Paddlers are back and ready to race!
Yukon River Quest 2022 has 119 teams. The 2020 race was a no-go due to the pandemic, and 2021 was cancelled due to flooding.
Yukon River Quest
Quest for Water
The 2021 Yukon River Quest will happen, come hell or high water, and there will be high water. “We all feel a little bit rusty this year”
Racing in cyberspace
The Yukon River Quest goes virtual It’s hard to imagine a summer without the Yukon River Quest. For 21 years, the annual event brought paddlers from around the world to “race to the midnight sun.” For participating Yukoners, it meant hours of commitment leading up to the race. Non-paddlers lost their paddling friends to their …
Just keep paddling
Carmen Gustafson is gearing up for her fourth Yukon River Quest. For those who are fond of stats, that means that by this year’s Canada Day long weekend she will have raced 2,860 km between Whitehorse and Dawson City. To the casual observer this probably sounds crazy, especially when you consider that those paddlers who …
In ‘the Zone’ – Taking each day as it comes …
I turned 70 this past summer. I’ve been pondering, How did I get there so soon? So what’s your stereotype of a 70-year-old “lady”? Grey hair? Yep, that’s me, and I earned every one! Wrinkles and brown splotches? Yes, plenty! A cane? Actually, walking sticks for long walks! Sitting in a rocking chair, all day, …
Dawson is gearing up to celebrate Canada Day with both new and old traditions. Here’s the scoop!
The biggest change in the Canada Day Parade in Dawson City, this year, is where it will end.
Going from Whitehorse to Dawson on the Yukon River? You better believe that’s a paddlin’
The world’s longest annual paddling race is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year with the largest slate of international teams and racers ever.
Happy 20th anniversary to everyone’s favourite river race
Sixteen teams competed in the inaugural Yukon River Quest (YRQ) 20 years ago – that’s a fraction of the numbers anticipated by race organizers in 2018.
A Year of Firsts for Yukon River Quest
At this year’s Yukon River Quest, stand up paddleboarders will be competing for prize money for the first time. The 2016 race introduced the stand up paddleboard category as an experiment. “Stand up paddleboards are hugely popular now and we had been pushed by both local groups and internationally to allow it maybe for a …
I’m a Survivor
We fundraise in the community every year, to cover the team and recreational paddling expenses, so that participating in Paddlers Abreast is not an impediment to anyone. We do not receive government funding. Any donations above $20 is eligible for a charitable donation receipt. When we have a surplus, we donate money to Karen’s Fund, …
Camaraderie in a Canoe
Nine ladies in a voyageur canoe whose ages range from 23 to 62; 715 kilometres; paddling for Yukon Cancer Care Fund. Stix Together is a team of Whitehorse women participating in the 18th Annual Yukon River Quest. The race begins with a mass start at noon on Wednesday, June 29. Participants gather at the gazebo …
Tracking down grandmother by land and water
Nadia White, great-granddaughter of Elmer (Stroller) and Alice Josephine (Josie) Keys White is on a quest to find out all she can about the life of her great- grandmother. Klondike newsman Stroller White is a fairly well known historical figure, having worked at the Skagway News during Soapy Smith’s heyday. He moved on to Dawson …
The #1 and #2 Issues of Being in Boat for 12 Hours
How do you go to the bathroom in a canoe with eight other people in it, without stopping the boat? And I am not talking number one here. It is a question that must be contemplated by every paddler in the Yukon River Quest enroute from Whitehorse to Dawson. The answer? It Depends. “We used …
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An Ultra Experience
All I can say is this race has really impacted my life,” says Shelley Gellatly, a race coordinator for the Yukon Arctic Ultra. The Yukon Arctic Ultra, which bills itself as “the world’s toughest and coldest ultra” is a self-propelled race along the Yukon Quest Trail in February of each year. There are various distances …
Steely Determination: Racing the Yukon River Quest
There is a strong current heading north towards Dawson and it is not just that of the Yukon River. Sixty-nine teams are registered in this year’s Yukon River Quest with a voltage of energy in those paddling arms that will make that river sizzle. The mission statement of the Yukon River Paddling Association is “To …
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