Ups and downs

Hans Petter Dalby arrived approximately one hour behind Harald Tunheim at the checkpoint in Lavajok. The reports from the chackpoint state that the dogs were in god shape, while Dalby stated that the stage was extremely tough. This was seconded by Harald Tunheim. Both were exhausted after many steep hills and lose snow on the trail.

Dalby lost about 40 minutes to Harald Tunheim on the trail, but had good speed in his team for such a short rest. But he was frustrated with a very tough stage. He had to work very hard to avoid losing too much time to Harald and keep the gap small. Now the excitement is connected to the resting times in Levajok. Apart from that will both competitors now encounter much easier trails all the way back to Alta.

The weather conditions at the checkpoint are the cause of an additional stress factor for the mushers. The water hole was completely frozen when Tunheim was trying to get some water. So he had to go and get water from the barn, and now all the other mushers will have to do the same. Otherwise will there be more wind in the mountains but a little bit warmer than earlier this week (still minus 20 degrees).