2007 Taiga Archives

2007 RACE UPDATES

Dan Kaduce wins the first annual Taiga 300 with a total time of 51 hours and 48 minutes with Molly Yazwinski in second and Zoya DeNure placing third. All teams are finished looking really good and ready to run. Trails are reported hard and fast.

Video interviews - Click here

More video interviews with mushers available at dogseld.com

Scratched: Perry Solmonson * indicates time musher can leave
Key: Wolv (Wolevine Lodge) Mac ( Maclaren Lodge) Pos (Position)

Look for more coverage, video interviews and photos on dogsled.com

Dan Kaduce photo courtesy of Donna Quante

Notes from race official, John Schandelmeier:
Hi to everyone; I am just in off the Taiga trail. I am running ahead of the teams on my little Tundra snowmobile. It is sloooowwwww as snowmobiles go.... The 6 remaining teams in the race were all scheduled to leave the Wolverene Lodge checkpoint between 11:15 p.m. and just after midnight. Dan Kaduce was in the lead and appeared to have a very strong team. Zoya was running 2nd and reported that all of her dogs looked good. She used Sebe and Sadie in front for the first leg. Re-routing on the first section reduced the distance of the run to 52 miles. Dan Kaduce ran the trail in 4 hrs. 13 minutes. Zoya's time was 4:30.
Dan left Wolverene at 11:25 and arrived at the Maclaren checkpoint, (111 miles farther up the trail) at 12: 13 p.m. the 3rd. He rested at the confluence of the Tyone and Sustina Rivers for 2 hours. His team looked very good on arrival at Maclaren. All other teams were resting as I passed with the expressed intent of staying at rest for 4 hours. Zoya arrived at the Tyone/Sue confluence about 1 hour and 15 minutes behind Dan in 2nd position at that point. Becca Ross was approximately 15 minutes in back of Zoya. Look for more updates, video interviews and photos on dogsled.com

The temperature last night was 10 below, but it is warming today and is currently +15 at 2:00 p.m.
The trail is excellent, very fast. More as the race progresses.
John

Musher Dan Kaduce photo by Donna Quante

Listen to John's audio report: CLICK HERE (MP3)

They are off & running...seven teams are on the trail for the first annual Taiga 300. Mike Ellis had the fastest time at a 3 mile viewing spot with a time of 15 minutes and 15 seconds. Skies are clear and daytime temperatures are 20 degress above zero.

The race will begin and end at Wolverine Lodge on Lake Louise, 16.5 Mile Lake Louise Road, which is located at Mile 160 of the Glenn Highway, 27 miles south of Glennallen.

The race will start at 11 a.m. on April 2, with teams leaving at two-minute intervals. The course is approximately 312 miles and will be run in four segments.

The first leg will be a 78-mile run from Wolverine Lodge. Much of the course is in the hills and the trail returns to Wolverine Lodge on the lake system where a mandatory eight-hour layover, plus start differential will take place.

The second leg is 102 miles from Wolverine Lodge to the Maclaren River Lodge at Mile 42 Denali Highway. The second leg is entirely on lakes and rivers and there will be a mandatory six-hour layover at the lodge where straw will be provided.

The third leg will be a 30-mile loop east on the Denali Highway and returns through the mountain to Maclaren for another four-hour layover.

The final stage is the reverse of stage two with teams leaving Maclaren and following the trail back to the finish line at Wolverine Lodge.

TAIGA Spring Break 300 dog race is on!
Hey; We decided that there needs to be another dog race in the spring. The weather is great, the trails are in and there is a ton of daylight. Think about coming to Lake Louise on April 2nd 2007 to run the Taiga Spring Break. The Kobuk 440 is a great race but Kotzebue is a little far away for those of us who are looking for a fun race without spending thousands of dollars to go.

The Gin Gin organization will be holding this race from Lake Louise---Wolverene Lodge cross country to Maclaren Lodge and return. The race will be open to all. The course will be a little over 300 miles and very user-friendly. Lots of flat river running on trails with a good base. Mostly in the timber, but there will be some good high country sections. The rules will be posted on our website in the next few days. We will also post info on Sleddog Central and Dogsled.com Race applications and entry forms will also be posted here. We will have a 12-dog limit and the purse will be out of the entry fees.

Hopefully in the future we will have sponsors to help with the purse, but since we are putting this together in hurry this year, entries will suffice. We are holding the race during the week do avoid snowmobile traffic conflicts that would occur on weekends---plus we can take advantage of trails that are already in place.

If you are thinking of running this race---you will be able to sign up clear to the last minute, but we will be letting teams out in order of sign-up. Entry fee will be $300 plus a $15 Gin Gin Organization membership---which will get you into any and all race that this group puts on for the next year. For detailed information you can contact me: John Schandelmeier at jschandelmeier@starband.net

Entries can be mailed to: John Schandelmeier
HC 2 Box 7193
Meiers Lake, Alaska 99586

Contact Information: Wolverene Lodge 907-822-3988
Maclaren River Lodge 907-822-5444

2007 Race Rules (PDF)