Crow Village Iditarod Blog

And the winner is...

2011-03-17T10:07:00.003-08:00

Ummm now that the first rookie has passed under the arch we can do the tally of the CVIB Iditarod picks contest. We have a three way tie for first place and custodian of that world famous trophy between Tommy Tom, Tom and Amanda. To break this tie, those 3 will make picks for the upcoming Kobuk 440. Pick top 5 spots. 10 points for correct fisrt place, 5 points for correct 2-5 place and 2 points for a pick in the top 5 in the wrong position. The tie-breaker will be the pick for the finishing time of the winner. last year's winner was John Baker with a time of 40 hrs 6 minutes. We don't know who the racers are yet since they have until March 28 to sign up. The race begins April 14th, so the picks will have to be in by that time. Website is: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kobuk-440/240345216909

White Mountain to Nome

2011-03-14T19:17:00.002-08:00

In 2010, John Baker completed this section in 9:49. Ramey Smyth is always fast over this section and finished it in 9:09 - 40 minutes faster. With a 51 minute lead, John Baker is our predicted winner but we are going to let them race it out just in case our calculations are off.

Race for 4th

2011-03-14T10:50:00.005-08:00

As the leaders race up the coast toward the mandatory 8 at White Mountain, Ramey Smyth appears to be gaining ground on leader John Baker. Ramey is notoriously fast on the last leg into Nome, so if he can close to within 30 minutes of Baker at White Mountain, this could be very very close. If Baker should come in 2nd then Lisa has an outside chance of wining the CVIB Iditarod contest.

Meanwhile, a bit further back, there is a virtual dead heat for 4th place between Sebastian Schnuelle and Hugh Neff. The outcome of the CVIB Iditarod pool and the future location of the coveted trophy could very well be decided by how this duel works out. If Schnuelle gets 4th, then it looks like David will win, and the trophy stays put, however if Schnuelle falls to fifth, then Tom will likely win, and the trophy will be headed south again. If Schnuelle finishes neither 4th or 5th, then Amanda, Tom or david would win depending on where Hans Gatt finishes. Try not to hit the refresh on the GPS page too often ;-)

The picks are in

2011-03-07T04:30:00.001-09:00

Follow this link

Iditarod begins March 5th

2011-03-04T07:43:00.002-09:00

A strong field is set to take off in the 2011 edition of the Iditarod sled dog race with the ceremonial start in Anchorage on Saturday March 5th, and the official start from Willow on Sunday March 6th. CVIB will be taking a break from blogging the race this year, and will focus mostly on tracking the status of our annual pick contest. It should be an exiting race however, as Lance Mackey will try to set the gold standard by winning his 5th in a row, and plenty of competent teams trying to make sure he doesn't. Young Dallas Seavey has garnered an enthusiastic following after 2 straight top 10 finishes and an impressive win in this year's Yukon Quest, Mitch Seavey (related) has many folks rooting for him. Paul Gebhardt won the tough Kuskokwim 300 this year, a feat that has historically been leveraged into a strong finish in the Iditarod. Hans Gatt, and Hugh Neff showed some strong teams in the Yukon quest before succoming to the elements, and Sebastian Schnuelle looks to have a strong showing once agin while pushing back retirement at least one more year. John Baker has been the most consistent in the top 10 finishing in one of those spots in 12 out of 15 attempts, so we can't count him out. get you picks in, and lets get this party started!

Mackey wins fast Iditarod

2010-03-17T13:53:00.003-08:00

Lance Mackey won his 4 consecutive Iditarod sled dog race in a time of 8 days 23 hours 59 minutes and 9 seconds. How fast was the field in this year's race? Paul Gebhardt came into Nome in 9 days 20 hours 31 minutes, and 1 second - good enough for 19th place. That time would have won the 2009 race (won of course by none other then Lance Mackey).

New trail on the Norton Ice

2010-03-15T07:12:00.004-08:00

The trail breakers lay out a different trail for the Iditarod sled dog race every year, and the 2010 race is no excpetion to that. The trail accross the Norton Bay ice is a prime example of that given the differentiation in the way the ice freezes over the bay, and the prevailing tracks left by local snowmobiles. By following the GPS trackers each team has on it's sled, it has now become apparent that the trail heads in a markedly different northwest direction about halfway across the Norton Bay. The result is that once the trail hits land again, the direction into the checkpoint in the town of Koyuk is mostly in an easterly direction instead of the typical north direction. This is the 21st race for Jeff King, and he is heard telling the Iditarod Insider reporting team that he was most confused coming into Koyuk this year. Another peculiarity of this route is that the inbound trail to Koyuk may in fact actually be the same as the outbound trail. If it weren't for the fact that a musher has to check into each and every checkpoint, it would be possible for a team to make a substantial shortcut. It remains to be seen however if some team doesn't actually take this shortcut by mistake. Lance Mackey has now departed Koyuk and as he makes his way to Elim, he has a firm grasp on first place in this race, however we don't expect Jeff King and Hans Gatt who are in Koyuk resting now to let him get to big of a jump at this juncture in the race if their dogs are up to it.

The following is courtesy of Chris Waigl at this link

Iditarod GPS Confusion

2010-03-15T05:31:00.003-08:00

The Ionearth GPS tracking page for the 2010 Iditarod sled dog race has had it's share of problems so far, and now that the race has reached a critical juncture with the leaders in the vicinity of Koyuk, it is on the fritz again. I have been unable to access the page for 10 minutes now, but this is what I observed 30 minutes ago. Lance Mackey and Jeff King were parked in Koyuk taking a break. Hans Gatt had apparently blown through (or aroound?) Koyuk and was on his way to Elim. Back on the Norton bay Ice, Ken Anderson appeared to be headed in the wrong direction going far west of the indicated trail. In fact he was so far west that Ionearth was showing him in first place mistakenly thinking he was on the trail heading west out of Koyuk. It appeared that Hugh Neff was starting to veer in that direction. Back on insider, Jeff King was explaining how he almost got lost on the bay mistakenly headed for the wrong lights, and he struggled to find his way to Koyuk. Given this explanation, it is entirely possible that Gatt missed Koyuk as well. The official current standings show Mackey and King the only teams to check into Koyuk. I sure wish I could get the GPS page to work again so give me some clues as to what the heck is going on.

Another race up the coast

2010-03-14T06:33:00.004-08:00

Lance Mackey forgo any rest at the Kaltag Checkpoint and pulled into the Unalakleet checkpoint at 3:32 this morning to stake his claim on the Gold Coast award in the 2010 Iditarod sled dog race. Jeff King rested his team for nearly 4 hours at Kaltag and pulled into Unalakaleet less then 3 hours later. A bit further back on the trail are Hugh Neff, Hans Gatt, Mitch Seavey and John Baker. Gatt and Baker have been moving steadily up in the standings for the last 150 miles by cutting rest. With Mackey and King being in the lead, we are reminded of the epic battle up the Bering Sea coast these 2 waged in 2008. Here is a recap pf that battle as presented by the Crow Village Iditarod Blog.

Deja Vu for Mackey and King

Setting up for a Photo Finish

Mackey looking over his shoulder again

The race is on from Ruby

2010-03-12T10:21:00.002-09:00

9 teams are now resting at the Ruby checkpoint on this 6th day of the 2010 Iditarod sled dog race. At this point, the character of the race changes. The next 150 miles of trail mostly follow the Yukon river, and each team will be required to take one 8 hour layover at one of the 4 checkpoints on that stretch. Right now, it appears most will be taking that break at Ruby. That appears to be a good strategy, as most of these teams have taken several long runs over the most remote section of the Iditarod trail to get here. According to Jon Little, there is roughly 15 hours of running time between Ruby and Kaltag where the teams will leave the river and head toward the coast. That sounds like a good estimate to me. we expect most teams will rest again in Kaltag as they retool for the 80 to 90 mile stretch over Kaltag portage into Unalakleet, so how they choose to split the Yukon stretch up should be key to determining the pecking order in Kaltag.

Jeff King is clearly in the drivers seat at this point, and I suggest other teams will be keeping at least one eye on his progress when determining whether to stick with their own strategy. Jeff arrived in Ruby first with the second fastest trip from cripple, and he still has 15 solid dogs on his team. Look for King to try to reach Nulato 100 miles down the river to try to keep his chase pack behind him. Assuming both take their 8 in Ruby, Lance Mackey will depart Ruby an hour and 15 minutes after King. Mackey likes to take long runs at this point in the race, but a 15 hour run into Kaltag is probably even a bit too much for him. He might decide instead to follow King to Nulato, and cut his rest short there to close the gap on him. Hugh Neff was 10 minutes behing Mackey into Ruby, and has spent thousands of mile in long races staying within the vicinity of Mackey. We don't see that tendency changing at this point in the race. Mitch Seavey might be next. Mitch marches to the beat of his own drum, so guessing his strategy at this point carries some risk, but he may try to break the run up into 3 segments to keep good speed on his team. Hans Gatt should be next out of the chute, and he had the fastest team coming into Ruby. Gatt's strategy late in the game when winning this year's Yukon Quest was to run long with short rests, and his team was faster then anyone else who tried to duplicate that strategy. Look for Gatt to move up in position. Others in the mix currently are Sonny Lindner, Sebastian Schnuelle and Ken Anderson.

Cripple Confusion

2010-03-11T05:40:00.010-09:00

One news outlet is reporting that John Baker reached the Cripple checkpoint of the 2010 Iditarod sled dog race first. The Iditarod Trail Committee issued a press release stating that Dallas Seavey won the Dorothy Page Halfway award - an award given to the first team to reach the Cripple checkpoint. So what gives here? Here is our explanation.

The Ophir to Cripple leg of the Iditarod is officially listed as 59 miles in length. Several years ago, the location of the Cripple checkpoint was changed so that this length is actually closer to 80 miles. Paul Gebhardt has intimate knowledge of that change. In 2008 he was leading the race after a long run session heading into Cripple, but he couldn't find the checkpoint. He had been on the trail long enough that he thought he had passed the checkpoint and doubled back and that mistake cost him significant momentum that he was not able to recover from. At this point, we don't know if John Baker ran into similar issues, but his GPS data certainly showed that he was slowing at this portion of the race and Dallas Seavey was steadily closing the gap. The GPS map still has the Cripple checkpoint in the wrong location. so for those watching the GPS data closely, it appeared that first Baker, then Seavey went past the checkpoint. Eventually Seavey passed Baker, and pulled into the checkpoint first to collect the $3000 halfway award stash of gold. We should find out the details of what occurred on the trail leading to this reversal of fortunes before long, but for now, it looks like Baker has lost some momentum.

UPDATE: Ionearth has now corrected the location of the Cripple checkpoint. (link)

Iditarod fans, meet your Top 20

2010-03-11T05:16:00.010-09:00

After crunching many numbers over the past 12 hours, calculating off 24 times and estimating run times, the only thing that can be said with any certainty is

1) Jeff King is currently in first place.

2) There is a lot of race left and anything can happen.

But here is a current Top 20 list with estimated arrival times coming into Ruby.

Gatt makes his move

2010-03-10T06:56:00.004-09:00

Remind me to eat a piece of pie the next time I visit Takotna. 4 time Iditarod winner Jeff King always seems to choose this town of 50 along the banks of the Takotna river for his 24 hour layover, and the chance to eat a piece of one of those famous pies is a big reason for that. King indicated that would be the case again this year when he arrived first at this checkpoint in the 2010 Iditarod sled dog race. At this writing, there are more then a dozen other teams taking extended rest there which for many of them may indeed turn into their one mandatory 24 hour layover. Hans Gatt, the recent winner of the fastest 1000 mile Yukon Quest ever was having none of that however. As he pulled into the checkpoint, his GPS tracking device measured -21 degrees (F), but he was all business and left the checkpoint immediately, possibly even forgetting to sign his log book. This move gave him a 1 hour jump on the next team piloted by Cim Smyth. John Baker stayed 6 hours, and then decided to give chase as well. He may get the chance to pass the two front runners by skipping rest at the next checkpoint if those 2 decide to pull over there. These 3 teams will need to take their 24 at some point, and positions will likely get jostled again, so only time will tell if the decision to forgo the Takotna hospitality was a mistake or smart choice, but this much is certain, the trail from Takotna to Ophir is currently fast with the low temperature, hard snowpack and little wind. This is Alaska however, and that is all subject to change.

Schnuelle takes early Iditarod lead

2010-03-09T05:44:00.003-09:00

Sebastian Schnuelle, the German born musher who now resides in Whitehorse Canada has charged forward from his middle starting position to the lead 200 miles into the 1049 mile 2010 Iditarod sled dog race. As his seasoned 16 dog team leads coming into Nikolai, he finds himself in a familiar position. In the 2009 edition of this race, Schnuelle started in the middle of the pack and worked his way into first place by the Nikolai checkpoint. Given that he leveraged that early start into a second place finish, it should come as no surprise that he is re-utilizing a similar strategy. Another habit he might not have shaken quite yet is looking over his shoulder for a team commandeered by the now legendary Lance Mackey. Mackey, who won the 2009 race ahead of Schnuelle started 13 places behind Schnuelle that year and had closed to within 6 teams of the him by Nikolai. Mackey started 14 places behind his bushy haired foe this year and thus far has closed within 9 teams of the lead.

Other teams within 20 miles of the lead are Mitch Seavey, John Baker, Hugh Neff, Warren Palfrey, Hans Gatt, Jeff King, Dallas Seavey, Zack Steer, Gary Willomitzer, and Aliy Zirkle. There is plenty of leap frogging of teams at this stage of the race as the variety of run rest schedules is typically diverse this early in the race. The Iditarod GPS tracking service has the potential to give the fans additional insight into those schedules if that data could be supplied in aggregate similar to what is done with the free GPS service provided by the 1000 mile Yukon quest, however, that capability has yet to be leveraged by the Iditarod Trail Committee, but perhaps we will see that in future years.

The Iditarod Mane Battle

2010-03-07T15:50:00.010-09:00

Three time Iditarod winner Lance Mackey and 2009 Iditaord runner Sebastian Schnuelle up have a side bet going in the 2010 Iditarod sled dog race. The bet is that whoever comes behind the other in Nome has to get a hair cut.

Iditarod rookies face challenges

2010-03-05T13:35:00.008-09:00

The 2010 Iditarod sled dog race will feature 22 mushers who have not completed the race before. For the top finishing rookie comes the distinguished Rookie of the Year award. Last year's award was won by Chad Lindner who came in 30th place. Rookies have the privledge of treking accros 100 miles of Alaska wilderness with variable snow conditions and weather that can turn downright nasty. They must negotiate famous features in the trail including the Dalzell Gorge, the Steps, the snowless Farewell Burn, and the Bering Sea coast. Picking a rookie who will do well through that is difficult, but here are some rookies to watch out for.

Michelle Phillips born in Whitehorse Yukon grew up as a competitive figure skater. She has competed in the Yukon Quest 5 times finishing 4th in 2004, and never finishing worse than 8th.

Marshall Newton from Jamaica where he has worked for the Jamaica Dogsled Team (JDT) for 5 years. JDT first gained notoriety through the movie Snow Dogs which was very loosely based on some real events. Snow rarely occurs in Jamaica, so the JDT gives sled dog tours by pulling wheeled sleds with dogs gathered from the local pound. This is hardly sufficient training for the Iditarod, so in 2008/2009 Newton went to the Yukon to train with 4 time Yukon Quest champion Hans Gatt. He raced in the 100 mile Yukjon Quest with a team from the Gatt kennel and finished an impressive 13th (out of 29) in the 2009 1000 mile Yukon Quest. This season he has been living and training with Lance Mackey who has a pretty impressive resume himself.

40 year old Dan Kaduce has had 4 top 10 finishes in the Yukon Quest. He has been racing dogs for 15 years.

26 year old Dave Decaro has been a dog handler and tour guide for Jeff King over the last 3 years. He was rookie of the year in the 2008 Kusko 300. He'll have some King dogs on his team.

18 year old Quinn Iten will be the youngest musher in this year's Iditarod. He is son of Iditarod veteran Ed Iten. Quinn has finished 3rd in the Junior Iditarod and should field a strong team from the Iten Kennel in Kotzebue with Ed sitting out this year's race. These dogs should handle any cold weather just fine.

Race Results Recap

2010-03-03T07:03:00.013-09:00

Having trouble making your 2010 Iditarod picks?

This post presents how some of the racers have performed thus far this year.

GinGin200
place	Name	Time
1	Lance Mackey	30:48:00
2	Brent Sass	32:06:00
3	Josh Cadzow	33:28:00
4	Braxton Peterson	34:23:00
5	Mike Ellis	35:44:00
6	Dallas Seavey	36:10:00
7	Mitch Seavey	37:05:00
8	Sam Deltour	37:19:00
9	Collen Kallio	37:53:00
10	Sonny Lindner	38:05:00
11	Robert Mortier	38:10:00
12	Dries Jacobs	38:11:00
13	Jason Mackey	40:00:00
14	Cain Carter	40:49:00
15	Newton Marshall	41:01:00
16	Jason Weitzel	43:51:00
17	Peter Fleck	44:21:00
18	Cody Strache	47:21:00
19	Terry Williams	50:35:00
20	Robert Tasso	51:43:00
21	Brennan Norden	52:10:00
	Greg Stoddard	Scratch
	Caleb Hathaway	Scratch

1	Michelle Phillips	32:31:00
2	Abbie West	33:07:00
3	Maren Bradley	41:47:00
4	Heidi Sutter	42:33:00
5	Elaine Martin	42:46:00
6	Joselyne LeBlanc	47:17:00
7	Paige Drobny	48:19:00
8	Kelly Griffin	49:41:00
	Frederick	scratch
	Zoya DeNure	WD

Tustumena 200
1	Jeff King	13:36:00
2	Cim Smyth	14:13:00
3	DeeDee Jonrowe	14:33:00
4	Micah Degerlund	15:06:00
5	Scott Smith	15:32:00
6	Lance Mackey	15:44:00
7	Zack Steer	15:50:00
8	Ramey Smyth	15:53:00
9	Jim Lanier	16:08:00
10	Ryan Redington	16:32:00
11	Jesse Royer	16:35:00
12	Cindy Barrand	17:26:00
13	Braxton Peterson	17:27:00
14	Jon Little	18:02:00
15	Robert Bundtzen	20:02:00
16	Didier Moggia	21:14:00
17	Kristy Berington	12:50:00
18	Shaynee Seipke	1:00:00
19	Sam Deltour	4:19:00
20	Travis Beals	4:19:00
21	Kelly Maixner	6:53:00
22	Misha Pedersen	13:47:00
23	Bob Storey	13:49:00
24	Elaine Martin
25	Therese Bartlett
26	William Pinkham
27	Dave DeCaro
28	Michael Suprenant

Knick 200
1	Micah Derlund	7:18:08
2	Erin Reddington	7:57:12
3	Ken Anderson	8:12:21
4	Hugh Neff	8:38:49
5	Judy Currier	9:29:09
6	John Little	9:39:01
7	Karin Anderson	10:16:20
8	Dave Dalton	12:13:23
9	Varin Holt	13:29:17
10	Magus Kalterborn	15:30:35

Copper Basin 300
1	Jeff King	50:34:00
2	Allen Moore	50:41:00
3	Josh Cadzo	51:24:00
4	Sonny Lindner	51:52:00
5	Dan Kaduce	52:06:00
6	Ray Redington	52:22:00
7	Sven Haltmann	52:28:00
8	Brent Sass	52:32:00
9	Zak Steer	52:56:00
10	Hugh Neff	53:12:00
11	Aliy Zirkle	53:28:00
12	John Schandelmeier	54:12:00
13	Jodi Bailey	56:36:00
14	Anjanette Steer	56:56:00
15	Colleen Robertia	57:16:00
16	Mike Ellis	57:54:00
17	Kristy berington	58:17:00
18	Gerry Wilomitzer	58:50:00
19	Magnus Klatenborn	58:53:00
20	Mike Santos	59:00:00
21	Same Deltou	59:03:00
22	Jake Berkowitz	60:08:00
23	Vecca Moore	60:30:00
24	Bridgett Watkins	61:10:00
25	Sean Williams	62:32:00
26	Mari Troyshynski	63:13:00
27	Peter Fleck	66:25:00
28	Darrin Lee	66:44:00
29	Emil Churchin	68:17:00
30	Tamara Rose	68:44:00
31	Jen Raffaelli	68:49:00
32	David Dalton	69:38:00
33	Jane Faulkner	70:30:00

Kuskokwim 300
1	John Baker	47:56:22
2	Martin Buser	49:23:16
3	Lance Mackey	49:57:06
4	Dallas Seavey	52:18:17
5	Paul F. Gebhardt	56:30:11
6	Mike Williams Jr	56:43:06
7	Ramey Smyth	57:39:16
8	Jackie Larson	60:59:33
9	Mike Williams Sr	63:17:45
10	Peter Kasier	65:22:49
11	Quinn Iten	67:16:54
12	William 'Middy' Johnson	71:54:13
13	Mitch Seavey	scratch
14	Jeff King	W
15	Ronald Nathan Underwood Sr	W
16	Richie Diehl	W
17	Robert Nelson	W

Yukon Quest
1	Hans Gatt	13:35
2	Lance Mackey	14:38
3	Hugh Neff	16:18
4	Zack Steer	3:58
5	Ken Anderson	4:01
6	Sonny Lindner	10:14
7	Joshua Cadzow	13:18
8	Brent Sass	16:01
9	Abbie West	21:45
10	Normand Casavant	22:20
11	Sam Deltour	2:03
12	Dries Jacobs	4:53
13	Mike Ellis	9:38
14	David Dalton	12:46
15	Kelley Griffin	18:02
16	Cindy Barrand	23:21
17	Bart De Marie	13:14
18	Peter Fleck	15:22
19	Jennifer Raffaeli	16:17
20	Katie Davis	0:07
21	Pierre-Antoine Heritier	8:20
22	Jocelyne LeBlanc	21:37

Crow Village 2010 Iditarod Preview

2010-03-01T05:14:00.005-09:00

With the Ceremonial start of the 2010 Iditarod sled dog race slated for Saturday March 6th, racers are preparing for what looks to be a very competitive field. various groups are putting together their pools for picking the winners (including the staff at CVIB) Here is a breakdown of some of the favorites in no particular order.

John Baker - 3rd in last years race and almost always a top 10 finisher. He beat an impressive field in this years Kusko 300.

Sebastian Schneulle - Wild hair. 2nd in last years race. He thought about retiring, but coming back for one more kick at the can. There was much less racing for him this year.

Lance Mackey - winner 3 years in a row. Need I say more? He showed he can be beat at Kusko 300 and Yukon Quest this year. In anticipation of new drug testing at the Iditarod this year, the medicinal marijuana user has already had to adjust his race "practices" at the Yukon Quest, and he still seems to be hitting on all cylinders.

Hugh Neff - trail buddy with Mackey. They always seem to run together, so if Mackey is in position to win, Neff might be there too.

Hans Gatt - 4 time winner of 1000 mile Yukon Quest. The only other musher to do that is Mackey. Won the Quest this year over Mackey and some other formidable foes. He beat previous record in that race by 23 hours with a step change in strategy, running long and resting short.

Zack Steer - doesn't always race Iditarod, but when he does he is good. He set the pace in this years Quest, however fell behind later in the race when he chose to still do long rests and the leaders didn't.

Jeff King - 4 time Iditarod winner, and donated $50,000 to the Iditarod prize pool. Jeff is always in the hunt. He may well be on his farewell tour this year but he does have a young team with fresh legs.

Martin Buser - 3 time Iditarod winner and still holds the fastest time. His epic 2002 race in 2002 completed in less then 9 days was done with the traditional run/rest schedule, however his team that year had some incredible speed. He still resists the new strategy to run long and rest short opting instead to challenge with team speed.

Dallas Seavey - Great race last year finishing 5th. He bought Aaron Burmester's 7th place team. Son of Mitch Seavey, who is a pretty good pick as well. Both of them adhere to traditional run/rest schedules.

Jesse Royer - She finished 8th last year by dealing with the extreme weather. Her training in cold weather this year may end up helping her. Jesse seems to improve her game every year, but modern veterinary science suggests she will be without her incredible 11 year old lead dog Kuling in this year's event.

Paul Gebhardt - powered by twinkies and always toward the front, yet always dealing with hard luck. He is a master of all trail conditions. We will certainly be watching his wife's race blog, as it is one of the best.

Ken Anderson - Mackey's neighbor in Fox Alaska, so he knows what a new Dodge pickup looks like. He is trying the "double" again this year by racing both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod. This has worked well for him in the past and there is an additional week between the races this year (Thank you YQ), so his team that did not push hard in the Quest should be primed to go. After his trick broke down at the Yukon Quest, he will be dreaming about the new Dodge pickup given to the winner of the Iditarod similar to how Mackey was dreaming about it 4 years ago. His wife Gwen Holdman maintains a top notch race blog that we follow closely as well.

Cim Smyth - 5th place finish last year, and no less then 12th over the last 4. He is always fast at the end and this could be his year.

Look for us to handicap some of the rookies later this week.

Gatt looks towards 4th YQ win

2010-02-15T10:08:00.006-09:00

With the SPOT tracking devices showing Yukon Quest leaders Hans Gatt, Lance Mackey, and Hugh Neff all within 10 miles of each other, Whitehorse resident Hans Gatt is looking to capture his 4th title as his teams heads through familiar territory to the Whitehorse finsh line in what will be the fastest Quest ever. If he get there first, he might have a kink in his neck from looking behind him for the one guy who has already won this race 4 times. It looks now like he should cross the finish line shortly after 2PM pacific time. Below is a link to the webcam at the finish line.

Whitehorse Webcam

Back at Braeburn, there is another dogfight developing for 4th place. Both Zack Steer and Ken Anderson arrived at this checkpoint within 1 minute of each other. they will take their mandatory 8 hour layover and depart for the trail again 1 minute apart with Anderson in the lead and 100 miles of trail to the finish. With nobody threatening from behind, it will be interesting to see if they back off the pace or race each other to the very end. Both must consider how their strategy will position themselves for the Iditarod race in 2 weeks time.

Yukon Quest now a 3 team race

2010-02-14T06:39:00.003-09:00

Carmacks, Yukon Territory, Canada: Lance Mackey, Hugh Neff and Hans Gatt all arrived at this outpost of 426 people within 15 minutes of each other. With 177 miles left in the 1000 mile Yukon Quest dog sled race, each is sizing up the others to determine how best to approach the finish. With other teams at least 7 hours back on the trail. the race winner will come from this group. Here are some links to allow you to catch up on the recent action:

Fairbanks News-Miner

Jon Little blog

Windy Creek Kennel (Ken Anderson) blog

Yukon Quest Leaders Reset at Dawson

2010-02-11T06:54:00.006-09:00

Hans Gatt and his team of 13 dogs was the first musher to arrive into the Dawson City checkpoint at 6:02 Wednesday evening in his quest to win his 4th Yukon Quest dog sled race. Lance Mackey who has already won 4 Yukon Quest races arrived more then 2 and a half hours later. Hugh Neff, Zack Steer, and Ken Anderson round out the top 5.

Dawson City is considered the halfway point in this race. All teams are required to take a 36 hour layover, and it is the one checkpoint where the mushers can recieve help managing their teams. The first Musher to arrive at this outpost is elgible to take home 4 ounces of Klondike placer gold which is worth $4070 canadian at todays rates, however to take that award home, the musher needs to finish the race. Hans Gatt scratched in last year's quest to better prepare for the Iditarod, so the luster of that placer gold provides him incentive to finish the roughly 500 miles left in this year's event.

For the majority of the race to this point, 4 teams have been jockeying for the lead maintaining close proximity to each other. Those 4 are still the top 4 in the standings - Gatt, Mackey, Neff, and Steer. Between Circle and Dawson that pack began to spread out as Gatt and Mackey started taking longer runs between rests, and Neff and Steer maintained schedules similar to what they had been using from the beginning. Using longer runs tends to decrease the team speed, and the GPS tracking data seems to confirm that has happened with Gatt and Mackey. Teams will be finishing their layovers Friday morning, and it will be interesting to see if what affect the rest will have on the speed teamss are able to maintain into the finish.

Ken Anderson who has 2 teams in this year's Quest, has been steady closing the gap on the leaders. Since the start time differential is made up at the Dawson layover, he will be coming off his layover only 2 minutes after Zack Steer, so he certainly be looking to advance his position. Anderson adjusted his feeding program this year by removing meat and providing 100% dry Redpaw to his team. So far they have had great appetites, so he will look to aggressively feed them during the layover so he can make a strong push to the finish. This will be one team to keep an eye on especially if he gets within range of his neighbor Lance Mackey who will leave Dawson in 3rd place due to his early (11) start position.

Yukon Quest enhances use of GPS

2010-02-09T09:48:00.006-09:00

As we wait for the arrival of the first teams into the Eagle Alaska checkpoint, we can't help notice that the Yukon Quest dogsled race is following the Iditarod's lead in use of GPS tracking of sleds to enhance the spectators experience in following a dog sled race across vast remote territory. However, the richness of information provided by the Quest by aggregating the GPS data significantly surpasses what is available from the Iditarod. It could be that once fans have a chance to enjoy the benefit the free GPS features the Quest is utilizing this year, the fee based GPS service for the Iditarod will pale in comparison.

Case in point is the Race Replay feature shown below.

It should be noted that when GPS data is not available, the tracking software merely extrapolates position between points where data has been received which may show the allusion that the team being tracked has veered of course. It is entertaining none-the-less. By clicking on the individual teams one can access additional data for that team. Here is a graph of Zack Steer's speed over time which details some interesting run/rest schedule and average speed parameters that are only available when you aggregate the data.

Use of the GPS tracking at the Yukon Quest is voluntary this year, yet only one musher declined to use it. Only time will tell if this become mandatory in future Quest's and if it becomes standard fare at the Iditarod, but this blogger beleives he has seen the future and he likes it.

3 lead Yukon Quest

2010-02-08T05:43:00.002-09:00

4 time Yukon Quest winner Lance Mackey was the first musher into the Circle City Checkpoint about 35% into the Yukon Quest dog sled race. Zack Steer arrived 8 minutes later and Hugh Neff arrived 2 minutes after Steer. The Circle City checkpoint is the northern most point on the 100 mile route in an Alaska town with a population of about 100.

John Baker wins Kusko

2010-01-18T05:03:00.004-09:00

John Baker at K300 finish
photo by Ian Foulds

With 10 dogs out of 14 still on line John Baker won the race he has been trying to take for 15 years by placing first in the 2010 addition of the Kuskokwim 300. Baker, who placed 3rd in last years Iditarod has 10 top finishes in his 14 Iditarods but has never placed higher then 4th in the K300. Considering he has a small 35 dog kennel in Kotzebue, this demonstrates unequaled consistency for long distance dog sled racers. Baker began closing the deal 100 miles from the finish when he started putting some distance between himself and Iditarod winners Lance Mackey and Martin Buser. His lead dogs Velvet and Snickers helped him gain a 41 minute edge over the toughest portion of the trail between Kalskag and Tuluksak a 50 mile stretch where there was little snow and plenty of ultra smooth river ice to contend with. Even though he was still looking over his shoulder for his well qualified contenders by the time he got to Bethel, he had extended that lead to an hour and 36 minutes.

Following Baker, Martin Buser came in second, Lance Mackey was third, Dallas Seavey was fourth and Paul Gebhardt rounded out the top 5. Once again, weather was the big story for the Kusko with wind chill temperatures of minus-60 and howling winds during portions of the race. 3 time K300 winner Mitch Seavey scratched on Saturday with frozen eyeballs, according to a race official, and 8 time K300 winner Jeff King who has endured the full spectrum of weather in this race scratched before the race began.

Baker increases K300 lead over Mackey

2010-01-17T12:40:00.005-09:00

Taking his 4 hour mandatory layover is tiny Tuluksak, Alaska, John Baker has the first chance to take a good look at his chief competition in the Kukskokwim 300 dogsled race in the past 9 hours. That competion is none other then 3 time Iditarod and 4 time Yukon Quest winner Lance Mackey. Mackey has never won the K300 race, however his brother Rick Mackey won it in 1985 and 1987. Baker has increased his lead from a virtual dead heat 50 miles ago in Kalskag to a 41 minute cushion. If he can hold on to that lead for 50 more miles, he will be crowned the 2010 K300 champion and claim the $20,00 first place prize money. You can be assured that mackey will not give it to him without a fight however.

The trail from Tuluksak takes a more southern route for 37 miles to the checkpoint at Kwethlu, and then the final 15 miles into Bethel. Martin Buser is currently running 3rd and Dallas Seavey is running 4th.

Baker and Mackey dual for the lead

2010-01-17T04:48:00.011-09:00

John Baker arrives into Aniak

Photo by Dave Cannon

John Baker has been hanging with the Kuksokwim 300 leaders the entire race. Somewhere along the 30 miles from the turn around point at Napaimute and the second stop at the checkpoint in Napaimute he grabbed the lead from Lance Mackey. Mackey left Napaimute after only resting there for 2 minutes with a 46 minute lead. By the time they got back to Aniak, Baker, who only stopped at Napaimute for 1 minute, had practically reversed that spread arriving 39 minutes ahead of Mackey. Both chose to grab some rest again at Aniak with Baker stopping for 1 hour 44 minutes, and Mackey leaving at the same time only resting 1 hour 23 minutes. They both arrived in at the same time, 33 miles later at Kalskag, did their business, and left a few minutes later with Baker having a slim 2 minute lead. Mackey required a few extra minutes at that checkpoint to drop 2 dogs. He now has 8 on his team compared to 11 for Baker.

From here the trail runs to Tuluksak where a mandatory 4 hour layover is required. If the teams do not break until then, it will be a welcome break. In past years, teams have chosen to take about a 2 hour break on the return trip somewhere between Aniak and Kalskag. For these 2, the rest was cut short at Aniak, plus they are dealing with a longer course, so we'll see. After Tuluksak, the trail takes a different route then the outbound loop traveling to Kwethluk instead of Akiachak. There is a checkpoint at Kwethluk, so any sleep deprived musher who mistakenly misses that route will be disqualified.

Following Mackey out of Kalskag 43 minutes later is Martin Buser. The next 2 teams coming down the trail come from some impressive bloodlines. 22 year old Dallas Seavey currently running in 4th place is son of Iditarod and 3-time K300 champion Mitch Seavey. Mitch himself is the son of Dan Seavey who placed 3rd and 5th in the first 2 Iditarods. Following Dallas is 18 year old Quinn Iten. Quinn is the son of Ed Iten who has won the K300 race before and finished 2nd in the 2005 Iditarod. Both are scheduled to run the Iditarod next month, Dallas for the 4th time and Quinn for his first.

Mackey dealing with wind going out from Aniak
Photo by Dave Cannon

Mackey restores K300 lead

2010-01-16T16:49:00.009-09:00

Lance Mackey who has never won the Kuskowim 300 dog sled race leapfrogged past race leader Pete Kaiser in Aniak to regain his lead 130 miles into this year's frigid icy K300 race. Kaiser had left the previous checkpoint in Kalskag first while Mackey and several others were taking their 6 hour layover. Kaiser appears to be taking his layover now in Aniak. 2 time K300 winner Martin Buser left Aniak 26 minutes after Mackey to claim the second spot with Kotzebue race John Baker following 14 minutes later.

Conditions for the race are being described as brutal. With lack of snow, frigid temps, and a strong head wind, dogs and racers are testing their limits. Reining K300 winner Mitch Seavey scratched at Kalskag after being lost early in the race and losing up to 2 hours on the leaders. For a race that mostly follows the second largest river in Alaska, it might seem odd that someone could get lost, but there is plenty of opportunity for that. Initial sections of the trail actually take an overland route, so that is one possibility. Also with little snow, sometimes trail markers don't stick and trails of previous teams are hard to find. I got lost on the a snowmobile trip once in the middle of some bends and islands on the Kuskokwim river at night when the visibility was bad enough that I couldn't make out the land features and I wasn't sure if I was headed downstream or upstream.

With lack of snow, the dogs get very little water via a technique known as "dipping". That is grabbing some snow with their tongues as they are running through it. As Because of that, it is very important to keep the dogs hydrated in other ways. Mushers have been taking coolers of water with them from checkpoints, and stopping along the trail to hydrate. While the dogs run faster on hard trail, these additional stops will slow down the overall time. With the course about 25 miles longer this year, we don't expect any race records.

Still within striking distance of the leaders is a closely packed group of 3 teams including Dallas Seavey, Ramey Smyth and Paul F. Gebhardt. Current temperature in Aniak is minus 15 with winds out of the north at 13 mph. From here the trail goes 30 miles to the native Village of Napaimute where our friend Mark Leary is waiting with a fresh pot of coffee. Mark drove the trail from Aniak to Napaimute yesterday, and we were hoping to get a trail report from him, but that hasn't happened yet, so stay tuned.

Mackey takes early K300 lead

2010-01-16T08:00:00.004-09:00

Wearing bib number 1, Lance Mackey checked into the Kalskag checkpoint at the 98 mile marker of the Kuskokwim 300 dog sled race. Mackey left the starting chute first in Bethel at 6:30 pm on Friday January 16th, and checked into Kalskag at 4:40 am Saturday morning setting a fast pace at 10 miles an hour. 19 minutes later, wearing bib 10, Martin Buser checked in holding on to second place. Buser's start time was 8 minutes later then Mackey's and that difference will be made up at the 6 hour mandatory layover that all mushers are required to take in either Kalskag or Aniak on the inbound or outbound routes. As of this writing, there are 10 teams checked into Kalskag including pre-race favorites Paul Gebhardt, and Dallas Seavey. Running a very strong race currently in 3rd position is perennial K300 racer Mike Williams Jr from Akiak. No teams have checked out of Kalskag yet with the leaders now having been parked there for better then 3 hours.

The trail from Kalskag to Crow Village is 26 miles with another 7 miles from Crow Village to Aniak.

Weather Stickers

2010-01-15T13:16:00.001-09:00

K300 dog sled race begins tommorrow

2010-01-14T05:54:00.010-09:00

At 6:30 pm on Friday January 15, the 30th annual Kukskokwim 300 dog sled race will begin in Bethel, Alaska. Arguably the highest regarded mid-distance dog sled race in the world, the race again features $100,000 in prize money with $20,000 going to the first place finisher. A world class group of mushers have signed on to claim their piece of that prize money. We'll try our best to handicap the favorites. Here are the top 5 in no particular order.

With only 2.6 inches of snow falling on Bethel in December, the trail which mostly follows the Kuskokwim River will cause icy conditions. Not only does that make for difficult conditions for the team, but adds complexity to the handicapping process for us since some of the conventional wisdom no longer applies. For instance Mitch Seavey who has won 3 out of the past 5 K300s has won those races under deep or wet snow conditions. With no snow in the forecast and temperatures predicted to be sub-zero, he won't likely see those types of conditions. He takes this race seriously though and tends to be pushed very hard by one of his offspring (see below), so he makes our top 5 list.

22 year old Dallas Seavey had a statement year in 2009 when he finished 6th in the Iditarod. He learned his craft from one of the best, and would certainly like to make a statement by beating his mentor (see above), so he get's a spot in the top 5 as well.

Paul Gebhardt has dabbled with the K300 on a few occasions in the past and is back for another go after skipping last year's race. Gebhardt's strategy in the past has been to charge hard from the getgo, and that may play well with a fast trail this year. If his team can handle the ice, and his luck holds out, the 2-time Iditarod runner-up should finish well.

Martin Buser has raced the K300 since Blue was a pup, and dueled with Jeff King for the lead in many of those years. Buser's game has been off a bit for a few years now, but you never know when his game might come into focus again. He still holds the record for the fastest Iditarod finish, so we certainly can't count him out.

Living his whole life in Bethel, nobody knows this area more then 22 year old Pete Kaiser who surprised everyone but himself with a 6th place finish in last year's K300. Pete is one of a select few who have been training on the icy Kuskokwim trail the entire season. He will be running his first Iditarod race this year, so hw will need to finish this race to qualify, but beyond that, he has an intense deisre to do well in front of his hometown crowd. Pete's small kennel works against him, but we are picking him as our sentimental favorite in the top 5.

Honorable mention:

I'm told that we can only pick 5 teams for the top 5 prediction, so with this loaded filed, some first rate teams were left off that list. Somehow, reining 3-time Iditarod winner Lance Mackey did not make our top 5. Mackey has not fared well in his occasional K300 races for some reason. Perhaps it is because he chooses to hold back here so his team is better prepared for the big race. It would not surprise us at all if he takes the reins and decides to dominate this race as well, so we might well wish we had picked him once the race is over.

8-time K300 winner Jeff King probably knows this race more then anyone, except we have a new longer and flatter course this year, and he hasn't seen a K300 race with this much ice before. After donating $50,000 to the 2010 Iditarod prize pool, Jeff is not in this race for the money. He is in it for the glory, and has handled every other curve-ball that the K300 has thrown at him before with great results, so look for him at the front of the pack. Jeff has withdrawn from the race this year so he moves out of the top 5 and Martin Buser takes his spot.

K300 has impressive field

2010-01-04T05:36:00.003-09:00

An all-star cast is gearing up to take on the Kuskokwim 300 (K300) dogsled race slated to begin January 15th in Bethel, Alaska. Defending champ Mitch Seavey is back for a return engagement along with his hard charging son Dallas Seavey. 8 time K300 winner Jeff King is returning to restore his name on the leader board. Defending 3 time Iditarod winner Lance Mackey is scheduled to return after a year absence from the race. 4 time iditarod winner and 2 time K300 winner Martin Buser is back for the umpteenth consecutive year. Martin always runs a very competitive K300. Paul Gebhardt returns after a years absence to a race he had a commanding lead of in 2008 before busting his sled. And one of our favorites, Nathan Underwood returns after missing several years. The Aniak native Underwood was convinced to come out of retirement after the Sleetmute Native Association graciously agreed to cover his entry fee. Nathan returned the favor by providing the village with a giant batch of lush. Other Kuksokwim valley racers include Richie Diehl, Mike Williams Jr and Sr, and 22 year old Pete Kaiser who finished 6th in last year's competitive K300.

A change in the course this year put's the length of the race slightly over 300 miles as opposed to recent races where the total was closer to 260. Gone is the Pike Lake out and back loop, and added is the turn around checkpoint at the Native Village of Napaimute. We like this change, but it will force perennial K300 racers like King and Buser to rethink their strategy that has worked well for them with the Pike Lake loop. Look for our prediction of favorites here as the race draws closer, and as usual, we hope to have on-site reporters covering the action.

Mackey to train Jamiacan

2009-08-18T04:54:00.002-08:00

Link

Winter Trail fire 95% contained

2009-06-24T08:02:00.002-08:00

Mop up continued in divisions F and A, where 300` interior mop up is complete. Crews continued toward 300` mop up in divisions N and W. Observed fire behavior included smoldering in mixed hardwoods. Crews will continue to work toward 300` mop up and grid in all divisions. Gannett Glacier T2IA and Nondalton T2 crews will demob at 1400. The fire will be flown with palm IR from helicopter. Helicopter 99675 demobed at 1100 on 6/22 and helicopter 500EH will tentatively demob at 1400 on 6/24. 122 personell remain on scene. There was no change in size and the fire is 95% contained.

Given that the entire CVIB staff will be deeply immersed in a flood damage mitigation and subsistence workshop over the next 11 days, this is the last CVIB update on this fire unless it flares up again.

Winter trail fire update

2009-06-23T07:36:00.000-08:00

Fire behavior increased as drying continued. Some creeping was observed, mainly in mixed hardwood stands. Pioneer Peak IHC worked to secure the perimeter in division N. Some activity near the perimeter by the division N/W break required bucket work from a helicopter. Mop up continued 200`-300` in from the perimeter on divisions A and F. Division W was unstaffed. On 6/23, crews will continue mopping up 300` in on Division A, F, and W. Mop up will begin in division N. Firefighters will patrol the perimeter. Reduction in size (-91 acres) is due to more accurate GPS mapping from a helicopter. 122 personnel remain on scene. The fire is 80% contained.

Fire is 70% contained

2009-06-22T08:07:00.001-08:00

Monday June 22 update:
Name: Winter Trail
Cause: Human
282 CALIS
Lat: 61:35:33
Lon: 159:50:26
Personnel: 143
Acres: 2,400.0
Start Date: 6/17/09

Taking advantage of the weather, and fire behavior moderation, crews continued working the fire perimeter. Good progress was made up the West flank in division F, as crews made it from H-30, North around the head of the fire securing the line to the division F/N break. Crews mopped up in 100` from H-30 to the Kuskokwim River. The Chena IHC demobed and returned to Fairbanks. Fire behavior was limited to smoldering under mixed hardwoods and there was no change in size. On 6/22, crews will continue securing the perimeter from the division F/N break South through division N toward division W. Crews will begin mop up in division F. Mop up to continue to 300` in division A. The TFR was removed from the fire area. 143 personnel remain on the fire. The fire is now 70% contained.

Winter Trail fire slows

2009-06-22T05:24:00.002-08:00

Sunday June 21 update:
Name: Winter Trail
Cause: Human
282 CALIS
Lat: 61:35:33
Lon: 159:50:26
Personnel: 137
Acres: 2,400.0
Start Date: 6/17/09

A type 3 management organization is in place. Due to cooler and wetter weather, and subsequent fire behavior, fire managers have chosen to attack the fire directly. Crews were re-inserted on the fire and began securing the perimeter. Crews made good progress on both flanks of the fire and the fire is 40% contained. Allotment and structure assessments continued along the Kuskokwim River corridor. Observed fire behavior was limited to creeping and smoldering. Crews will continue securing the perimeter from H-30 toward the head of the fire and mop up from H-30 back to the
heel. 137 personnel are working the fire. A TFR remains in place above the fire area. Increase in acreage of 92 acres.

Winter trail fire grows

2009-06-19T07:07:00.002-08:00

June 19 update:
Name: Winter Trail
Cause: Human
282 CALIS
Lat: 61:35:33
Lon: 159:50:26
Personnel: 127
Acres: 1,500.0
Start Date: 6/17/09

High winds hampered containment efforts once again. A lack of natural barriers in the area is making containment difficult. The fire has moved off the immediate river corridor in to an area with a large black spruce component and continues to move NW. The cloud ceiling in place over the fire burned off by mid afternoon, and in combination with increased SE winds, led to a sudden increase in fire activity. Fire behavior progressed from creeping and isolated single tree torching to group torching, running, and short range spotting in the afternoon. Crews continued to build and secure line along the flanks of the fire. Good progress was made from the anchor point down both flanks in the morning. The head of the fire was worked throughout the day by aircraft, which was ultimately unsuccessful. The fire burned through a wet area with a creek, and increased in intensity when it progressed back into an area of heavy spruce component. The fire gained approximately 500 acres.
A TFR has been placed over the fire area.

Fire map

2009-06-19T05:10:00.003-08:00

Crow Village fire update

2009-06-18T09:15:00.003-08:00

Various reports have called this the "Crow Village" fire, however the Fire Service has tagged it the "Winter Trail" fire. At this time, Crow Village itself is not in danger, and the fire is being actively fought with 55 personnel and several aircraft. Here is the latest report from the fire service:

Lat: 61:35:33
Lon: 159:50:26

# 282 CALIS
Personnel: 55
The fire was reported 10 miles West of Aniak at 1550 by helicopter 500EH while flying near Aniak staging. The fire was in Full protection and activity was reported as running, group torching, and short range spotting in tundra, black spruce, and mixed hardwoods. The fire was on the North side of the Kuskokwim River, moving in a NW direction away from the river, fueled by high SE winds gusting to 24mph, which hampered control efforts. Resources mobilized included; Tankers 52, 55, and 267, Helicopters 230, 675, and 500EH, Jump 12 and 17, Air attack 909AK and lead A1. Pioneer Peak IHC and Chena IHC were moved to the fire from fire 255. Fire personnel are working to secure an anchor point and assessing property and values in the area. Actions planned for 6/18 will be to work the flank and secure the perimeter with assistance from air support. Crews are making good progress around the flanks at the time of this report. Fire was started from an escaped cooking fire.

Crow Village damage report

2009-05-14T05:46:00.003-08:00

Lisa and David were able to catch a ride to Crow Village on May 13 to inspect the damage from the flood up close. The pictures taken have been added to the flood album which you can view at this link. As speculated before from various aerial recognizance reports, the support structure for the deck has given way, and the little house has moved off it's foundation into the woods. It appears that the support stilts for the big house have been tweaked. Look for an update from Lisa or David here shortly.

update: As suspected, the pilings for the big house were tweaked, however it shouldn't be too difficult to straighten those out. The water did not enter the big house, but came within inches of doing so. The insulation beneath the house is completely soaked and will need to be replaced. That is not a fun job. The damage to the deck was caused by ice flowing into it, however it is all repairable. The little house is mostly still intact except for the one window that is cracked. We may decide to re-set it right where it sits. There was evidence of much turbulence in the smoke house, however, it seems to be surprisingly intact.

A couple of items known to be missing are the washer, and the wooden swing. Also, the seat from the outhouse is missing, so that gives a good indication regarding the depth of the water there. There is still reading material available in that edifice, however it is soaked.

Kalskag report

2009-05-07T08:44:00.002-08:00

Kalskag is 23 miles down river from Crow Village. The river issues there are possibly backing up to Crow Village. Here is the report from morning of May 7 on the Alaska River Forecast website:

The two ice jams between Aniak and Kalskag both released
this afternoon. The jam at the Kusko split (RM 167)
released and sent some of the ice down the Old River. This
surge likely helped push out the lower end of the Old River
so now it is freely flowing. The remainder of the ice went
down the main channel towards Kalskag. This run pushed down
the remaining ice sheets to Kalskag. The bottom end of the
jam below Lower Kalskag did peel off when the Old River blew
out. However the jam still holds and now backs up large
pans and sheets to a couple miles above Upper Kalskag.
About three miles of chunk ice is then stacked up behind the
pans/sheets to about 5 miles above Upper Kalskag. Water
levels have risen in Kalskag since the initial issuance of
the flood warning. The road between the airport and Lower
Kalskag is impassable with water levels encircling the
foundation of the old school that burned down. Flood waters
also cross the road between the airport and Upper Kalskag.
Minor flooding so far for Kalskag. On the detailed Kusko
maps, the back edge of the packed ice is right at 1st
Slough. This slough is taking much of the flow of the main
channel and bypassing Kalskag into the Old River...acting as
a little relief valve. The Birch Crossing jam also
released with a decent ice run heading downstream. During
our flight it had reached the split between the Old River
and main Kalskag channel. It looked like the ice run would
split down both channels. Earl just gave a late evening
report and it sounded like much of the ice run went down the
Old River after we left. Nonetheless, there is still a lot
of water above Kalskag so their flood levels may rise
overnight before the jam releases below Lower Kalskag.

Crow Village impacted by flood

2009-05-06T15:55:00.004-08:00

On the evening of May 5th, Rob Kinkade of Aniak Air Guides provide the first aerial view of the flood impact at Crow Village. The photographs show a high level of water in the village reaching the floor structure of the main building and steamhouse, inundating the out building, moving the small building, and some structural damage to the smoke house. It will likely be a week before an on site inspection can confirm extent of damage. Thankfully the decision was made to vacate prior to breakup. There are initial indications that remittance from state agencies will be forthcoming, however, we will be looking for volunteers to assist with the certain manual effort involved in remediation activities this summer. Look for an announcement on that in this blog on a later date.

Kuskokwim breakup causing flooding

2009-05-04T07:40:00.004-08:00

This year's breakup of the Kuskokwim river is causing havok. The picture is of the ice reaching the top of the Dike in Aniak directly outside the "Driftnet", and anybody who has carried a cooler full of salmon up that dike will attest that this is significant. Some water has passed over the dike, and the latest report is that the level is starting to slowly drop, however that situation can improve or deteriate at any time. Over the weekend there was flooding and evacuation at Red Devel and Napaimute which are upstream from Aniak. More available at this link.

Crow Village Iditarod Awards

2009-03-25T04:18:00.005-08:00

The Iditarod Trail Committee handed out 11 awards plus a Dodge pickup this year. This has inspired us to hand out a few awards of our own. The winners can collect their prizes in person at Crow Village Alaska during the subsistence fishing season this summer.

Second Best Blog

We had to take our blog out of the running to give everyone else a chance. This year's award goes to Jon Little. Jon has run the Iditarod 5 times and since 2004 he has done a terrific job following the race from the trail providing us insights, interviews, and pictures as a spokesperson for Cabellas. When Cabellas yanked the funding for his work this year, Jon continued bloggin' from his kennel in Kasilof not missing a beat.

Best Kennel Blog

This was a tossup between Gwen Holdmann of Ken Anderson's Windy Creek Kennel and Evy Gebhardt holding down the fort at Aspen Hollow Lodging while Paul worked his way up the trail. Both provided insights into their husband's strategy, stories about the trail and past races, and added information about the four legged athletes participating. Any time we are provided more information about the dogs, we are impressed. We gave the nod to Evy, since she answered our email.

Best Insider Video

The runaway winner was the footage of Jesse Royer as her team was charging directly into the wind heading towards the shelter cabin on the Norton Bay as Royer was energetically double poling the whole time. We think this footage played a key role in her lead dog Kuling winning the golden harness as it clearly demonstrated Kuling's enthusiasm being in solo lead under those conditions, and the amazement of the Insider team regarding the lead dog's capability. Did Jesse really double pole all the way from Shaktoolik to Koyuk?

Best Smile

Lance Mackey's lead dog Larry once again looked to be in his element as he flashed his turd-eating grin under the Burled Arch wearing the winning team's lead dog flower necklace for the third straight year. This time he shared the spotlight with the youngster Maple, but he seemed even more content knowing that the future of the Mackey team is in good hands.

Best Newcomer

When the stuff hit the fan on the coast, and all the teams were contemplating what to do, the first creature brave enough to step out on the Norton Sea was Lance Mackey's newest star Maple. Mackey sometimes says she is a 2 year old, and sometimes says she is a 3 year old, but if she hadn't led the way on the what Mackey described as the toughest run he has ever done, the race would have had a different winner.

Best Interview

Jim Keller's interview of Lance Mackey before the race wins this award. You can see the unshakable confidence of a man who knows he has a super team to take him on a historic journey.

Best Message Board

BSSD's message board has the most enthusiastic fans an event can ever hope for. When they mentioned our blog, that sealed the deal.

Best Webcam

BSSD picks up another award for their movable camera at the Unalakleet checkpoint. We wish the finishline camera could be this good.

Hunt puts out the Iditarod Lantern

2009-03-24T13:01:00.003-08:00

After years of working as an Iditarod Veterinarian during the race, Timothy Hunt became interested in actually running the race himself. Tim was born in Michigan and lived in Detroit where he attended Michigan State and received his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine. In 1993 Tim moved to Marquette, part of the unique Upper Peninsula of Michigan. He wanted to live in Marquette because he felt “I wanted to live where I vacationed”. At the same time Tim moved he began mushing.

As a rookie, Tim expectations were not to win but to accomplish a goal he set out for himself. We are not sure, but it is hard to imagine that goal to be the “Red Lantern” award. Although the Red Lantern award is generally not a goal of a musher, it is never-the-less a very prestigious award. This is an award which exemplifies the spirit and history of dog mushing in Alaska.

During the early days of western contact in Alaska During the days of Alaska sled dog freighting and mail carrying, dog drivers relied on a series of roadhouses between their village destinations. Since these mushers ventured out in all types of weather they decided to use a "flight plan." Word was relay ed ahead that a musher and team were on the trail, and a kerosene lamp was lit and hung outside the roadhouse. It not only helped the dog driver find his destination at night, but more importantly, it signified that a team or teams were somewhere out on the trail. The lamp was not extinguished until the musher safely reached his destination.

Beginning in 1986, Chevron USA continued the tradition by hanging a "Red Lantern," as it is known today, on the burl arch in Nome. Each year the lantern is lit at the beginning of the race and hung on the finish line, not to be extinguished until the very last musher crosses the finish line. Once the musher crosses the line, (s)he then extinguishes the lantern, signifying the official end of the race. Thus, the last musher in a race is called the "Red Lantern" musher.

This year’s coveted Red Lantern goes to Timothy Hunt. He crossed under Nome’s famous burled arches at 4:06:22 am, 3/24/09. Tim finished in 52nd place (67 mushers began the race). After the ceremony under the Burled Arch concluded, the 2009 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race ended with the traditional gesture of blowing out the Widow’s Lamp, signifying that all mushers and their teams were safely off the Iditarod Trail. After the breath taking winds that stalled and delayed the finish of this year’s race, I am sure Timothy’s family of wife Mary, stepson Tom and daughter in law Emily, were very happy to see him finish, Red Lantern and all.

Kuling wins Iditarod Harness

2009-03-23T04:16:00.006-08:00

Kuling, the amazing lead dog for Fairbanks musher Jessie Royer was the winner of this years Lolley Medley Golden Harness award in the 2009 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race. Kuling is a 9 year old who has now completed 7 Iditarod races start to finish for Royer.

The Golden Harness Award was originally presented by the late Lolly Medley, one of two women to run the second Iditarod in 1974. The Wasilla musher was also a gifted harness maker, and she convinced the Iditarod Trail Committee in 1979 to begin awarding a Lolly Medley Golden Harness award to be presented to the most outstanding lead dog in the race as voted on by the mushers themselves. Kuling lead Royer's team to an 8th place finish, a feat she also accomplished in 2005 leading Royers team to an 8th place finish in that race as well. In both instances, it was the leg across the windswept Norton Bay between Shaktoolik and Koyuk where Kuling was at her best. This year, Royer completed the 58 mile leg into a fierce headwind with Kuling in solo lead and Royer double poling the whole way in 6 hours and 9 minutes, besting even Lance Mackey's time of more then 7 hours over the same leg. That performance helped propel Royer from 10th place into 4th place.

In a race where the outcome was defined by a strong wind on the coast, the top dog out of 1072 would be one that could handle those conditions. Perhaps the mushers voting on this award were impressed by the amazing Insider video showing Kuling happily loping in the lead just prior to the shelter cabin on the Norton Bay. Fittingly, Kuling gets her name from the Swedish word for strong wind.

Son of Sonny ROTY

2009-03-21T05:36:00.011-08:00

Chad Lindner, the 30 year old son of veteran musher Sonny Lindner, earned ROTY honors finishing 30^th in the 2009 Iditarod. Chad reported that this was a one-time only gig for him. Chad was born in Fairbanks, but went outside to attend Reed College in Portland for political science degreee and to his father’s native state of Michigan for law school. His senior thesis at Reed College was entitled, “The Success of the Cuban American National Foundation in Lobbying for U.S. Foreign Policy: Interest Group Model or Interest Group Anomaly?” Perhaps during his 12 days, four hours and 22 minutes along the trail he had further time to analyze the question.

Chad will soon be shopping at Bloomingdale's instead of Big Ray's and trading in his Carhartts for Brooks Brothers when he begins life as a big city lawyer in Boston. It his rumored that his area of legal specialty will be transportation.

Iditarod Sprint from Safety to Nome

2009-03-18T08:25:00.006-08:00

The 22 mile race from Safety to Nome can be a relaxing leg of reflection for some, while others may choose a mind numbing, toe freezing sprint. Passing a team on this leg can mean an extra 3k in the Iditarod paycheck. The Smyth brothers are famous for their fast times from Safety to Nome. Ramey has won "Fastest time Safety to Nome" award 6 times (95, 97, 01, 02, 03, 04) and his brother Cim once (96), although Cim has been the faster brother the last few years. The foot fashion of finishers is fun to observe—anything from tennis shoes, duct taped mukluks to bunny boots may be spotted. Given the various cluster of racers this year, it is anticipated that there may be more than one foot race on Front Street in downtown Nome this year sprinting for those Burled Arches!

Below is a look at race times from Safety to Nome for some of the front runners over the past 3 years.

2008 2007 2006 avg

Lance Mackey 3:01 3:08 3:11 3:06

John Baker 2:40 2:44 2:58 2:47

Sebastian Schnuelle 2:48 2:33 2:43 2:41

Aaron Burmeister 3:15 2:54 3:40 3:16

Mitch Seavey 3:11 3:08 2:20 2:53

Dallas Seavey* 2:41 2:44 2:42

Cim Smyth 2:11 2:04 2:04 2:06

Jessie Royer 3:06 2:30 2:44 2:46

Ramey Smyth 3:04 2:30 3:04 2:52

*sample from his only 2 Iditarod runs to date: 2007 and 2005

Dallas and Ramey take on the wind

2009-03-17T11:03:00.006-08:00

Mitch Seavey and Aaron Burmeister departed the Iditarod checkpoint of Shaktoolik shortly after noon on March 16 into a raging ground blizzard. The made progress for about 12 miles until they came up to a shelter near a place called Island Point. This is the last place to shelter themselves before the 45-mile shot across the Norton Bay into Koyuk - a spot made famous when Libby Riddles overnighted here in the 1985 race under similar conditions by zippering herself up into her sled bag. According to the GPS units those teams are carrying, Mitch and Aaron have not moved from that lonely outpost for over 20 hours. Meanwhile, several teams that left Shaktoolik turned back. Many more teams soon joined them as they were making their way up the trail from parts further back. Included in that group of teams joining the Shaktoolik camp were those of Ramey Smyth and Mitch Seavey's son, Dallas.

No doubt, Dallas has heard about the situation his dad was in and became concerned. While the stranded teams might be sheltered from the wind, food and water for men and dogs will become an issue. Additionally, dog teams reluctant to venture forward can benefit from following another team that can as has been demonstrated by several instances of teams traveling together in this race since the weather turned. Ramey and Dallas decided to depart Shaktoolik together while the other dozen or so teams stayed back. Certainly, Ramey and Dallas will be traveling together, but the question remains regarding what special dog is leading that effort. Earlier we highlighted one special dog named Babe that started the race on Ramey's team. That 11 year old leader has seen it all in 10 previous runnings of this race, so if she is still on the team, this could be that special dog that showed the way out of Shaktoolik. We won't know for sure until later.

Trouble at the back of the pack

2009-03-17T06:13:00.002-08:00

Iditarod rookies Lou Packer, Blake Matray, and Kim Darst were the last teams to leave the Iditarod checkpoint halfway through this 2009 edition of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Conditions were not good as a ground blizzard swirled around them, and the little used trail to Shageluk was blown over. The 45 miles to Shageluk usually takes less then 12 hours to traverse, but the GPS units showed these mushers making very little progress, and when Packer had not reached Shageluk within 24 hours, his wife called the Iditarod Trail Committee voicing her concerns. AT 2 pm, race officials sent out an aircraft from the volunteer Iditarod Air Force to check on the 3. They found Packer hunkered down about halfway between the checkpoints, and he signaled for help. He had 2 deceased dogs. He and the remainder of his team are in the process of being flown out. Darst and Matray were found a bit further down the trail, but were not in as serious a condition. They are waiting for a snowmobile convoy sent out from Shageluk to escort them back over the trail that is currently non-existent. Both have decided to scratch.

Blizzard slows leaders down

2009-03-16T19:51:00.007-08:00

Iditarod leader Lance Mackey looked cold as he pulled into the Koyuk checkpoint. The 42 mile trip from Shaktoolik over the Norton Bay was brutal. He described some of the challenges. "Going through the snow berms, their tired. This is the most tired they've been this whole trip." The weather has definitely taken a turn for the worse. Temperatures below zero and a head wind coming straight out of the north made for blizzard like conditions. It took Mackey 7 hours for the trip from Shaktoolik. He would rest his team for 9 hours at Koyuk.

Behind Mackey, Yukon Quest winner Sebastian Schnuelle was trying deperately to catch up. He arrived in Shaktoolik within close proximity of 5 other teams some 5 hours after Mackey. He spent a mere 19 minutes at that stop and pushed on. The others would rest their teams for a few hours hoping that conditions would improve. The drift dodging trip to Koyuk would take 8 hours, but he would once again make touch with Mackey who was still resting there. The veteran of many Iditarods and Yukon Quests said it was the toughest run he had ever made. A group of 6 mushers would leave Shaktoolik about 2 and a half hours after Schnuelle including Aaron Burmester, Mitch Seavey, Jeff King, John Baker, Hans Gatt and Hugh Neff. Watching them progress via the Iditarod Insider GPS tracking, fans could see them travel in packs and take several stops. John Baker was the only team to push on though so far covering the stretch in 8:23. Burmeister and Seavey seemed to have found a spot to rest on a peninsula just off the sound. The remaining 4 teams turned back and are once again resting at Shaktoolik.

Meanwhile Mackey has left Koyuk. The trail from that post takes a westerly direction so the brutal headwind has turned into a crosswind for him he is still dealing with a drifted over trail however. The trail also stays off the Norton Sound ice for the most part. He covered the 40 miles to Elim in a bit more then 5 hours.

Who's on Second?

2009-03-16T09:09:00.003-08:00

As the 2009 Iditarod leaders head up the Bering Sea coast, Lance Mackey is maintaining the comfortable 5 hour lead he positioned himself into following his 24 hour layover, but the race for 2nd place is really heating up. The Shaktoolik checkpoint crew will be busier then a one-armed Iditarod pooper-scooper this morning as 5 teams within 2 miles of each other form a doggie traffic jam on the coastal trail leading into that former reindeer herding community of 230 people on the Norton Sound.

Jeff King, who came in second to Mackey in last years race, leads the charge, however he is followed closely by John Baker, Mitch Seavey, Aaron Burmeister, and Hugh Neff. Another mile back is Sebastian Schnuelle. Mackey spent only 37 minutes at Shaktoolik as he passed through the checkpoint earlier today as he continues his pattern of long runs and appears to be headed another 40 miles to Koyuk before he takes some substantial rest. Chances are good, that this pack will deploy the same strategy so as not to slip in the standings. Race rules require an 8 hour layover at White Mountain which is another 90 miles beyond Koyuk.

APRN Status

2009-03-16T03:28:00.003-08:00

UPDATE 3/16: APRN has begun posting again

APRN's focus with on-air broadcasts over radio has not changed, however they have currently discontinued their web coverage of it's broadcasts including the Iditarod race coverage. As a result, we have discontinued our practice of co-hosting select material an the APRN web site, however you will still find our continued coverage here.

Unalakleet webcam returns

2009-03-15T12:51:00.001-08:00

The Bering Strait School District students have done it again by putting up a steerable webcam at this link.

Top 10 Reasons to Catch Mackey

2009-03-15T05:26:00.014-08:00

Now that the race leaders are starting to close the gap on Iditarod front runner Lance Mackey, it time to take a look at who might be capable of catching him. So without further adieu, from our home office in Crow Village Alaska, here is this year's top 10 list: Top 10 reasons to catch Lance Mackey

10) "I need to get the truck keys from dad."

22 year old Dallas Seavey probably has his own wheels now, or at least based on his incredible performance in this year's race takes his dog sled everywhere anyway, but wouldn't it be sweet to show the old man (Mitch Seavey is currently 2nd) who is the better musher?

9) "Size doesn't matter"

Paul Gebhardt's team is down to 10 dogs, which seems kind of short considering the 15 dog team of Mackey, but Gebhardt has historically been a late charger, and if it weren't for some unfortunate breaks would have won this race before. The 53 year old is in the best shape of his life and will be helping his small team in the hills to the coast and the hills down the final stretch.

8) "I need a new pair of fur lined sneakers"

Cim Smyth along with his brother Ramey Smyth impress us with their blazing finishes year in and year out. Cim has been known to ditch the snow packs for a pear of sneakers so he can sprint along with his dog team to the finish, so don't count him out if he is within striking distance at the end.

7) "There is no stinking road to distract me."

Finishing second in the 2009 1000 mile Yukon Quest due to a two hour penalty handed to him for taking a road for 5 miles instead of the trail, Hugh Neff has run a solid race from the start.

6) "I'm running low on smokes"

Every time we see Aaron Burmeister second guessing the strategy of front runner Mackey, he is taking a drag off his Marlboro. The longer Mackey stays in front, the fewer smokes Burmeister will have left.

5) "He'll be toast on the coast"

Kotzebue Alaska musher John Baker lives and trains on the Bering Sea coast where the lead pack is headed to now. His team will be most comfortable running on trail and conditions they are used to.

4) "I did a Quest"

2009 Yukon Quest winner Sebastian Schnuelle would like to repeat the Iditaquest feat Mackey has performed over the past 2 years winning both the Quest and the Iditarod in the same seasons. He also has an appointment at the Nome Hair Salon he doesn't want to miss. Inexplicably, after checking out of Kaltag, Schnuelle appears to be headed back down the river according to the GPS tracking device.

3) "I owe him one"

Jeff King lost his bid to winn the Iditarod last year when Mackey snuck out of the checkpoint while King was napping. King may leave half of his 25 foot sled at the checkpoint this year to trick Mackey into thinking he is still there.

2) "Life is more then a Quest"

Hans Gatt who has won the Yukon Quest 3 times (only surpassed by Mackey's 4 victories) scratched 450 miles into this year's Quest to better position himself to win the Iditarod. Gatt has raced the Iditarod 9 times with his best finish being the 6th place he recieved in last year's race.

1) "I've caught him before"

Mitch Seavey cashed in $100,000 in the winner-take-all All Alaska Speepstakes last year by catching the hard charging mackey in the latter stages of the 408 mile race. Seavey was in 4th place at the Kaltag checkpoint when he won the Iditarod in 2004, so coming from behind is nothing new to him.

Crossing over into the Lance Mackey Zone

2009-03-14T04:24:00.004-08:00

You unlock this door with the key to his imagination. Beyond it is another dimension - a dimension of barking, a dimension of snow, a dimension of Gee and Haw, and thirteen hour runs. You're moving into a vast northern land of aurora and substance, of things, ideas, and a 16 dog team with super canine powers. You've just crossed over into the Lance Mackey Zone.

Defending 2-time Iditarod champion Lance Mackey hinted beforehand that he had a surprise in store for the 2009 edition of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. We've become used to his incredible confidence in his chances despite long odds, yet his confidence this year seemed high even by that standard. We were able to gage the strength of his team in the past by watching him race and win the 1000 mile Yukon Quest race beforehand, which he admitted was a key tool in the training of his team, but there was to be no Quest for his team this year. Instead, there was some top secret regimen going on from his Fox Alaska kennel that even his mushing neighbors couldn't decipher.

Early on, Mackey held his cards close to the vest, as if to not clue us in on the rarified air his super canine athletes must have been breathing. His run/rest schedule was similar to the other teams with the exception of 1 or 2 long runs enabling him to move toward the front from his late starting position. he took his required 24 hour layover in Takotna along with most of the other top teams, yet he was still speaking with a level of confidence that was high even for him. While other mushers spoke of trail concerns and sticking to conventional run/rest schedules, that didn't seem to be a factor for him as his conversation revolved around the incredible performance of his team so far, yet the best was yet to come. Coming off the 24, Mackey reeled off a twelve and a half hour run into Iditarod, gave his team a six and a half hour rest, then worked in another 13 hour run into Anvik where he would declare his eight hour layover. In a day and a half of racing he had put five hours on his closest competitors who were still using six to seven hour runs between rests. You might say, he has entered into another dimension - the Lance Mackey Zone.

The Race isn't Over Yet, is it?

2009-03-13T10:14:00.006-08:00

In the old inter-office, inter-family, or inter-village pool, it was difficult to place your money on Lance Mackey this year. You almost want there to be a competitive race. The list of mushers competing was simply stuffed with the best mushing pedigrees around. Lance was the odds on favorite before the start of the 2009 Iditarod and yet there seem to be something in the air that said maybe this race’s outcome was not going to be as easy to predict as people thought.

There was the weather factor. Tons of snow this year and all the people in the know, and some (myself included) in the not-so-know, thought this snow factor was going to lead to some very different times and leaders. Also, Mackey has a different status this year. He is no longer the underdog that we all like to root for. His face is on 50% of the mushing commercials; his fancy wolf ruffed blue parka is now heavily clad with corporate sponsored patches; and he has received countless accolades regarding his phenomenal athletic achievements. However the charismatic, cancer surviving, digit-challenged (missing one finger), joking, fan adored musher was extremely difficult not to put money on.

We weren’t sure what was going to happen this year with Lance. He was training with a different strategy. Was he trying two shorter quicker training runs or was he just training at times when none of his mushing competitive neighbors could spot him? Did his training of the Bethel Native, Harry, T. Alexie, distract from his focus? Would not running the Yukon Quest effect his peak performance routine? When asked about his race preparatory activities, Lance was cagey and eluded to having a few tricks up his sleeve this year, of which he was not willing to share. But in the end this much enamored fan had to go with her heart and with her head and place her wages on Lance to again be victorious.

Having made the commitment to Mackey, I have been closely monitoring times of all mushers throughout the first half of the race. Switching between the GPS monitoring, the leaderboard and my calculator, trying to figure out who was running the fastest and who was truly ahead. Again listening to the many pundits analyzing the trail conditions and weather factors, which were non-factors, I was as confused as I was before the start of the race.

And then the 24 hour layover took place.

Now the race has all of a sudden become crystal clear. Lance took off after his layover as if the first half of the race was just a tease for the “Lance Mackey...A Musher with Mystical Ability” show. With a time between Ophir and Iditarod breaking the ten hour mark, and his dogs showing no inkling of wear through Shageluk, all our pre-race jitters of Lance’s performance have been settled. He is shown on an Insider video looking back to see who might be following him and he most certainly didn't see anybody. It is now his race to lose. And unless there is another dog team and musher out there that has drank from the same “magical, miraculous mushing” Kool-Aid, the rest of the race will be spent analyzing the leaderboard and GPS positions of the other teams trying to figure out who will place second.

Bjørnar Andersen has scratched at Takotna

2009-03-12T10:59:00.005-08:00

Considered by many to be one of the favorites in the 2009 Iditarod, Bjørnar Andersen from Team Norway has scratched from the Iditarod race. The musher who calls Elverum Norway home had a mishap after the Rohn checkpoint where the sled tipped on it's side and dragged him over an icy surface for a considerable distance. After righting the sled he toughed it out for another 70 miles to the Takotna checkpoint, where he hoped some rest might help him out. His condition did not improve over the 24 hours in Takotna and the medical personnel there became concerned given he had been vomiting and had blood in his urine. The decision was made to withdraw and he was flown to Anchorage for further treatment.

Burmeister Living His Iditarod Dream

2009-03-11T18:38:00.010-08:00

An early memory for Nome’s native son Aaron Burmeister was riding in the dogsled with his father under the famed burled arch at the finish of the Iditarod. That short trip proved to be a powerful inspiration for the son of an Iditarod racer, and he promised himself that some day he would cross under the arch with his own team and might just but win it. The first chapter in this dream happened his senior year in high school in 1994. He finished 37th in his rookie campaign of the Iditraod, and he dreamed of doing better. But he had to put that dream on hold when he promised his dad, Richard Burmeister, that he would go to college and earn a degree before seriously pursuing his mushing career. Aaron sold his dog team and put his mushing career on hold for a couple years to honor the commitment he made to his hero.

Aaron began attending the University of Alaska Fairbanks in pursuit of a teaching degree. It was tough to let the memory of the sled trip under the Burled Arch Iditarod finish line go, and before his schooling was finished, he was once again building up a dog team and entering the Iditarod. With degree in hand, he returned to mushing with a vengeance, entering 9 more Iditarods and finishing as high as 13th in both 2004 and 2007. He has said that after the 2009 race he is going to give it another break to work with the ITC board to return the purse money where it should be and he has placed his dog team up for a sale to commence at the conclusion of this year's race.

With a race filled with a field of strong contenders, Burmeister seemed to take off with a purpose challenging the leaders from the beginning. Contrary to the pre-race predictions from many of the race's pundits, he is now solidly in the lead as he takes his required 24 hour layover at the Takotna checkpoint 419 miles into the 1100 mile race. Most of the leading teams including many of those who are supposed to beat him are taking their required layovers at Takotna as well possibly admiring the quality of his very capable team. In a couple days he may find himself under the burled arch again. We know that Nome will be out to welcome their son home and we can only wonder what kind of inspiration he will get this time when crossing under the arch.

Iditarod Leader Board Estimate

2009-03-11T13:33:00.007-08:00

As many of the Iditarod race leaders have apparently chosen Takotna or McGrath to take their 24 hour layovers, we can make some estimates regarding what times the teams will be departing Takotna. As you may know, start differential is tacked on to each mushers 24 hour layover. It should be noted that Martin Buser elected to push on out of Takotna to take his 24 later on down the trail, however he will have considerably less then a 24 hour lead on those listed above after they get off their 24. The question remains regarding whether the teams at the front of the pack will be able to keep the pace their drivers have asked out of them -- especially if they have been skimping on some rest, however once the 24s have been completed, it is easier to gauge where each teams stands overall.

Busted sleds: Busted GPS

2009-03-11T09:18:00.004-08:00

UPDATE: The GPS Tracking System is working again

As reports come in from the checkpoints, and a fresh batch of Iditarod Insider video are loaded, it has become apparent the Iditarod trail has taken a heavy toll on the sleds this year. Sections causing problems include several areas between Finger Lake and Rainy Pass Lodge including the "Happy River Steps", and the infamous Dalzell Gorge which is a steep down grade section that drops down to the Tatina river a few miles prior to the Rohn checkpoint. Appropriately, someone has placed a warning sign at the top of this section that is pretty direct and to the point. It simple reads "Watch Your Ass".

Rick Swenson's sled already had damage to his handlebar when he entered the Happy Steps giving him difficulties negotiating that section. He can be seen dumping his sled on it's side in the streaming Iditarod Insider video. Dee Dee Jonrowe arrived at the Rainy Pass checkpoint with a broken stanchion on her sled. She considered herself lucky given the incident happened in the same spot where she broke her hand last year forcing her to withdraw. That section of trail caused problems for rookie Nancy Yoshida, who racked her sled up on the Happy Steps rendering her sled inoperable. Several teams were held up to help her and she was eventually brought a new sled so she could make her way into Rainy Pass where she would ultimately withdraw. In another video, Paul Gebhardt and Mitch Seavey can be seen talking about their troubles on the trail in at the Nikolai checkpoint in another video. Seavey avoided damage to his sled in a wipe out, but Gebhardt hit a stump bending his stanchion which knocked his runner out of line requiring extra effort just to keep the sled tracking straight. According to Gebhardt's website, his wife Evy reports that he'll have to continue on in that method for another 70 miles to the Takotna checkpoint where he has another sled waiting.

Started as an experiment with a handful of teams last year, and now mandatory for all teams this year is the GPS tracking system that provides viewers with accurate positioning and weather data for the teams along the trail. This subscription service provided from Iditarod Insider has proven to be very addictive to fans like this editor who have an insatiable craving for copious amounts of race data. There have been some accuracy issues reported with the system, and Tuesday evening, an upgrade was scheduled. As of Wednesday morning, the GPS tracking application has been unresponsive, and as a result many fans are now having to cope with their addiction as best they can. The issue can be tracked back to the Ionearth server maintained by the folks who supply the service to the Iditarod. There is no update available yet from the Iditarod Insider message board regarding when the problem will be fixed.

Iditarod Leaders Depart Nikolai

2009-03-10T18:15:00.002-08:00

Sebastian Schnuelle, Hugh Neff, and Aaron Burmeister were the first Iditarod mushers to arrive at the Nikolai checkpoint, and now they are the first to depart with Neff and Burmeister departing at the same time, and Schnuelle departing 6 minutes later. Schnuelle and Neff are familiar with each other having finished first and second in the 1000 mile Yukon Quest a few weeks ago, and Neff and Burmeister seem to be getting acquainted having started this Iditarod two minutes apart from each other and passing each other back and forth several time over the 240 miles completed so far on the trail. All of the first 20 teams to arrive in Nikolai elected to spend some rest time at the checkpoint, and included in that group are strong contenders like Paul Gebhardt, Lance Mackey, Jeff King, Martin Buser, and Mitch Seavey. Chances are good that there are a few more teams resting at a favorite fish camp 15 mile prior to Nikolai often used to avoid the crowded conditions at Nikolai.

Further back, it is likely some teams have chosen to take their one mandatory 24 layover, and this tends to cause us some confusion regarding where they really stand in this race. Matt Hayashida in particular after running surprisingly well with the leaders early on has been resting at Rohn for 14 hours, and could leapfrog back to the front of the pack if he completes his 24 there. Teams will typically take their 24 any where between Rohn and Iditarod and perhaps even further down the trail and this feature of the race creates quite the guessing game for the fans. Additionally, trail conditions can change considerably within a 24 hour period making the time required to traverse the same distance markedly slower or faster then those who traveled that same section earlier. Needless to say, picking the correct spot to take the layover can be a significant deciding factor in the outcome of the race.

One team to watch is that of Melissa Owens who is currently taking a break in Nikolai parked not far from some of the legends listed above. This is the second Iditarod for the 19 year old calls Nome her home and reached the finish line in her home town last year in 30th place. Her father raced in the '87 and '90 Iditarods finishing as high as 23rd, and she might just beat that mark if she continues on her current pace.

Mackey first into Rainy Pass

2009-03-09T15:11:00.003-08:00

Two time defending Iditarod champion Lance Mackey passed 45 teams who started before him to show up at the Rainy Pass checkpoint first in this 2009 edition of the Iditarod sled dog race. Rainy Pass is a key checkpoint 136 miles into the 1100 mile race. The checkpoint is at Rainy Pass Lodge on Puntilla Lake at the foot of the 3000 foot Rainy Pass traverse over the Alaska range. into the single cabin checkpoint of Rohn. As of this writing, 8 other teams had checked into Rainy but none have departed yet, likely taking the warm afternoon to rest before the push over the top.

Mushers have been talking about the deep snow conditions over Rainey Pass and the difficulty it may cause for several weeks now. The trail breakers were able to break a trail through snow up to 8 feet deep in some places with their high powered snowmobiles, however, it remains to be seen how well the trail holds up once dog teams start passing, and it could be that teams farther back in the pack find more difficulty on this section because of that. Colder temperatures over the pass will help. The temperature at Puntilla Lake in the mid day sun at 3:30 in the afternoon Monday was 25, but we wont know the temperature over the pass until the first teams traverse it with the GPS units each team is carrying this year. The GPS units provide us with a temperature indication in addition to position and speed indications, and that data is available with subscription to Iditarod Insider.

Arriving 2nd into Rainy was Bjornar Andersen from Team Norway. It has frequently been the strategy of Team Norway to push the pace early and according to some sources, the Norwegian dogs have had plenty of training in deep snow conditions this winter. Arriving in 3rd place was Ramey Smyth, who coincidently finished last year's Iditarod in 3rd place. Ramey's team features a very seasoned 11 year old leader named Babe, who won the Lolley Medley Golden Harness award as top dog in the 2008 Iditarod. Former Yukon Quest winners Aliy Zirkle and Hans Gatt rounded out the top 5.

The Amazing Ceremonial Start

2009-03-08T08:35:00.001-08:00

The ceremonial start to the Iditarod 2000 Dog Race, went off without a hitch on March 7, 2009. As each dog team entered the starting chute, multi groups of handlers poised the over yearning to run teams of dogs, hoping the dogs looked pretty and were stumble free on their jaunt through downtown Anchorage. The weather added joy to each of the musher’s facial expressions, while statements were made in reference to the 2008 start and the horrible melting temperatures. The weather predictions include some tumultuous looking lows coming though, but no real melting temperatures.

Part of the colorful parade included many of the mushers using old time freight sleds which were hand made of birch trees with naturally curved trunks that grow on the side of steep hills along the rivers. The variety of sleds included a Gee Pole sled driven by Jeff King out of the chute. This funny looking sled places the musher between the dogs and the freight sled on a pair of skies and a six foot pole. The pole is anchored much like an oar of a boat and is used to dig into the snow on the side of the musher enabling the musher to steer. These types of contraptions were still used in Alaska when King first moved here. He used this unique sled to haul freight across glaciers in Denali for climbers. In the case of King we can not call it a Gee Pole sled, since Jeff is left handed he has naturally a Haw Pole sled.

Jim Lanier looked a youthful 68 years old as the oldest musher this year to be signed up to compete. He is a veteran musher best known for his all white dog teams. The observant spectator could see that this was not a camping trip for Jim but he eyed, and ruffled his ivory flock of mutts with a very competitive edge. Sebastian Schnuelle was met with chuckles as he approached his sled with a play stuffed wolf hat sitting about eight inches higher than your typical hat on his head. One would never know by looking at his relaxed and mellow attitude that he had just 10 days previously won the other 1000 mile race in Alaska, the Yukon Quest.

Many mushing dynasties are involved with the race this year. The Linders, Reddingtons, Symths, Mackeys and the Seaveys were representing this year. The Seavey trio of father Mitch, son Dallas, and daughter-in-law Jen are hoping for at least two of the three make it into the top twenty. Dallas is no longer running the “puppy” team but running his own dogs out of his own kennel. Cim Symth has won two mid-distance races this year, the Copper Basin 300 and the Tunistnena 200 however, his brother Ramey has out performed him consistently in the Iditarod.

Finally the crowd, which was already on their feet, stood on the toes and cheered loudly for the pink furry Lady and the back to back champion of the last two Iditarods. DeeDee was busy doing a cheerful Queen wave to both sides of the snow burned lined avenue. Her fans roared so loudly that the announcer needed to pause his fact filled monolog until the bright pink bootied dogs progressed a nice distance away from his lofty perch. Lance who is no longer that poor musher who struggles to get enough dog booties (little alone matching ones) passed by with his bright blue sponsored-filled parka sporting the largest wolf ruff of the day. There appeared to be an eagerness in the crowd to get a long lasting peek at this mythical ironman. The energy of the crowd could be explained in that everyone had a feeling that they were witnessing and being part of an historical event. The buzzing of the crowd’s electricity and Lance’s apparent nervousness was the highlight of this unique and crowd pleasing event.

While listening to the interviews with each musher before the race is an important part of the ceremonial start; so much of what a musher states pre-race, is about psyching out the other mushers and trying to psych themselves up. It isn't until the race truly starts and the talking ends that we will know how the race unfolds. This year the Iditarod is packed with a list of experienced potentially victorious mushers. t will be fascinating to see if any of the pre-race predictions will come to fruition.

Some thoughts from the River

2009-03-06T03:21:00.006-09:00

There are several factors which contribute to the outcome of the Iditarod. Weather always pays a huge part in any dog race. This year’s Iditarod will prove this theory. Mushers live in several different climate systems throughout the state (country, nation) hence, they train in a variety of conditions. Of course it is helpful when the conditions the dogs train in, match the weather conditions of the race itself. Dog size is also a factor closely tied into the weather. Dog size whether large or small, goes through trends depending on the musher‘s philosophy about how to get to the finish line in the fastest amount of time. Bigger, slower dogs i.e., Sebastian’s, are running around on their natural set of snow shoes. These dogs have huge paws, and thick coats. This heavy type of dog performs great in heavy snow, but not so super in warm weather. Smaller dogs who were first bred for sprint racing ( 3 days of 20 mile races), have, for the last decade and a half, been bred into many musher lines. King's dogs are this type, very skinny and well muscled. King’s dogs respond to verbal commands better than any other team. His philosophy includes letting the puppies train with the team unharnessed so they are familiar with all verbal commands from a young age. This is a part of the training regiment that Jeff focuses on.

It is used to be a rule of thumb that these “skinny” dogs needed a six hour rest for every six hours of running. They needed frequent rests but they were faster than the big dogs, and handled the wind and icy conditions better. Then Lance came along and blew the theory of small dogs needing to run on the six-six schedule. Lance runs with medium sized dogs and with these dogs, he runs longer amounts of time, and cuts his rests. It was so different from the old way, that people are still shaking their heads about this approach.

Dogs only sweat from their paws and their mouth. It is important for them to be able to dip (put their mouth down when they are running and grab snow) throughout their runs to be able to stay hydrated. During the Kuskokwim 300 this year, some of the thicker pelted dogs were unable to dip enough snow and were getting dehydrated. DeeDee and Dave DeCaro (Jeff King’s second team) were extremely concerned over this issue. The temperature was OK during the run to Aniak, it was just that there was a crust of ice on top of the snow. This crust prevented the dog during a run to be able to quickly dip on the move and get a mouthful of snow.
So with style of dog training, snow conditions, weather temperature, ice, dogs size and pelt thickness, it is very difficult to foresee how a team will perform. Weather does play an important role, so I will update you on the "interior weather" and let you all know if things change. Of course the coastal conditions include wind, glare ice, white outs, etc.

We have had the snowiest winter I have experienced in my twenty years of living here in the interior at Crow Village. Normally during the winter, we get snow and a few melts which take away the depth of the snow pack. However this year we only had one big melt (right before the K300). There also has been tons of wind throughout the winter, so it has been difficult to keep even the well traveled trails open. Lately, it snows at night (four inches) and slows down during the morning. The sun remains hidden through the rest of the day with overcast conditions. The last couple of days the weather crept above 32 a few times and we got a bit of rain. Therefore, presently a crust of ice (1/2 inch thick) is sitting on top of tons of snow. The weather looks like the future will be a continuous pattern of lows coming through (with low is snow). The next front being a Siberian low (cold) followed by a Japanese low (warm) how long it takes these lows to pass through the interior is anyone’s guess. But we should not have any lasting cold snaps (Highs) for a week at least. That means the first 2/3s of the race will be run with tons of deep drifty spongy snow, e.g., 100 inches on the Yukon, probably around 10-30 degrees, and overall slow trail conditions. Of course this could all change in a snap. Like anything in Alaska, nothing happens till it happens.

Iditarod Babe defies age

2009-03-04T15:55:00.009-09:00

When this Babe won her sport's highest honor at last year's Iditarod dog sled race, many thought it must be time for her to hang up the harness. After all, she was well past her prime, far more advanced in age then all her fellow competitors, and scheduled to give birth in the spring. However, as she has done almost her entire life, this Babe will line up at the Iditarod starting line for one more kick at the can on Sunday March 8th. Babe is the 11 year old lead dog for Iditarod racer Ramey Smyth. For those of you without a calculator, that equates to 77 in dog years.

Ramey Smyth and his wife Becca Moore have a 68 dog kennel in Willow, and the Babe bloodline is a big part of that kennel. Ramey has a pretty decent bloodline himself. His father, Bud Smyth, raced the Iditarod 6 times, and his mother, Lolly Medley entered the race twice. Lolly's other legacy was that of a harness maker, and she initiated the Lolly Medley Golden Harness award given each year to the top canine athlete in the race as voted on by the mushers. Ramey's brother Cim Smyth has finished the Iditarod 7 times. That's not bad for a human, however Babe has participated in the race 9 times and pulled her best friend across the finish line in 8 of those attempts. Ramey has finished the Iditarod 14 times, but he can hardly remember a race anymore where Babe was not an integral part of it. He is known for his fast finishes an that was taken into account when he and Becca named their kennel the Homestretch Kennel.

Typically, the Golden Harness award is won by one of the lead dogs from the winning team, however last year that award went Babe on the 3rd place team of Ramey Smyth. At the awards banquet when Ramey was presented the award named after his late mother, the emotion he was feeling left him speechless. Canines have a life expectancy of 10 to 15 years, and sled dogs are no different. Sled dogs typically are in their prime between ages 3 and 7. At the ripe old age of 11, Babe will be starting her 10th Iditarod. Instead of hanging up the harness, she will be proudly wearing it - and a very special one at that.

Yukon Quest Results

2009-03-01T10:59:00.007-09:00

February 14, 2009

Sebastian Schnuelle 10:44
Hugh Neff 10:48
Jon Little 11:52
Martin Buser 21:04
Michelle Phillips 21:05
William Kleedehn 22:40
Brent Sass 23:18
Dan Kaduce 23:38
Warren Palfrey 09:50
Normand Casavant 02:26
Mark Sleightholme 04:58
Colleen Robertia 05:11
Newton Marshall 06:26
Luc Tweddell 15:59
Wayne Hall 02:33
William Pinkham 05:40
Becca Moore 10:13
Iris Wood Sutton 10:41

Klondike 300 Results

2009-03-01T10:57:00.007-09:00

February 7, 2009

Cim Smyth 07:57
Ryan Redington 08:10
Lance Mackey 08:48
Ray Redington 08:55
Jessie Royer 09:13
Abby West 09:30
DeeDee Jonroe 09:33
Aaron Burmeister 09:34
Louis Bissinett 09:35
Kristy Barrington 11:09
Benidict Beisch 11:45
Jim Laneir 11:59
Emil Churchin 04:27

Kuskokwim 300 Results

2009-03-01T10:54:00.004-09:00

January 16, 2009

Mitch Seavey 38:30
Martin Buser 38:38
Jeff King 40:00
Ken Anderson 40:16
John Baker 40:30
Pete Kaiser 40:54
Ed Iten 41:22
Mike Williams Jr. 42:07
Jackie Larson 42:32
Hugh Neff 44:00
DeeDee Jonrowe 47:16
Dave DeCaro 47:25
Quinn Iten 47:25
Aaron Burmeister 48:02
Ron Underwood 60:08

Tustumena 200 Results

2009-03-01T10:52:00.003-09:00

January 21, 2009

Cim Smyth 14:50
Lance Mackey 14:52
Jon Little 16:26
Pete Kaiser 16:51
Ken Anderson 17:32
Robert Bundtzen 18:06
Jessica Hendricks 18:16
Gerald Riley 18:48
Paul Gebhardt 18:57
Kristy Berington 19:02
Jake Berkowitz 22:10
Wattie McDonald 01:59
Mike Barnett 02:01
Rachael Scdoris 04:12
Timmy Osmar 04:14
Will Faulkner 04:15

Copper Basin 200 Results

2009-03-01T10:49:00.004-09:00

January 10, 2009

Hans Gatt 54:26
Brent Sass 54:52
Sven Haltmann 56:18
Allen Moore 57:09
Michelle Phillips 57:40
Braxton Peterson 57:52
Ed Hopkins 58:38
Harry Alexie 59:08
Jim Lanier 59:14
Aliy Zirkle 59:22
Sebastian Schnuelle 61:03
Newton Marshall 61:48
Colleen Robertia 64:53
Mike Ellis 65:50
Normand Casavant 66:44
Iris Sutton 70:07
Mark Sleightholme 70:20
Cynthia Barrand 71:00
Tamara Rose 72:34
Chad Lindner 78:02

Knick 200 Results

2009-03-01T10:32:00.005-09:00

January 3, 2009

Ken Anderson 11:00
Ray Redington Jr. 11:20
Mike Santos 11:25
Mike Barnett 11:28
Mitch Seavey 11:31
Dallas Seavey 11:47
Matt Hayashida 12:10:07
Jake Lyshyn 12:10:43
Bruce Linton 12:29
Gerry Willowmitze 12:42
Robert Bundtzen 13:23
Jake Berkowitz. 13:25
Sarah Spinola 13:48
Karin Hendrickson 14:28
Jessie Royer 14:30
Wade Mar 15:18
Cynthia Berrand 15:22
Russ Bybee 15:29
Michael Supernant 17:33
Paul Gebhardt 17:44
Scott Janssen 18:20
Kristy Berrington 18:39
Anna Berrington 18:40
Mark Sleightholme 20:10
Robert Sexton 21:35
Emil Churchin 22:25
Joe Pawelek 23:18
Kyla Johnson 02:35
Kathleen Frederick 02:53
Angie Taggert 07:20