Main fundraiser photo

Team Winterdance 2017 Yukon Quest

The chance meeting 23 years ago,  with a crazy, adorable, husky pup named Colt crossed with a book picked up to better understand her, planted the seed of a dream in us to run the epic 1000 mile Iditarod sled dog race across Alaska. 

17 years later that dream became a reality at the starting line of the 2010 Iditarod with our team of 16 Purebred Siberian Huskies and our 4 children who joined our family along the way.  These children knew about the dream to run the Iditarod from the time they were born and dogsledding was simply their life.

In 2011 it was another race that stole our hearts –
The Yukon Quest.  1000 miles of rugged Yukon & Alaskan wilderness - the Klondike trail; the land of Jack London & Robert Service, in many ways untouched with the passing of 100 years.  Known as the Toughest Race on Earth, my team of 14 huskies and I were at home here on the Yukon Quest trail, with the land, the people and the race.

While we went back and ran the 2012 Iditarod it is the Yukon Quest that calls our name at signup time every summer, and we have returned in 2014 & 2016.  February 4th, 2017 will see our team at the starting line in Whitehorse, Yukon again bound for Fairbanks, Alaska for another epic adventure.  For however these races unfold, adventure is a guarantee!

This year’s adventure will have an added bonus of seeing our oldest son Logan who is 17 get to accomplish a dream he has held since he was about 4 years old – to run the Junior Iditarod!  A simplified version of the Iditarod, the Junior Iditarod is organized to allow teenage mushers from 14-17 experience with a large team of dogs (10 dogs) on a section of the Iditarod trail.  The race begins in Wasilla, Alaska and runs 150 miles, like the Iditarod though, no outside help is allowed and teams run through the day and night with a mandatory rest.

What makes these adventures possible though is our fans, both through financial and moral support! Social media is an amazing tool that allows people to follow our team down the trail and us to communicate with them on the adventures & challenges we are having.

 The cost of running the Yukon Quest & Junior Iditarod for our kennel from Ontario is around $20,000.  ($2,500 entry fee, $4,500 in fuel to drive to Alaska & home, $2,500 dog booties, $3,000 dogs food (salmon, steak, hamburg, kibble), $500 plastic for the sled runners, $500 batteries, $2,000 Hank & Logan's gear (head lamps, socks, boot liners, clothing, hand warmers, food) $2,500 meals & accommodations, $1,000 dog health (vitamins/supplements), $700 shipping of drop bags and there are always a few miscellaneous expenses usually related to the truck!!).  We have already raised $800 from our 2017 calendar sales (www.winterdance.com/calendar.php if you would like to purchase one).   We invite you to be a part of Team Winterdance by contributing to the expenses both in training, travelling to and along the amazing Yukon Quest & Junior Iditarod trails. 

We are once again asking our fans to consider contributing through various levels of support to help get us to the starting lines and along the trail.  From sponsoring your favourite husky (most of the veterans are back with a few rookies, www.winterdance.com/raceteam/raceteam.php) to Hank & Logan's snack bags to Uncle Ward's Timmies coffee, right up to the Quest entry fee that brought us to this point.  

 Hank, Logan, Ward and the team in our Winterdance Dog Truck will be hitting the road January 25th for the 4000 mile drive to Akaska.  We invite you to follow the team and their adventures on our facebook page,  https://www.facebook.com/winterdancedogsledtours/?fref=ts  and through the  GPS Spot Tracker that will be on Hank's sled once the race begins on February 6th, www.yukonquest.com  .  
Keep an eye out across the country for the truck (especially at Tim Horton's) and give a honk or a wave if you see them on their journey North.  Let the adventures begin!
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Donations 

  • Donna
    • $250 (Offline)
    • 7 yrs
  • Victoria
    • $250 (Offline)
    • 7 yrs
  • Christine
    • $100 (Offline)
    • 7 yrs
  • Marilyn Hubley
    • $250 (Offline)
    • 7 yrs
  • Great Lakes Storage
    • $300 (Offline)
    • 7 yrs
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Organizer

Hank DeBruin
Organizer
Haliburton, ON

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