The final ten teams are heading west into Nome. Luan finally dropped a dog from his team at Elim, but Mikhail’s team is still intact.

Update: The Alaska Dispatch reports that May has been found after she trekked back almost to the start from the Burn. She has lost weight and her feet are a mess, but she seems fine otherwise.

Miscellany: Jim Lanier and Bob Chlupach have both competed in the Iditarod since the 1970s, in five different decades. If Christine Roalofs (37) makes it to Nome it will be thanks, in part, to the tubing clamps, wire, duct tape, and birch branch that have been holding her sled together since the Burn. Unlike the ‘big guys’, Christine doesn’t own a backup sled.

Update: Bad news – Dorado, a 4½-year-old male on Paige Drobny’s team, has died after being dropped at Unalakleet. The Iditarod Trail Committee is not being very transparent about the circumstances of the dog’s death, and are talking about high winds and drifting snow.

Finished At Nome
40 Karin Hendrickson (29)
41 Aaron Peck (58)
42 Kristy Berington (20)
43 Anna Berington (31)
44 Jodi Bailey (4)
45 Mike Williams Sr (35)
46 Gerald Sousa (49)
47 Louie Ambrose (53)^R
Beyond Safety
48 Angie Taggart (40)
At White Mountain
49 Luan Ramos Marques (47)^R
50 Mikhail Telpin (63)^Q
51 Cindy Gallea (17)
At Elim
52 James Volek (66)^R
53 Christine Roalofs (37)^R
54 Bob Chlupach (43) Φ

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Iditarod, while italics indicates Yukon Quest winners. The numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers. The small “R” indicates a total rookie, while the small “Q” indicates an Iditarod rookie who has completed a Yukon Quest.

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.
All posts on the Iditarod can be seen by selecting “Iditarod” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

The Old Man

Kids these day have no manners!

[Editor: Toes is looking pretty bad these days. The life of the alpha tom is filled with fights to take the position away, and he has had multiple injuries this year. It is bad during the cold spells, because he isn’t welcomed into the clusters of cats that share their warmth.]

Friday Ark