This must have been a really difficult race!

It looks like it was a very difficult race. More scratches than in recent years. It must have been the weather. Can anyone give us a feel of the conditions out there. Was Laberge similar to 2006? Thanks

Here are some links to stories about this years race as well as some good pictures from the lake.

http://yukon-news.com/sports/18725/
http://whitehorsestar.com/archive/story/new-and-veteran-paddlers-leave-whitehorse-all-smiles/
http://whitehorsestar.com/archive/story/johnson-sets-solo-kayak-record-at-2010-river-quest/
http://whitehorsestar.com/archive/story/seals-trains-and-helicopters-batter-river-questers/
http://whitehorsestar.com/archive/story/kayaker-ingrid-wilcox-powers-past-younger-opponents/
http://yukon-news.com/multimedia/slideshow/18716/

Having finished last year and scratched this year due to Lake LeBerge induced pukes I'd say "yup - it was a much more difficult race this year". In a K1 with a skinny bow with no secondary bouyancy, I spent 7 hours (successfully) avoiding capsizing from following quartering waves of up to 6' that would try to broach me while I plunged through every other wave in front and took a firehose to the chest. In spite of that, I actually got across the lake 20 mins quicker than last year but enroute I went into an unable-to-hold-any-food-down funk that lasted through noon the next day. That dragged my paddling speed way down and I had to scratch at Little Salmon when I became sure I couldn't make Carmacks before the 11PM cutoff.

On an analytical note, I compared finish times for the population of 33 individuals who raced in both 2009 and 2010. For those that finished both years, the average time increased by over an hour in 2010. The scratch rate in this same group also increased 29%. Those are aggregate numbers so there there are some exceptions e.g. Carter who came in faster and Blonder & Stronger who came back from a 2009 scratch to finish this year (good for them Wink

I've since read that Carter takes pepto-bismol every 2 hours. I'm shamelessly copying him from now on with that one. Oh for some dramamine - for want of a pill my kingdom was lost.

Introducing the YRQ brew: Coffee sweetened with tang, spiced with ibuprofen and garnished with pepto. Yum.

Hi,

Having taken part in both 2006 and 2010, I can comare the lake.

2006 -> nice rolling waves (3-4') with copious rain until the Narrows; wind calmed down but rain kept pouring down. Rain stopped for about an hour (just enough to stop at the end of Laberge, put dry clothes on just on time for the downpour to resume... I was in a Voyageur canoe, so we surfed most tof the waves!

2010 -> nice rolling waves (3-4') from start to finish of the lake with steady rain; last 30 minutes on the lake with white caps. Had to stop twice to remove 6" of water from bottom of tandem canoe. Rain stready, but bearable.

Comparison: this year was the worse I've seen the lake in my 4 participations!

_________________
Jean-Francois Latour
President YRMPA
Organizers of the Yukon River Quest
Whitehorse, YT

12th edition of the YRQ: June 30, 2010 @ Noon!

Mon ami! I guess depending on the craft, the waves were "nice and rolling" or "playing a bit rough and rolling too much". Smile

When I took brief glances to see how other boats were doing I was amazed at how everyone else's bow seemed to ride up the wave in front just fine while mine sliced through with my foredeck partially to completely submerged. Only after the race and by taking a close look at mine & other boats do I think I have an answer why: Canoes have much broader bows, other kayaks have skinny bows that flare out, providing what I'd call secondary bouyancy while my wooden kayak is very narrow all the way up the bow as well as sharply raked back. Thankfully my front hatch and skirt proved 100% effective at handling this - much more so than my stomach! My initial conclusion was that my boat &/or my training suck but since I arrived at Goddard 20 minutes sooner than last year, I'm now persuaded that my stomach needed some "assistance" to handle the additional motion and stress induced nausea. Put in the same situation again, I'd be swigging pepto (mantra: "copy Carter") to keep the nausea down and thus my appetite and energy up. I'd like to hear more from others about their experience and take on crossing LeBerge.

Two years ago, Paddler's Abreast saved my stomach and my race by giving me Zantac out on the river. In the last two races I took Zantac before the race started and every 12 hours after. This seems to have cured my stomach ills.

I think someone should get ambitious and make some T-shirts that say, "I survived Lake Laberge in the 2010 YRQ". It could be a money maker.

After digesting all of this, I have come to the conclusion that one should bring extra Zantac or Pepto in any year that JF signs up!