On October 21, 2000, the organizers of the Yukon Quest, "The Toughest Sled Dog Race in the World", broke the world's record for the heaviest load ever pulled by a dog team. In 1998 they established a world's record for the largest dog team ever to pull a load (210 dogs), then broke their own record in 1999 with 230 dogs.

    The organizers actually promoted the event as the world's largest sled dog team, but I've used the term "world's strongest sled dog team" because I think they now have two legitimate world records - the largest team last year, and the strongest team this year.

    This year, a total of 210 huskies from local mushers were harnessed, and they successfully pulled a Kenworth with a flatbed trailer and huge mine drill (total weight 145,002 pounds) 6 blocks (2/3 mile) up Front Street in Whitehorse. They were hooked up in tandem hitch to an 800-foot-long steel cable atached to the front of the truck.

    This year, sponsors of dogs in the team got a chance to win one of 3 prizes - a sled dog tour from Uncommon Journeys, a handcrafted Yukon Quest knife from Bandit Blades, and a Yukon Quest commemorative coin set from Anne Doyle.

Click on the photos to enlarge them

Flying into Whitehorse the day before the event - perfect sled dog pulling weather!

The hard part - the athletes waiting for the chance to show what they love to do...

Most local mushers brought dogs down for the event. This team is from Uncommon Journeys.

The Kenworth with mining drill all set to go. Every overweight permit available was purchased to get this 145,000-pound rig into downtown Whitehorse.

The great view from the "cherry-picker" set up for reporters.

This photo shows most of the 210-dog team, ready to go.

And they're off!

These dogs make setting a world record look pretty simple, don't they?

The leaders - the huskies with the best view!

The tractor-trailer with its massive load passes the photographers' viewpoint...

The end of the trail. This photo gives a better idea of the size of the rig.

Only another few hundred miles to get this thing to Dawson - let's gooooo!

Photos are all © 2000-2009 by Murray Lundberg.