Dog Race Ends Minus a Leg

Nunavik's annual Ivakkak dog team race ended today in Salluit. Already over a week late and dogged by adverse weather from the get go in Quaqtaq way back on March 6, it was decided to move the finish line to my home town and eliminate the last portion to Ivujivik.

Although the weather conditions were a relatively balmy minus 17 C, the winds on the ice by the town's shore brought the windchill down well below minus 30 C - so cold I froze my fingers twice while taking pictures. But a large number of people turned out to cheer the tired teams across the tape. The winds were so strong that the lines holding the pennants and community flags were bowed outward dramatically.

The race was won by Peter Keatainak, who has had a virtual lock on the trophy for the past four years, and his younger partner Peter Qisiiq. Both hail from Kangiqsujuaq, and were the odds-on favourites amongst the bookies. Coming in a very close second was 65-year old Tamusi Sivuarapik and his son Johnny, pictured above being hoisted by the crowd atop their qamutik in honour of their accomplishment. The clothing worn by this team is traditional, and in stark contrast to the high-tech garb of "professional" racers in more southern parts of North America and Scandinavia. The leggings, by the way, are made of caribou skins. I've tried them before and found them toasty warm, but the fur sheds like nobody's business.

A couple of dogs were on the limp and had to be brought in by ski-doo, but the thing which struck me the strongest was the placid demeanour of the normally exciteable, and potentially agressive huskies. They let themselves be patted by anyone who wanted to, and seemed to realize their journey was at an end, for this year at least.

Tomorrow night is the awards ceremony at our town hall, and if I know my fellow residents well there will be a square dance afterwards.

Ivakkak Race on the Move

After being hunkered down in Kangiqsujuaq for the better part of a week due to blizzard conditions, the remaining 15 dog teams in the Ivakkak race set out for Salluit yesterday. Rather than take the planned route on the highlands through the Raglan mine property where the winds were still howling, they let discretion be the wiser part of valour and followed the shoreline of the Hudson Strait on the sea ice. I give them another two days to reach here if the weather holds.

I have not done much dog sledding myself, but I had the occasion about twenty years ago to take a couple of trips with one of this year's contestants from Quaqtaq. Therefore I am no expert on the subject, but lack of first hand knowldege has never prevented me from spouting off before, so why should it now?

First off, let me distinguish dog sleds in the Eastern Arctic from those used in wooded areas further south and in the west. Inuit were a nomadic people, and used dog teams to move lock, stock and qullik from one place to another during the winter. It is important, therefore, to think of Eastern Arctic dog teams as a semi tractor-trailor rather than a sports car. The 8 to 15 dogs in an average team had to pull a weight of 100 kgs or more of cargo and sled, add to which a couple (at least) people sitting astraddle on the the family's possessions. For this reason the qamotiks (sleds) themselves are long (2.5 - 4 metres) and are ridden sitting down rather than standing up in the rear as conventionally scene in movies.

Secondly, there are no trees, which removes the necessity of arranging the dogs in a tamdem to prevent dogs getting snarled around the shrubbery. Instead, the dogs each have their own individual trace attached to a central rope fan-style near the sled itself. This provides for greater pulling efficiency in most situations, although it presents its own difficulties on sea ice with the pressure ridges or in areas with lots of boulders above the snow.

At the front of many sleds is a wood box lashed to the frame, with "handle bars" atop the box, which provides leverage when making adjustments to the course of the sled with one's feet. Other than that, the path taken by the sled is determined by the dogs. So how can you get the dogs to go where you want?

Trained sled dogs are often responsive to their owner's voice. A shout of "auk" (turn right) or "quraa" (turn left) may produce the anticipated result. Sometimes a whip was used, not to hit the animal but to flick it beside the recalcitrant dog to encourage it to change its path. Failing that, someone would dismount from the sled, up along side the dogs waving hands and yelling at the team to alter their course. A well-timed kamik aimed at a particularly balky husky's rear end also serves to "focus" the dog's attention during this.

Perhaps the only thing you have to know about huskies, Eskimo dogs, call them what you will, is that they love to pull things. What would be cruel and arduous in the extreme for any other breed of canine is entertainment and pleasure for these dogs. My own theory is that it has something to do with a "pack" mentality - all the dogs want to be part of the gang and none wants to be left behind.

Very similar to teenagers, I'd say. Except for the pulling part.

The Dog Days Set In

Sure, it is not the Alaskan Iditarod, that 1,850 km ultramarathon of dogsledding. But the Arctic portion of Quebec has been staging an annual 8-day race since 2001. Usually, the race runs through 3 or 4 Nunavik communities so that locals can cheer on the teams, and this year it will pass through my home town.

Ivakkak is a much more traditional type of race than the Iditarod. No Goretex high-tech outerwear, no carbonfiber sleds, and certainly no carbide-studded drag pads for breaking. Most of the racers in Nunavik wear sealskin boots and gloves, and perhaps caribou skin parkas and leggings.

The area covered this year stretches from Quaqtaq through Kangiqsujuaq, the Raglan Mine and Salluit before ending up in Ivujivik. This region is quite mountainous, totally devoid of trees and known to have blizzards at this time of year (as often reported in this blog). So bad has the weather been that a full week into the race the teams have only made their first community, Kangiqsujuaq. I project it will take another 8 days for the teams to reach my community.

Over the next few days I will give more details on dog-mushing Nunavik style, and relate some of the experiences I have had on the back of a qamutik.