Some of us go along living our lives, while others ignite with a passion that transforms their lives into something bigger and grander.
The latter is the case for Ryne Olson, who grew up in Durango but now makes her home in Two Rivers, Alaska. In February, she was one of 16 mushers who completed the Yukon Quest 1000. Yep, that’s 1,000 miles, from Whitehorse in the Yukon to Fairbanks, Alaska. The route follows the historic Gold Rush and mail-delivery dog sled routes.
Olson came in 13th and was the first woman to finish. (The top 15 teams share the purse, so she went home with some cash.)
This was not her first rodeo. Olson finished the Iditarod in 2012, coming in 31st. And last year, she completed the Yukon Quest 300, finishing in fifth place.
Eight mushers scratched from this year’s race, including five veterans, so it was by no means an easy accomplishment. In the early days of the race, temperatures got as low as minus 50 degrees. To balance that out, the route also was illuminated by the dancing lights of the Aurora borealis.
An intriguing thing about this race is one of the prizes. In true Alaskan style, the first person to arrive in Dawson City, the halfway point along the way, and then finish the race, gets four ounces of gold.
Olson, 25, has a kennel of 21 dogs, most of whom she raised from puppyhood, and has been running dogs for five years. Her family helped her name them, Olson said, with her Uncle Ralph Yeilding naming the ladies: Katy, Amy and Sally; her older brother, Nick Olson, naming the Ecuadorian-inspired Rucu, Kindi and Supai; and her parents, Mike and Katy Olson, giving them duck names: Coot, Eider, Drake and Brant.
The dogs who completed the race, becoming “elite 1,000-mile athetes,” as Ryne Olson said, were Fire, Ham, Perm, Jana, Fez, Kindi, Charley, Rucu and Supai.
The race was a tad bittersweet for her, as her grandfather Art Olson died suddenly when she was a month out from the race. She and her family had to make the tough decision for her to miss the memorial service, because at that point, she was less than three weeks out from the start of the race. Her mother did travel up to watch her race, though, so at least she did have some family around.
She comes from a family that enjoys the thrill of competition. Her great-uncle Mike Elliott was a three-time Olympian, and his son, Tad Elliott, competes in both cycling and Nordic skiing.
Many Durangoans are one degree of separation from Ryne. Her grandmother Lucy Elliott Olson is within an inch of being a lifelong resident, her aunt and uncle Joan and Bill Rhoades also make their home here, and her cousin John Rhoades graduated from Animas High School last year and is in Morocco on a scholarship studying Arabic.
What’s next for the young musher?
She’s going to continue breeding, training and competing with her dogs, but right now she’s in training herself, as an accounting student at Feniks and Company. Somehow, that doesn’t seem like a good career for a mushing enthusiast, because mushing season and tax season coincide, but Olson has a lot of mouths to feed, and the world will always need accountants.
She has created a 10-minute video recapping her Yukon Quest 1000 experience, which is available on her kennel’s website, www.rynokennel.com.
Much to our photographers’ dismay – or maybe not, considering those temperatures – The Durango Herald was unwilling to fly a photographer up there to cover the race. So my thanks go to Scott Chesney of Tailspin Media for providing a shot of Durango’s favorite musher.
HHH
Enjoying balmy birthdays are Kirk Dignum, Rhonda Messier, Dora Edgerton, Steve Schwartz, Dee Stites, Catherine Jones, Kim Hobby, Keith Messier, Marty Schank, Teresa Jordan, Nancy Macho, Bud Halldorsen, Lauri Kloepfer, Haley Fleming, John Gerhart, Janice Martin, Ed McCoola, Duane Speh, Haley Cotgageorge, Julie Ward, Anne Swanson, Lori Shields, Carolyn Plested, Jaime Marquez, Louisa Drouet, Carin Garcia, Suzanne Gamble and Cathy Jones.
HHH
March is a hopping month, and one of my favorite activities in this third month of the year is the American Association of American Women’s Book & Author Luncheon, which will take place at 11 a.m. March 21 in the Vallecito Room at Fort Lewis College, just two weeks from today. This year’s author is Fort Lewis College Professor Emerita Shaila van Sickle, speaking in part about her book Seven Characters in Search of an Author, but mostly about her adventures and challenges in getting it published. (She has a deal for a second book, which is a big deal in this day and age.)
This is one of those events where you need to book your reservation in advance, so they can plan for the right number of people. They’re hoping to have reservations in hand by March 17, in time to give the caterer, Sodexo, a count.
Tickets are $40 per person, with $20 tax-deductible, with funds going to both national and local AAUW scholarship funds. (They’re $20 for students.)
Make your check payable to AAUW/Durango and mail it to Grace Deltscheff, 56 Red Cliffs Road, Durango, CO 81301.
Email Judy Spolum at judyspolum@aol.com or Marcy Jung at jung_m@fortlewis.edu with any questions.
This event is always fun, entertaining and informative – I always have walked away having enjoyed myself and having learned something, my two main objectives.
And there are door prizes!
HHH
Here’s how to reach me: neighbors@durangoherald.com; phone 375-4584; mail items to the Herald; or drop them off at the front desk. Please include contact names and phone numbers for all items. Follow me on Twitter @Ann_Neighbors.
I am happy to consider photos for Neighbors.
