By Lindy J. Gwinn, Mountain Valley News staff
Participants and organizers of the Grand Mesa Summit Challenge were holding their breath and doing a lot of praying and dancing to the Snow Gods in the weeks leading up to the scheduled and sanctioned race to be held on Grand Mesa the weekend of Jan. 28.
One or all of those things paid off when the snow started falling early in the week and ended up dumping enough snow on the mountain for the race to happen as scheduled.
This is the sixth year that the sled dog races have been held on Grand Mesa, and in years past, there have been two races that had to be postponed due to lack of snow.
Race coordinator Steve Bethka said that this race was sanctioned by the International Sled Dog Racing Association and is crucial for the racers who are earning points for the race season.
Since there is no fee for spectators, the event is always well attended and the weather this year contributed to the number of spectators. Both days of the event were cold but the sun was shining.
Several of the participants had pups that were well on their way to beginning their own careers in racing, and were looking for that special person to purchase them and be their new friend.
This year the race was promoted as a fundraiser for the Mesa, Delta and Montrose County Partners Program. Several members of the racing teams participate in the program by volunteering to be Partner mentors. These Partner mentor volunteers brought their junior partners to the event and the kids were able to participate in many ways.
“These kids have been great. They are all over the place looking for ways to help out. They are picking up trash, helping with the concession stand, holding dogs, helping to hook up the sleds. They are everywhere and they are having a great time,” said Sherry Owens.
The 2012 Summit Challenge was sponsored and organized by the Colorado Mountain Mushers and the Rocky Mountain Sled Dog Clubs.
1 Dog Skijor 4 miles
Saturday Sunday Total Time in minutes
1st Kale Casey 19 19:09 18:27 36:37
2nd Laurie Brandt 16 26:22 25:08 51:30
3rd Drake Benson 18 28:19 26:40 54:59
4th Michael Wason 17 37:09 33:00 70:09
5th Mike Carr 13 53:27 49:06 102:33
2 Dog Skijor 4 Miles
Saturday Sunday Total Time in minutes
1st Mark Schwartz 31 20:33 20:44 41:17
2nd Tom Bethka 14 22:23 20:12 42:35
3rd Michael Wason 17 38:22 29:09 67:31
4th Paula Cronwell 15 38:05 38:33 76:38
5th Laurie Brandt 16 DQ 21:06
8 Dog 12 Miles
Saturday Sunday Total Time in minutes
1st Mark Hatch 26 66:15 41:56 108:11
2nd Bruce Harper 25 66:57 41:58 108:55
3rd Chuck Cubbison 28 81:26 48:48 130:14
4th Cheri Cubbison 27 82:32 51:22 133:54
8 Dog 8 miles
Saturday Sunday Total Time in minutes
1st Dan MacEchen 3 38:23 36:01 74:24
2nd Mark Stephens 2 49:03 48:00 97:03
3rd Debra Su Stephens 1 55:58 50:21 106:19
6 Dog 6 Miles
Saturday Sunday Total Time in minutes
1st John Perry 5 24:03 23:13 47:16
2nd Lynn Whipple 8 24:52 24:06 48:58
3rd Seth Sachson 9 26:28 25:35 52:03
4th Dan MacEchen 3 27:29 26:28 53:57
5th Stephanie Dwyer 6 30:22 23:25 53:47
6th Jesse Miltier 7 32:47 32:15 65:02
7th Bill Bockstiegel 10 36:27 34:28 70:55
4 Dog 4 Mile
Saturday Sunday Total Time in minutes
1st Lynn Whipple 8 20:46 19:45 40:31
2nd Paul Stroup 32 21:36 20:13 41:49
3rd Mike Stark 29 44:00 38:56 82:56
4th Jackie Dickinson 11 44:28 DNR
4 Dog 4 Mile Juniors
Saturday Sunday Total Time in minutes
1st Michael Goff 23 27:27 25:53 53:20
2nd David Byrd 24 30:00 26:30 56:30
3rd Peter Meining 21 37:06 34:49 71:55
4th Rick Meining 22 36:28 35:51 72:19
5th Amanda Rhule 20 38:10 40:27 78:37
