The Yukon Quest had attracted 32 mushers by the last day of early registration, on Dec. 10, while the Yukon Quest 300 topped up with 25 mushers – nine on the wait list.

Costs to enter the Quest have jumped from $1,500 for early registration to $2,000 from now until the final day of sign up, Jan. 8. Those interested in the Quest 300 can sign up until Jan. 21.

Yukon Quest organizers held a media briefing at the White Pass train station Friday afternoon to disclose these and other important dates leading up to this year's race, which will leave from Shipyards Park in Whitehorse on Feb. 5.

The 1,000-mile race will leave at 11 a.m., and will be followed by the 300-mile race at 5 p.m.

Quest Fest will run from Feb. 1–5, with the first four days to be held at the White Pass depot and the last day at Shipyards Park.

Meet the Mushers will be held on Feb. 2 at Mount McIntyre, giving fans a chance to

meet their favourite musher, hear what they have to say about the race, the competition, their kennels, etc…

There will also be an auction, started in Alaska last year, in which fans can bid on a musher of their choice, sit with them at the banquet and ride with them to the start gate, with access behind the lines.

The Start Banquet will be held on Feb. 3 at the High Country Inn.

Hans Oettli is back in his second year as Race Marshall, along with six returning judges which act as deputies, he said.

"(There are) not really any major changes,” Oettli said. "The way it went down last year, it was a good race, everything worked fairly well. There's always adjustments to do; but generally I would like to keep it very similar to last year.

"There will be certain changes because we're going the other way,” he added.

He and his crew have tried to bring a lot of fun to the event to attract mushers, volunteers and fans for many different reasons.

Oettli said there is one variable that no crew can control.

"The weather, you never know what that is going to throw at you,” he said. "If it doesn't freeze you have a problem.”

He and race organizers drove to Pelly Thursday to check out the conditions early on.

"It looks promising, but it's not all frozen yet,” Oettli said. "Carmacks was frozen and opened up again, this can happen anytime.”

Susie Rogan will be running the Yukon Quest 300 after last running the shorter race two years ago, when the weather cooperated.

The number of mushers signed on isn't surprising, Rogan said, adding that starting the race in Whitehorse, compared to starting in Fairbanks, usually draws high numbers.

"At least the two times I've run it, it's been sold out, and on the Fairbanks side people are afraid to sign up,” Rogan said.

"There's a gold rush on in the Yukon right now, and people have different ideas of what the Yukon has to offer.

"If you're going to be up here, it's really neat to be able to do things like this.”

Musher Hans Gatt, who won last year's 1,000-mile Quest, said he's focusing on one thing leading up to the race: a healthy team.

"That's the last thing I worry about, is my competitors, I can tell you that,” said the four-time winner. "I just focus to keep the dog team very healthy, and if that's accomplished then usually you have a pretty good race.”

Gatt had little to say about his competition.

"You never really know until the race is really on,” Gatt said. "Obviously, there's a handful which will be in the front, but there's always some surprises.”

Local mushers such as Sebastian Schneulle and Gerry Willomitzer will be absent from this year's 1,000-mile.

That changes the dynamic of the event, Gatt added.

"That kind of changes the whole nature of the race a little bit, but it's still going to be competitive,” Gatt said.

"You never know. You have a pretty good idea. Things don't change that much from year to year, but there's always wild cards.”

Willomitzer opted to devote most of his time to running his fifth-straight Iditarod, but will be competing in the Quest 300.

"My focus is on the Iditarod, so I think I can prepare the team better by doing the Quest 300,” Willomitzer said.

"If I feel there's a lot of spunk in them left when I finish in Pelly then I can always

take them to Dawson and add another 200 miles to give them a bit more of 1,000-mile feel.”

"The Iditarod is by many mushers regarded as the premier long-distance race, and unfortunately the Quest has not been able to keep with the times in terms of the prize money.”

"It's especially hard for the young guys to get into the sport, because they can't offset the cost with race winnings as much as I can today,” Willomitzer said.

"Low purses in dog races impact especially the young guys trying to get into the sport. Nobody's trying to get rich; there's one or two or three people that come out ahead in terms of making money, but it's, how much do I have to substitute my kennel with my own money.”

Rogan added: "If it weren't for races like the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod, then I believe that the sled dog would not continue to evolve and improve. It's not a registered breed, but it's probably the most physically capable animal on the face of the earth; and I think it's worth sustaining that.

"There's something being preserved here, through these races, that does get preserved through competition.”

Willomitzer said he races because he likes his dogs, and also having a competitive dog team.

"We're competing at the highest level in the sport, and that's an incentive,” Willomitzer said.