page_title: Yukon Quest
section_title: Whitehorse to Braeburn
hierarchical_section_title: Yukon Quest / Route / Whitehorse to Braeburn
caption_attribution_description: English: The White Pass and Yukon Route train station in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada houses the Whitehorse offices of Yukon Quest International and is the starting point for the annual sled dog race.
context_page_description: The Yukon Quest, formally the Yukon Quest 1,000-mile International Sled Dog Race is a sled dog race run every February between Fairbanks, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon. Because of the harsh winter conditions, difficult trail, and the limited support that competitors are allowed, it is considered the "most difficult sled dog race in the world", or even the "toughest race in the world"—"even tougher, more selective and less attention-seeking than the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race." The originator envisioned it as "a race so rugged that only purists would participate."
  In the competition, first run in 1984, a dog team leader and a team of 6 to 14 dogs race for 10 to 20 days. The course follows the route of the historic 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, mail delivery, and transportation routes between Fairbanks, Dawson City, and Whitehorse. Mushers pack up to 250 pounds of equipment and provisions for themselves and their dogs to survive between checkpoints. Each musher must rely on a single sled for the entire run, versus three in the Iditarod.
  Ten checkpoints and four dog drops, some more than 200 miles apart, lie along the trail.
context_section_description: The traditional starting line is in Whitehorse on First Avenue, near the former White Pass and Yukon Route train station, which today houses the Canadian offices of Yukon Quest International. Shortly after leaving the starting line, racers follow the frozen Yukon River north out of town. Crossing onto the Takhini River, mushers follow it north to the Klondike-era Overland Trail. Racers take the trail to Braeburn Lodge, the first checkpoint.
  This trail segment is about 100 miles (161 km) long. The terrain consists of small hills and frequent frozen streams and lakes. When the race runs from Fairbanks to Whitehorse, the Braeburn checkpoint is the site of a mandatory eight-hour stop to ensure the health of mushers' dogs before the final stage. In odd years, mushers must take a four-hour rest here or at Carmacks. The three minute start time difference is adjusted here. In even years, mushers must take an eight (8) hour rest here before continuing on for the last 100 miles (161 km) of the race.
caption: The former White Pass and Yukon Route train station in Whitehorse houses the Canadian offices of Yukon Quest International and is next to the Whitehorse end of the race.
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