Eye on the Trail: Rookie Review – Dave Delcourt

Dave Delcourt now calls Wasilla, AK home. Delcourt, age 29, was born and raised in Queensbury, New York. After graduating from the State University of New York at Cortland, Delcourt pursued seasonal employment in Idaho, Massachusetts, Michigan and Alaska. Michigan is where he was first exposed to the sport of mushing as a winter tour guide. He also worked during the summer as a sled dog tour guide on the glaciers near Juneau.

After a couple of years in the tour business, Dave knew he’d like to try racing. Robert Redington suggested Delcourt connect with Ray Redington, Jr. Delcourt has been working with Ray Jr. since 2014. Ray offered Dave the opportunity to take his puppy team to Nome in 2017.

This is the opportunity Delcourt was hoping for when he left the tour business. It won’t be a speedy trip for the all rookie team but it will be a run that will lay the foundation for both musher and sled dogs. General mushing practice says that the young dogs should rest 1.5 times longer than the length of the run. So if the run from Fairbanks to Nenana takes six hours, Delcourt and his yearling charges will rest nine hours before leaving Nenana.

Beyond his first Iditarod, Dave doesn’t know where he’ll land or what he’ll be doing. He’ll have some very peaceful time while on the runners to contemplate his future. Dave has a number of skills that keep him busy when not working with the young Redington sled dogs. Dave calls himself a musher, miner, tour guide and trail worker. For enjoyment, Dave watches movies, likes to hunt and hike and is always willing to work on the local trails.

Dave will leave the start in Fairbanks with a team of dogs that would be considered kindergartners. By the time Delcourt and his team reach Nome, the puppies will have matured through grade school, middle school and high school and will be graduates from the Delcourt Academy of Mushing. Next mushing season Ray Redington, Jr. will have a well-schooled group of younger dogs to compliment his current racing team.

Good luck Dave on your trip to Nome with the young Redington charges. Enjoy your time with the greatest athletes on earth in the most beautiful place on earth.