Red Lantern bib #3 Justin Allen 54:20:12
12th place bib #8 Bob Shanahan 44:38:12
11th place bib #14 Charlie Lundie 44:08:00
10th place bib #9 Jim Oehschlaeger 40:41:30
9th place bib # 4 Dan DiMuzio 40:34:52
8th place bib #13 Kevin Malikowski 39:44:20
7th place bib #6 Ernest Azure 38:30:23
6th place bib #15 Shawn McCarty 37:50:52
5th place bib #11 Josh Compton 36:15:47
4th place bib #5 Blake Freking 35:45:51
3rd place bib #12 Troy Groeneveld 35:32:53
2nd place bib #7 Peter McClelland 34:55:41
1st place bib #1 Ryan Anderson 34:35:32
Ryan Anderson,above, from Ray, MN won the 2014 Hudson Bay Quest with a time of 34:35:32….20 minutes ahead of Ely, MN runner – up Peter McClelland . The Red Lantern bib award ( last to finish) was secured by Quest rookie Justin Allen with a time of 54:20:12…20 hours off the first place finisher Anderson.
The 210 mile race was free of any blizzard conditions this year though the temperatures were in the negative 35-40F range. With the upper half of finishers completing the course in just about a day and a half, overall the course ran pretty smooth and quick. After challenging the lead, race organizer and promoter and local Churchill resident, Dave Daley withdrew very close to the finish with cramping dogs. Unfortunately no official finish this year for Dave. I;m sure he will be counting the days until the 2015 HBQ.
Finish line in Gillam,MB. Tony Loewen photo.
Bib #7 Peter McClelland having a break at M’Clintock. Nace Hagemann photo.
Bib #5 Blake Freking providing to one of his dogs at M’Clintock. Nace Hageman photo.
Hudson Bay Quest photos by Joseph Lin. This year’s race has been action packed with great weather, lots of surprises and tremendous support. Enjoy the images. Check back for race results, highlights and more amazing photos in a day or so.
The annual Hudson Bay Quest between Churchill and Gillam started today and is expected to run over the the next two to three days. This year the Quest left from Churchill and the mushers and dog-teams will travel across the tundra to Gillam.
Check out the footage from the webcam with a birds-eye view of the race start in Churchill.
Here’s a list of the racers into the McClintock checkpoint.
McClintock Checkpoint
Bib#1 Ryan Anderson in 21:29
Bib#2 David Daley in 23:19
Bib#3 Justin Allen
Bib#4 Dan DiMuzio in 23:19
Bib#5 Blake Freking in 21:52
Bib#6 Ernest Azure in 20:40
Bib#7 Peter McClelland in 21:33
Bib#8 Bob Shanahan
Bib#9 Jim Oehlschlaeger in 23:19
Bib#10 Jacob Heigers
Bib#11 Josh Compton in 22:06
Bib#12 Troy Groeneveld in 21:36
Bib#13 Kevin Malikowski in 22:44
Bib#14 Charlie Lundie in 22:11
Bib#15 Shawn McCarty
A video near the start from Katie DeMeulles in Churchill.
These were the times for Lamprey checkpoint:
Bib#1 Ryan Anderson in 14:33 out 16:21
Bib#2 David Daley in 15:15 out 15:16
Bib#3 Justin Allen in 15:30 and resting
Bib#4 Dan DiMuzio in 15:09 out 15:15
Bib#5 Blake Freking in 14:45 and resting
Bib#6 Ernest Azure in 14:47 out 14:52
Bib#7 Peter McClelland in 14:55 and resting
Bib#8 Bob Shanahan in 15:42 and resting
Bib#9 Jim Oehlschlaeger in 15:13 and resting
Bib#10 Jacob Heigers not yet in
Bib#11 Josh Compton not yet in
Bib#12 Troy Groeneveld in 16:16 out 16:17
Bib#13 Kevin Malikowski in 16:02 and resting
Bib#14 Charlie Lundie in 15:44 out 15:46
Bib#15 Shawn McCarty in 15:40 out 15:44
A Natural Habitat Adventures group lead by Annie Van Dinther was lucky enough to be present at the start and decided a group photo was a way to celebrate.
Interesting old-time video of an Arctic US military operation. Camp Century was located on Greenland below the ice surface. Set up as a nuclear powered Arctic research camp, it was only 800 miles from the North Pole. Take a look at this intriguing video from the past. Natural Habitat Adventures will be offering a new trip to the Greenland ice cap next summer. Get some interesting background as you watch this video.
The following story is from Churchillian Rhonda Reid whom has been working with Natural Habitat Adventures in Churchill for many years now. Rhonda has been gracious to be a local “correspondent” for churchillpolarbears.org over the past few years and this story is a great one. You never know what’s around the next corner…or snow-bank in this instance. Visiting Churchill to see the aurora can have unknown effects on one’s soul.
If you have a story you would like to share about travel in the north/Arctic send it in to the site or to steveselden17@hotmail.com and we will share it with others here. And, if you’re interested in becoming a volunteer at the Churchill Northern Studies Center, here’s the link to find out how: Volunteer.
Churchill Northern Studies Center.
“I like a lot of the people that I meet through my job,… if you’re reading this and I met you through Natural Habitat Adventures then no doubt you are one of those people. I have a guest on the trip I am working on now and she is just so excited to be here. A former teacher, she is quickly becoming one of the people I like. Today we went to the Churchill Northern Studies Centre and she was just being her fabulous self when she fell into the fulfillment of a life long dream. The Studies Centre is short a volunteer and my guest is available and excited about a chance for a new temporary “job”. When she first started talking to me about it and we broadened the conversation to the point this could just possibly happen, she became more and more excited. When she was introduced to the executive director Michael Goodyear he thought that she was kidding. I’m sure Mike hears this all the time though this time it took this very intelligent man only a few seconds to realize that he was probably speaking to his new volunteer. Local Churchillian Kim Daley recommended her for the “job” as did the one of the center’s current volunteers she had contact with, and I, as you can imagine added my two cents as well.
Churchill Northern Studies Center executive director Michael Goodyear.
I went to meet them for dinner tonight and she was so excited to tell me that she “got the job!!!!” She signed on for a five- week stint at the Churchill Northern Studies Center as a quite excited volunteer. Washing a lot of dishes and helping to serve a lot of meals will surely be a big part of the position, while living a dream she didn’t really know she even had. The idea that there’s a place where you can work for a bed, three really good squares and a night sky holding a good possibility of a natural light show like no other, never occurred to her.
Aurora over the “aurora domes”, a prime indoor spot to photograph the lights. Photo Brad Josephs.
The adventure began at the end of her Natural Habitat trip….or actually started at the beginning of her trip…well I guess this experience became all one in the end. I’m sure that Natural Habitat will lend her the coat on her back and be sure that she is properly geared up for the cold days ahead. Being from Florida there will be more to the traditional culture shock travelers experience being in a vastly different culture. Here in Churchill temperatures in the winter provide shock even to seasoned locals. The word of the day from my guest is Serendipity.
Brad Josephs got his dream shot last night with a group of Natural Habitat travelers.
The aurora have been incredible lately in Churchill though temperatures have been frigidly cold…around 50 below zero.
Avoiding frostbite is part of the thrill of being in this environment.
A welcoming dog photographed by Brad at a train stop in Portage la Prarie.
Magnificent sun dog formed by suspended ice crystals in the air.
Aurora over the “aurora domes”, a prime indoor spot to photograph the lights.
A curious sled dog in Churchill getting ready for the Hudson Bay Quest in a couple weeks.
Incredible feel for this time of year in Churchill with sun dog framing the town.
These photographs are from the latest Natural Habitat groups in Churchill over the last two weeks. Brad Josephs has been braving the frigid temperatures to lead groups of avid travelers through the Churchill region to discover the feel for the north as well as the amazing and mysterious aurora borealis. Seems to be all working out for the groups. The aurora have been some of the best seen in years. With temperatures ranging from -17 to -65 F, it hasn’t been an easy task to brave the elements and observe and photograph. However, it has been worth a little pain as even the locals in Churchill have said that these recent displays have been some of the best they have ever seen! More to come..stay tuned!!
The 210 mile race was free of any blizzard conditions this year though the temperatures were in the negative 35-40F range. With the upper half of finishers completing the course in just about a day and a half, overall the course ran pretty smooth and quick. After challenging the lead, race organizer and promoter and local Churchill resident, Dave Daley withdrew very close to the finish with cramping dogs. Unfortunately no official finish this year for Dave. I;m sure he will be counting the days until the 2015 HBQ.
