Yet it is invigorating to be at the start of something so bold as a thousand mile race across the frozen landscape.
Hardened Mushers Embark on a True Polar Trek
An anxious dogs sled team passes on the frozen Chena River in Fairbanks, Alaska at the start of Yukon Quest 1000-mile Race.
As race time arrives, we hear the countdown of the public address system of the first sled team, run by Allen Moore, who has drawn the first starting position literally out of a rabbit-lined boot. “10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,” counts the announcer, joined by hundreds of dog sled enthusiasts. The eager yelping of the sled dogs is channeled into excited pulling by Moore’s team of dogs who pass our location looking overjoyed to be on their way! Every three minutes for an hour, another dog sled team begins this race that will take them between 10 and 14 days to reach its conclusion. The weather-hardened mushers greet the crowds and firmly talk to their dogs to keep them from simply running too fast at the beginning. The well-trained animals listen to their instructions and harness their enthusiasm to a constructive and sustainable level. The Yukon Quest will be a trek with room for enthusiasm and passion, but the winners will also need to be thoughtful and overcome many struggles along the way!
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A great longer video (by PolarTREC friend Juan Botella) is below:
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As I stand next to my new PolarTREC friends I can’t help but feel like the sled dogs - eager to be on my own literal trek across the Arctic to Siberia but also knowing that I need training if I am to be an effective member of my research team - a team who will be working to help unravel perhaps the most crucial issue of our time – the effects of global climate change on the Arctic and on the earth’s system as a whole.
As I watch the last dog sled team disappear around the bend in the Chena River, I am eager to be in Fairbanks to start my training as a PolarTREC teacher and I am grateful to be here with a team of teachers and researchers who are equally determined to embrace this challenge in other regions of the Arctic and Antarctic. My long race has just begun…
As training progresses this week, I will share what I learn and about the many other PolarTREK projects that are also in the works.
Here’s a riddle for next time: What did the polar bear say to the penguin?
Stay curious my friends! - Mark Paricio