– It’s a shame you don’t have ice fishing equipment with you, says dog sledder Tom-Frode Johansen with a twinkle in his eye on the way out from checkpoint Levajok in the longest edition of the Finnmarksløpet. The leader in the 1200 km class changed his footwear at the checkpoint. – Put on the rubber boots, says Johansen, who had gotten very wet on his feet on the last leg of the Finnmark race. Dog walker Tom-Frode Johansen changed his footwear at the checkpoint in Levajok. There was a lot of water and ice on the river on Sunday morning. Photo: Øyvind Nordahl Næss / news The first days of the Finnmark Race have not been characterized by winter temperatures. Plus degrees mean that it is very wet in the track. It is also not a temperature that the dogs are most comfortable in. They would like to have low temperatures. – The challenge is to get the dogs enough food, says the Swedish favorite Petter Karlsson, who has taken longer breaks in the track, so that the dogs get enough food in the heat. – It is more tiring for them, and thus you have to be more careful. – The same for all Troms driver Tom-Frode Johansen says that there were very good tracks for large parts of the 100 kilometer long stage between Jergul and Levajok, but in the morning it suddenly became a much more challenging track for him and the sled dogs. – It was absolutely superb until 04.00, but after that it was no longer so. It was wet. I can promise you that, but it’s the same for everyone, says the veteran dog walker from Furuflaten in Troms. The temperatures mean that there is a lot of water on the track and it is very slippery on certain stretches of the river road. In addition, the dogs walk through the snow when they end up outside the snowmobile track. – The dogs trudge through the snow. So you have to take it easy and drive nicely and gracefully. Tom-Frode Johansen and Petter Karlsson on their way to the checkpoint in Levajok on Sunday morning. Photo: Jan Helmer Olsen / news It doesn’t freeze until Tuesday The dog walkers and the dogs won’t get stable minus temperatures until Tuesday. Meteorologist on duty at the Meteorological Institute, Eirin Ristesund, says that it will not freeze until Tuesday in Finnmark. Until then, the dog walkers must expect yo-yo temperatures with hot degrees during the day and some minus degrees in the evening. – This means that there will be mud ponds with ice on them and crowds, says Ristesund. It is very wet in the track in Finnmarksløpet. Photo: Hanne Bernhardsen Nordvåg / news Even the meteorologist on duty at the Meteorological Institute has not experienced such a long period of plus degrees as there was at the beginning of March. – It is not unusual for plus degrees at this time, but I cannot remember in the seven years that I have worked at the Meteorological Institute that there has been such a persistent period of mild weather in Finnmark in March, says Eirin Ristesund, who adds that it was a bad timing for the Finnmark race. – But the snow will probably come, says Ristesund about the winter months of March and April in Finnmark. Swedish Petter Karlsson has had to change his tactics due to the hot weather in Finnmark at the moment. Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news – Must keep the speed down Last year’s winner of the 1200 km class, Petter Karlsson, says that it is important to keep the speed down when there are fast tracks and when it is hot. – You have to keep your speed down. I have more rest than planned, says Karlsson about the adjustments he must have made to the advance tactics due to the plus degrees during the day during the first days of the Finnmark race. Due to ice and hard tracks, the muscles can be damaged or sore. – They are a little to the right and left on the trail because it is icy in the track, says the Swedish long-distance dog walker. Karlsson reveals that he will not take the long rest of 20 hours before he comes to Neiden. This means that he does not rest for long in Tana, which is the next stop for the dog runners on the longest edition of the Finnmarksløpet. Swedish-Norwegian duel After 391 kilometers of the 1200 kilometer long dog race, it is Tom-Frode Johansen who leads the race ahead of Sweden’s Petter Karlsson. Last year’s winner says that he always appreciates seeing a great team of dogs, but that it is not as gratifying to see that the competitor from Norway has a good team. – He has a good team. It will be a tough competition, says the Swede. At the checkpoint, Johan Väisänen, Roger Dahl, Stein Håvard Fjestad, Birgitte Næss, Hanna Lyrek, Niklas Rogne, Sean Næss and Roger Fossøy are now in the next places in the longest edition of the Finnmark race. Finnmarksløpet has been a wet affair for dogs and dog drivers in Finnmarksløpet. Photo: Jan Helmer Olsen / news
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