Military aircraft rescued five racers and their dog teams Monday after they were trapped in a mountain blizzard during the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.
Teams competing in the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Whitehorse, in Canada's Yukon, were attempting to cross Eagle Summit northeast of Fairbanks when a blizzard struck late Sunday.
“Once you were up there, there was no going back. It was like being a sandstorm. The snow was pelting me and the dogs so hard you couldn’t even look in to it,” said Regina Wycoff, a racer who made it through the storm.
A helicopter flew the mushers and their dog teams to a checkpoint and officials said all competitors in the race were safe and accounted for. Poor weather had prevented rescuers from reaching the summit area for most of Monday.
Four of the five teams caught in the blizzard were competing in the race for the first time. The trapped racers included a two Yukon residents, two Alaskans and a Japanese national living in Alaska.
Fourteen of the 22 teams began the race Saturday will still the competition and the winner was not expected to reach Whitehorse until next week.
The Yukon Quest is less famous than the 1,100-mile Iditarod Sled Dog Race, but some experts in the sport contend it is a more difficult contest because it has steeper terrain and greater distance between checkpoints.