There were a couple of "yawing moments" and spills again on the ay hairpin turn. More concerning to me was the potential of a pile-up, with three teams coming into the corner at once and the first team getting into a bit of a tangle (leaders didn't bend left). The musher set the snow hook with the sled at the apex of the turn, but the other two teams were hot on their heels. Fortunately Lyle (race judge) was there, waded right in, and moved the sled forward through the turn as the musher was lining out the dogs, just in the nick of time. I could see that it was impending trouble, but as a volunteer, didn't feel comfortable making that call. Lyle, as race judge and musher, had no qualms about just doing it.
We also had another situation when a team was stopped, but was about three or four feet wider than the apex (a volunteer was helping swing the leaders through the turn), and a second following team shot through on the inside. Again, no harm done, but had the leaders and/or volunteer swung left a little quicker, the first sled would have been pulled into the path of the second team.
We also had a couple of spills (corner cut too short by the dogs, pulling the sled into the snow fence on the inside of the corner), but that's inherent in a turn like this, I think.
My main concern is the potential for a pile-up on this corner, with dogs or a musher getting hurt in the ensuing mess. When we worked this corner last year, there were only a couple of minor snarls and spills. This year, the turn seemed wider (better grooming?,), we had more snow fence to better direct the teams away from the brush, and the inside had less pucker brush, so I thought everything would be smooth sailing. And, we had more luminary candles, including some on the outrun of the turn, to help better mark the trail. But, we had many more near misses this year than last. Maybe the teams were just "clumpier" coming into 165 than they were last year, and that was the difference.
I don't know if there is much to be done about this. It's a tight turn, and is part of the course which people expect/look forward to/dread/etc. Maybe Kate Larson or Lyle or Doug Harrar or Meredith have some ideas, since they were out there, too. I know there is risk inherent in the sport (or going to the corner store for milk) and I don't think we should "wussify" the race, but if there is something we can do to improve the safety of this corner, without detracting from it as one of the skill tests of the course, I think we should.
Even a bit of a reminder to the mushers to line out their teams after the turn, not in the turn, if at all possible might be enough to do the trick.
This race is astoundingly well organized, and the concern for the safety of all involved by the executive team is greatly appreciated. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to be a part of the event.