Page 32 - Hire and Rental News - May 2013
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32
| HIRE
AND
RENTAL
NEWS
| MAY 2013
INDUSTRY IN FOCUS
On February 5, 2013, John King
from Nifty in Australia successfully
completed the ‘Yukon Quest 300’,
a 300 mile dog sled race through
the wilderness in Canada’s Yukon
Territory.
John completed the quest in a
time of three days, one hour and
34
minutes (including all the
rest times) which was enough to
gain him, what he calls, a very
respectable ninth position overall.
This year is the 30th anniversary
for the Yukon Quest. The Quest
300
was John’s first dog sled race
and he faced stretches of up
to 100 miles (160km) between
checkpoints, caring for his team of 12 sled
dogs in temperatures that dropped below
-35
C.
“
I am very pleased with the result and
John King survives the Yukon Quest 300
the dogs were fantastic! Eight of the team
were only two years old and it was their
first race, but they worked really hard. The
hardest thing for me was the lack of sleep.
Throughout the three days I managed a
total of just eight hours sleep.
“
I made a few mistakes on the race
which cost me time and also the track
condition was not the best. Soft snow,
which the lead dogs were not happy with,
stopped the team on more than a few
occasions and trying to get them moving
again added several hours to my overall
time.
“
It’s amazing how much you bond with
the dogs. One of the most unforgettable
moments for me was crossing a lake at
night with the team and the Northern
Lights above our heads. It was absolutely
fantastic!”
John King went back to Canada to
compete in the Percy D’Wolf 200 in
Dawson City, Yukon in March. John
finished the race; coming seventh and
winning the Rookie of the Year title.
The Percy is a 200 mile, 9 dog race to
Eagle, Alaska, and back to Dawson City
along a memorial mail run
route. The mail between
Dawson and Eagle was
carried by dogsled until
the 1940’s by Percy
DeWolfe, who ran this
route with his team of
nine sled dogs. If John
succeeds in both of these
races he will be qualifed
to run the thousand
mile Yukon Quest, which
runs between Whitehorse,
Yukon, Canada and
Fairbanks, Alaska,
USA each year, starting
odd years in the Yukon,
and even years in Alaska. If John completes
a second 300 mile race, he will also be
qualified for Alaska’s Iditarod.
John trained with a 12 dog team at
Hans Gatts ranch in Whitehorse Canada.
Hans has won dog sled races from sprint
through mid-distance to stage, and long
distance all over the world, including the
Yukon Quest 1000 four times.
“
As you can imagine it’s a great
adventure but it’s all about the dogs, there
are check points at four locations with
veterinarians on hand to make sure the
dogs are in good shape and looked after.”
John’s training alternated between short
30
mile runs and 100 mile runs.
“
On the 100 mile runs we do 50 miles,
rest the dogs for a couple of hours, then
return with them. Their recovery after the
run is amazingly quick. The dogs then get
a well-deserved rest for a couple of days.”
John used Hans Gatt’s dogs and Gattsled
racing sled for the training and race.
For more about the race visit:
or: 02 4964 9765 or:
HR
John starting the race
John King with one of the dog team
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customers have
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of pressure
cleaners...
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