Whitehorse snowmobile racer recounts crash during Alcan 200
Whitehorse resident Todd Whitehead says he will be racing in next year's Alcan 200 Snow Machine Rally despite being part of a three-machine crash in last weekend's race.
"I've always kind of been an adrenaline junkie I guess, between racing cars and riding sleds my whole life," he said.
"One of the things that actually drew me to the Yukon was this race because there's nothing like it anywhere else in the world."
The event is held on the Haines Road highway with riders exceeding 200 km/h at some points.
Whitehead said he was travelling at close to 180 km/h by Three Guardsmen Mountain as he approached a slower machine.
There were high winds and poor visibility.
He said a gust of wind suddenly blew the other machine across the road into his path and he rear-ended it.
"I went over the bars and I think I landed on Josh and then after I bounced off of him, I was about six feet in the air and then into the ditch," said Whitehead.
He said another rider stopped to move Josh Moore off the road and checked on him as well. Whitehead said he then began directing other racers around the crashed machines when the wind blew a third machine into his snowmobile.
Moore was airlifted to Anchorage where he was treated in hospital and released Sunday.
Whitehead said he received a concussion and Moore is also recovering from a concussion and internal injuries.
These dangers are no reason to stop holding the race, he said.
"That's part of the appeal of the race too, is that you can't control the weather and you can't control some of the conditions in the summit," said Whitehead.
"You just have to take it how it is."
Whitehead also thanked the riders who stopped to help and the race's support staff.
