ENTERPRISE, OREGON__A strong field of two dozen mushers has registered for the Eagle Cap Extreme sled dog race, to take place January 18 – 21 in Wallowa County. This winter’s combination of cold temperatures and abundant snowfall have ECX race organizers in excellent shape for the thirteenth annual running of the event.

“Even the slight warming we had earlier this week is good for trail conditions,” explains ECX public relations director, Troy Nave. “Trail crews and the Snowmobile Club groomer will have an easier time compacting the snow now that it’s warmer, making for a good running surface. Now we’re keeping fingers crossed for cool temperatures during the race.”

This year’s ECX features four races, beginning with the 200-mile, twelve-dog main event, an Iditarod and Yukon Quest qualifier. Then comes the 100-mile, 8-dog race, followed by the 31-mile, six-dog pot race (two stages: one on Thursday, one on Friday), and the 22-mile Juniors race (Thursday start, immediately following the start of the Pot Race). The racing begins at noon on Thursday, January 19, at Ferguson Ridge Ski Hill outside of Joseph.

Most of the field of twenty-four mushers are Eagle Cap Extreme veterans, with a handful of rookies sprinkled in. Among the rookies is Christina Gibson of Riverside, Washington. Christina is fifteen years old, and will be racing in the Juniors event on Thursday. “Someday I hope to run in the Iditarod,” said Gibson. Some of the returning mushers include the defending champions from each of the three events run last year. Jane Devlin of Bend, Oregon, will defend her Pot Race title; 100-mile champ Laurie Warren of Council, Idaho, will run the 200-miler this year; and two-time defending 200-mile champion Brett Bruggeman of  Great Falls, Montana, returns to attempt an unprecedented third consecutive title.

“This is my favorite mushing event,” says Bruggeman. Since coming in a close second place to Laura Daugereau three years ago, Bruggeman has torched the 200-mile field the past two years. Bruggeman has outpaced some highly competitive fields of mushers, including several Iditarod veterans. This year three of the ten mushers chasing him in the 200-miler are Iditarod veterans: Scott White, in his third ECX race; Mark Stamm, racing his fourth ECX race; and Alberta’s Jason Campeau, racing the ECX for the third time.

Race officials have also been determined. Dona Miller of Seeley Lake, Montana, returns as the Race Marshal. Miller has a long history of mushing and working with the Eagle Cap Extreme, first as a Race Judge and now as the Marshall. This year’s Head Veterinarian is Kathleen McGill, a former lead veterinarian for the Yukon Quest and several mid-distance races in the lower 48 states. Cari Hinesly and Michael Moore return as head timers.

Spectators are reminded to arrive plenty early to the 12 noon race start at Ferguson Ridge on Thursday. Plan on parking in the designated parking lot, then shuttling via free bus to the race start. Please leave all pets at home.

The Eagle Cap Extreme operates as a 501(c)3 non-profit, with the help of over 150 volunteers. For more information, visit the Eagle Cap Extreme web page at www.eaglecapextreme.com, and follow the ECX on Facebook.

Photo: Two-time defending 200-mile champ Brett Bruggeman, Great Falls, MT, is trying for an unprecedented 3rd consecutive win in 2017.

NOTE: This article was updated Monday, January 16.

Enterprise, Oregon__The twelfth annual Eagle Cap Extreme Sled Dog Race runs from January 20 – 23, kicking off with pre-race checkups for the dogs in downtown Joseph, Enterprise, and Wallowa on Wednesday. The race begins at noon on Thursday at Ferguson Ridge Ski Hill.

After winning the 200-mile race in record time last year, Brett Bruggeman of Great Falls, Montana addressed the attendees at the Musher Awards Banquet. “I signed up for the ECX early, so at first I thought the race would come down to me and Josi (Thyr),” Bruggeman began. “Then I saw the other mushers signing up: Mark Stamm, Jessie Royer, some of Ed Stielstra’s teams – I knew then that I was in for a tough race.”

Bruggeman faces an even more daunting field this week in the 2016 Eagle Cap Extreme (ECX) sled dog race 200-mile event. Gone from the lineup are Stielstra’s teams – they are in Alaska preparing for the Iditarod. In their place is a slew of fast, experienced mushers, including five Iditarod veterans. Mark Stamm ran the Iditarod in 2005, and has placed well in his previous two ECX races. Scott White, who often trains with Stamm, completed the Iditarod in 2010. Jason Campeau, of Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, ran the ECX two season ago, using the race as a qualifier for the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest. Campeau completed both of those races in a single season last year, a feat accomplished by a very small group of elite mushers. Aaron Peck of County Grande Prairie, Alberta, has raced the Iditarod four times, the last time in 2013.

But most teams will have their eye on Jessie Royer of Darby, Montana. Royer finished second in her first ECX race last year, 33 minutes behind Bruggeman. Later that season, Royer finished fourth in the Iditarod, only seven hours behind champion Dallas Seavey. That was her best finish in the “Last Great Race”, and her fifth top-ten finish in thirteen trips to the Iditarod. Now that Jessie is familiar with the ECX race, hers is considered the team to beat this week. The 200-mile field is rounded out by Jennifer Campeau of Rocky Mountain House, Alberta; Josi Thyr of Cataldo, Idaho; Bryce Mumford of Preston, Idaho; and ECX rookie Alea Robinson of Eagle River, Alaska.

Mushers will have no problem finding ample snow throughout the course; the Wallowa Mountains have been blessed by heavy precipitation this winter. The biggest hurdle for mushers, aside from the challenging and steep course, will be warming temperatures.

“Sled dogs are surprisingly good at regulating heat, considering how hard they run,” says Troy Nave, one of the ECX race directors. “But they prefer to run when temperatures are around zero. Temperatures at the start – and even the overnight lows – are forecasted to be much warmer than that.”

In addition to the 200-mile, twelve-dog event, this year’s Eagle Cap Extreme features an eight-dog, 100-mile race as well as a two-stage, 62-mile Pot Race. As of press time, no entrants had registered for the Juniors Race, first offered last season to 14 – 17 year old mushers.

For a full schedule of race events, including up-to-the-hour musher standings, go to the ECX website: www.eaglecapextreme.com. Visit Race Central at the Joseph Community Center for updates, education activities for kids of all ages, silent auction bidding, and ECX merchandise.

The ECX operates as a 501(c)(3) organization. It is put on with the help of more than 150 volunteers, and is supported by over 100 local businesses and individuals. It runs under special permit on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.

Nineteen mushers and their teams will participate in this year’s race, two shy of the largest field in race history. Laura Daugereau, reigning champion of the 200-mile race, returns to defend her title against six other teams. She will face stiff competition from an experienced field of mushers, two of whom are using the Eagle Cap Extreme as qualifiers for the world’s two biggest mushing events: Brett Bruggeman of Great Falls, Montana hopes to qualify for the Iditarod; Rick Katucki of Eagle, Idaho will qualify for the Yukon Quest. Josi Thyr, last year’s best-kept team award winner, will also keep the pressure on Daugereau.

The 100-mile field features ECX veteran and two-time 100-mile champion Bino Fowler. Most of the 100-mile field are either ECX rookies or are bumping up their team size and distance from the 31-mile pot race. Last year’s runner up, Roy Etnire will also be in the chase.

The two-stage, 31-mile pot race will be run for the third consecutive year. Three mushers will compete in the event, including Susan Parraga, the first local musher to enter the Eagle Cap Extreme. “We have a strong, diverse field of mushers this year,” says mushing coordinator and ECX president Randy Greenshields. “It’s a good mix of ECX veterans, mushers hoping to qualify for the Iditarod and Quest, and rookies. And we’re thrilled to have a local musher for the first time.”

The course has plenty of snow coverage despite recent warm temperatures and little winter snowfall. “All reports from the trail indicate that the snow is holding up well. We are fortunate that the race course elevation is high enough to hold snow, even if things in town are pretty dry,” says ECX public relations coordinator Troy Nave.

This year’s race features several events and activities throughout the week for race fans. The Joseph Community Center will be transformed into ECX Race Central, where the public can see mushing displays, buy merchandise, get up to the minute race standings, and take part in several children’s educational activities. Race Central is open Wednesday through Saturday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., with the exception of Thursday, when it closes at noon.

Race activities kick off on Wednesday with pre-race veterinary check ups in downtown Joseph and Enterprise. The Joseph “vet check” begins at 9 a.m. on Main Street, followed at 10:30 by a question-and-answer session with one of the mushers. At 1 p.m. on Wednesday, the vet check begins near the courthouse in downtown Enterprise, followed at 2 p.m. by another question-and-answer session. Wednesday is capped off by a community potluck at Joseph Community Center, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free with a potluck dish to share.

The race start takes place at 1 p.m. on Thursday at Ferguson Ridge Ski Hill. Spectators need to arrive early, and will use a shuttle system to go from the end of Tucker Down road to the ski hill. All three events – the 12-dog 200-mile Iditarod and Yukon Quest qualifier, the 8-dog 100-miler, and the 6-dog 31-mile pot race – start at Ferguson Ridge ski hill. Spectators are reminded to leave their pets at home.

Early Friday morning the 100-mile finishers will begin arriving at Ferguson Ridge. Early that afternoon, the second stage of the 31-mile pot race begins. Pot race mushers return to Fergi in the early evening.

Early Saturday the first 200-mile finishers will arrive back at Fergi, with the last mushers typically coming in around noon. Eagle Cap Extreme festivities culminate in the Musher’s Awards Banquet, beginning at 5:30 PM at Joseph Community Center. All events accept the awards banquet are free to spectators. For more information and up to the minute race standings, visit www.eaglecapextreme.com

The ECX operates as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and is put on with the help of 150 volunteers, and is supported by over 100 local businesses and individuals.

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