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This And That On The Trail — Why Now?
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This And That On The Trail

by Bryan

Jim Lanier (55) is back in the race at 79 years of age. He is definitely the oldest musher out there.

Two entrants had to find replacements for their teams. Veteran musher and former winner of both the Quest and the Iditarod, Jeff King, had emergency surgery last week and had to hand his team over to Sean Underwood (46). One of my favorites, Zoya DeNure, came down with something and after finishing the parade had to hand her team to her husband, John Schandelmeier (42). While the Iditarod considers John a rookie, he won the Quest twice, and writes about mushing for the Anchorage Daily News. Zoya’s team is always made up of “rescues, rejects, and runts” and Zoya wouldn’t want to disappoint them by not letting them race.

4 comments

1 Kryten42 { 03.10.20 at 2:14 am }

79! In those conditions… That’s one heck of a tough man! Good luck to Jim & his team. 👍😊

2 Bryan { 03.10.20 at 9:25 am }

He has been doing this since 1979. He finished the Yukon Quest on his first attempt last year. He has scratched three times – blown out Achilles tendon, Pneumonia, and broken collar bone. He’s a retired pathologist. He calls his Kennel Northern Whites because he raises all white dogs (which he has to put colorful blankets on to find them in the snow – sounded like a good idea at the time).

3 Kryten42 { 03.10.20 at 8:34 pm }

Ahh, well… Pretty much every decision seemed a good idea at the time! 😉 😀

But yeah, white dogs when *racing* in the snow, fog & the other poor visibility conditions in places like Alaska… Hmmm. Though, come to think of it, whilst it may make visibility a little worse, probably really doesn’t make a lot of difference much of the time. 🙂

Started in ’79 & is 79! Wonder if Jim will celebrate? It’s a kind of *anniversary*. 😉 😀

Yep! Definitely a tough ol’ guy! He may have gotten on well with my Maternal Grandpa. Except Grandpa was born in the late 19th Century! 🤔🙃

I spent a little time in Alaska, a few days with GD/USAF @ Elmendorf. Thankfully, it wasn’t January!🥶

4 Bryan { 03.11.20 at 8:36 pm }

Alas, Jim had to scratch. He didn’t feel he was in good enough shape to take care of his puppies, and that is the primary test for a musher – the welfare of the dogs. Slinging 50 pound bags of food and hay bales for the dogs to rest on is part of the race. The trail is real Alaska weather this year – cold with snow and wind.

Well Anchorage is the Alaskan Riviera. It’s not the serious part of the state like Eielson and Fairbanks. You get the same temps as Anchorage in your southern mountains in July and August.