Posts from — March 2018

The racing order is starting to sort itself out but you can’t be sure of the actual order until after the 24-hour stop when the start differential is adjusted. Aaron Burmeister has made a significant gain of 45 places while Nicolas Petit is up 43. You have to wait.

Zoya DeNure has scratched at Yentna. They don’t say why but it is probably a puppy problem. Update: It was her health that was questionable.

Tara Cicatello has been at Skwenta since 8AM CST. I wonder if they missed her leaving or scratching. Her team was moving at a respectable 8mph. This is why I have the notice that the standings are official but may not be accurate.

Standings at 9:30PM CST:

Beyond Rainy Pass
1 Jessie Holmes (41)^R
2 Richie Diehl (29)
3 Wade Marrs (11)
4 Ryan Redington (7)
5 Nicolas Petit (46)
6 Ray Redington Jr (17)
7 Mitch Seavey (13)
8 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (33)
9 Jessie Royer (36)
10 Aliy Zirkle (31)
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The actual racing begins at 2PM AKST [5PM CST] when Cody Strathe leaves the chute in Willow. The other teams will follow at 2 minute intervals. The time differences are adjusted at the mandatory 24-hour stop, i.e. Cody will be required to remain more than 26 hours while Hugh Neff will be the only team staying exactly 24 hours.

At 7:30PM CST everyone is on the trail.

Standings at 9:30PM CST:

Beyond Yentna
1 Cody Strathe (2)
2 Mats Pettersson (3)
3 Anna Berington (4)
At Yentna
4 Ryan Redington (7)
5 Linwood Fiedler (8)
Beyond Willow
6 Shaynee Traska (5)^R
7 Magnus Kaltenborn (6)
8 Rick Casillo (9)
9 Rob Cooke (10)
10 Wade Marrs (11)
[Read more →]

It is the first Saturday in March which is Susan Butcher Day in Alaska and marks the Iditarod ‘parade’ from Anchorage to the airport. The actual race is set to start on Sunday in Willow.

This trail is out of sequence as it is normally the odd year trail, but the warm weather and lack of snow had made it unusable after 2013.

The Alaska Dispatch covers basic questions about the race.

Vladimir Vladimirovich is running for reelection and is talking up the great “new” weapons that are going to “Make Russia Great Again”: New Russian nuke weapons aren’t new and may not be ready, say experts.

All ICBMs are “hypersonic” and travel at speeds of Mach 5 and higher. US anti-missile defense missiles move faster than Mach 15. You have to move at hypersonic speeds to get high enough to to travel intercontinental distances. Changing direction at those speeds is more than slightly problematic.

These weapons, if they work as claimed and get deployed , which is not certain at this point, doesn’t alter the reality of a massive US response.

It’s the southern route that includes the namesake ghost-town of Iditarod as the midpoint. The Stepping Stones, the Burn, Rainy Pass, the Glacier, all of the hazards of the first half are still part of the race, as well as the long open stretch between Ophir and the Yukon. The route is normally taken in odd years, but it hasn’t been run since 2013

The day is about 10 and a half hours at Anchorage and the moon is waning from full. The temperature is in the 20s in Anchorage, which is a welcome change from recent years.

Things start off Saturday, Susan Butcher Day, with the ‘parade’ from Anchorage to the airport. The actual racing starts on Sunday at Willow.

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It’s Saint David’s Day, and, as he is their patron saint, it is a national holiday in Wales. The Welsh wear leeks or daffodils [called Peter’s leek in Welsh] on this day.