Yukon 1000
Do you really want to do this?
Whitehorse to the Alaska Pipeline/Dalton Highway
1000 Miles / 1600 Km
7 to 12 days of 18 hours solid paddling
Monday July 21st, 2014
This race is the longest canoe and kayak race in the world, by far.
This is no ordinary race. It is best described as an expedition race. You need to be a strong paddler, and a stong willed paddler. You have to be a compitent and experienced wilderness traveller.
The Yukon River is a big, fairly fast moving river, but there is very little whitewater: there are 2 class 2 rapids, opne of which you can completely avoid, the other is harmless if run correctly. But it is a big and exposed and wild river. When the wind blows the river can get rough: waves can be over a metre high. It can rain, cold heavy continuous rain, for days. That is hard when you are in a hurry: everything gets wet: your clothes, your tent, you sleeping bag. This race is not always fun. If you are mentally and physically fit then you can do this race and the sense of achevement makes it all worth while.
This race is only run in even numbered years, so the next race is 2014.
Yukon 360
A long weekend race on a different Yukon river each year
Saturday August 17th, 2013
McQuesten River for 2013
Whilst the Yukon River 1000 is a LONG endurance paddling event, the Yukon 360 is merely long. The 2011 race was 360Km long, as was the 2009 race. This is 20% longer than the 2010 race, on faster water, but in much nastier weather. The '09 and '11 races took a took a little bit longer. In 2012, we ran the race on the Nusutlin River. This is a smaller river, and shorter, 188Km + 10 Km on Teslin Lake at the end. The Nusutlin is a slower moving river, so it was still a two day race.
The 2009 race was marked by a paeriod of unbelievable head winds. The 2010 race was stupidly hot and sunny, over 30°C in the afternoons. In 2011 race it rained almost continmuously from Sasturday night right through Monday. 2012 had almost perfect padling weather, but there was a frost on the Saturday night.
The run on the McQuestern River will be similar in length to the Nusutlin River, a paddling distance of 125Km. We will be puttin in near Mayo and taking out at the Klondike Highway Bridge.
Both the 360 and 1000 races are long distance, no frills, unsupported endurance events, and share the same structure. In both races teams are tracked using Spot™ Devices. On both races teams are required to make overnight stops (6 hours minimum on the 1000, 8 hours minimum on the 360). Both races feel like, and are, fast expeditions. They are supposed to feel like a race to be the first person to fly the Atlantic solo in a canoe (or something like that).
Click on the links to the left for more information, or here, for the Yukon 1000, or here, for the Yukon 360
No one yet had paddled the Yukon River Quest, They Yukon 1000 and Yukon 360 all in one year.
If you have any questions, please email me at info@yukon1000.com,
phone me on +1 867 333 0755
or ask on our Facebook page