ANCHORAGE, (Reuters) - Temperatures in interior Alaska have hovered at minus-50 degrees (F) for weeks, but mushers should expect no sympathy when they embark on Saturday on a 1,000-mile (1,600 km) trek from Fairbanks to Whitehorse, Yukon.

The Yukon Quest International is considered by many fans of dog sled racing to be the world's toughest contest and bad weather has never been a good excuse to delay the start.

``We've always started it on the date we've had set,'' said race manager Leo Oleson, adding that the weather forecast for Saturday calls for it ``to get warm.''

How warm? ``Oh, maybe to zero (f) during the day,'' Oleson said.

Twenty nine mushers and their dog teams were poised to start the race on Saturday in downtown Fairbanks. The race route will take them through the U.S. and Canadian wilderness to Whitehorse, and it is expected to last two weeks.

The Yukon Quest is often overshadowed by the more glamorous and better financed Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska. But many fans insist the Quest is tougher and prefer its homespun flavor.

``It's a different kind of race entirely,'' said Oleson.

In the Yukon Quest, there are only nine checkpoints - some separated by well over 100 miles (160 km) - so mushers are required to carry more food and gear and must camp along route between the scheduled stops.

The Iditarod, which takes place in March, has 26 checkpoints on its route from Anchorage to Nome, and mushers can often count on comfortable accommodations and plentiful supplies at the stops.

Surprisingly, the Quest's biggest following seems to be in Germany, where it has gained a cult following and will be broadcast on television thanks to the event's top sponsor - a German tire company.

``It seems like dog mushing and the North is a popular thing in Germany,'' Oleson said.

Top competitors in this year's race include two-time champion John Schandelmeier of Paxon, Alaska, former champion Frank Turner of Whitehorse, perennial contender Mark May of North Pole, Alaska and Iditarod veteran Ramy Brooks of Healy, Alaska.

Not every Yukon Quest musher will be chasing a championship title. Carolyn Farr, 42, of Tanana, Alaska, wrote in the race program that her goal is ``to finish and not be last.''

And Peter Ledwidge, 39, of Dawson, Yukon Territory, described his reasons for running dogs and the Quest as perverse. ``Because I like being broke!'' he wrote.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A decade after the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spilled millions of gallons of crude off Prince William Sound in Alaska, most of the fish and wildlife species that were injured have not fully recovered, a new report said Wednesday.

Only two out of the 28 species, the river otter and the bald eagle, listed as being injured from the 1989 spill are considered to be recovered, said the report, which was released by a coalition of federal and Alaska agencies working to help restore the oil spill region.

``Ten years after the spill, there has clearly been a lot of progress toward recovery...but it is equally clear that for several species and the ecosystem in general, there is a long way yet to go,'' said Molly McCammon, executive director of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council.

Eight species are considered to have made little or no progress toward recovery since the spill, including killer whales, harbor seals and common loons.

Several other species, including sea otters and Pacific herring, have made significant progress toward recovery, but are still not at levels seen before the accident, the report said.

McCammon said the impact of the spill is now subtle, probably not detectable to the average tourist traveling through Prince William Sound.

``Unless you know where to look, you will probably never see oil on the beaches,'' she said.

More than 10.8 million gallons of crude oil spilled into the water when the tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground 25 miles south of Valdez on March 24, 1989.

The spill killed an estimated 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 250 bald eagles, and up to 22 killer whales.

Billions of salmon and herring eggs, as well as tidal plants and animals, were also smothered in oil.

Exxon Corp. (NYSE:XON - news) was jointly sued by the federal government and the State of Alaska for those losses. The company settled out of court in 1991 and agreed to a record $900 million civil settlement to be paid over 10 years.

Melbourne (AP) Drei seit mehr als sechs Wochen auf einer Insel in der Arktis festsitzende Mitarbeiter eines Fernsehteams sind am Dienstag per Hubschrauber von einem Hilfstrupp erreicht worden. Den drei Fernsehleuten gehe es gut, doch hätten sie nur noch für drei Tage Nahrungsmittel gehabt, erklärte Mark Crawford, Sprecher des Rettungsunternehmens AEA International SOS in Australien. Das Trio war am 2. September auf der Wrangel-Insel westlich von Alaska eingetroffen, um einen Dokumentarfilm über Eisbären zu drehen.

Die Abreise der Gruppe - ein australischer Kameramann, ein japanischer Produzent und ein russischer Wissenschaftler - am 15. Oktober wurde durch schlechtes Wetter verhindert. Die Temperatur in der Region lag bei minus 30 Grad, dazu wehte starker Wind. Die Gruppe hielt sich in einer Hütte im Nordosten der Insel auf. Versuche von Einwohnern eines 130 Kilometer entfernten russischen Dorfs, das Trio zu erreichen, schlugen wegen des schlechten Wetters ebenfalls fehl.

Fairbanks (dpa) - Tausende von Schlittenhunden in Alaska werden von der US-Armee mit Futterfisch versorgt, weil in entlegenen Dörfern die Lachssaison extrem unergiebig gewesen ist. Die örtlichen Fischer haben gerade genug Lachse für den eigenen Bedarf gefangen. Zur Fütterung der Hunde reicht es nicht. Die eingeflogenen Gefrierlachse stammen aus Zuchtbetrieben bei Anchorage. Die Hubschrauberflüge durch die fast ganztägige Dunkelheit Alaskas werden von der Armee als Training für Piloten genutzt, die mit Nachtsichtgeräten arbeiten.

Berliner Morgenpost - Winterabenteuer für Eisbären: Eine besondere Attraktion in Alaska und Kanada sind die Schlittenhunde-Rennen, die dort zu den größten Sport- und Gesellschafts-Ereignissen gehören. Jedes Jahr am ersten Märzwochenende wimmelt es in Alaskas Metropole Anchorage von Menschen und Hunden: Start des Iditarod-Rennens über 1860 Kilometer nach Nome am Polarkreis. Bereits Anfang Februar startet in Fairbanks/Alaska der «Yukon Quest» über 1600 Kilometer nach Whitehorse in Kanada. Es ist das härteste Rennen der Welt bei Temperaturen bis zu minus 50 Grad C.