Posts from — March 2022

It’s that time of year. Spring arrives at 10:31AM CDT this morning. You could have watched it come at Archæoastronomy.

The air is already filled with pollen and the live oaks are dropping last year’s leaves. The azaleas have already peaked and the pear trees are snowy with blooms.

I would note that locally we have had 12 hours or more of daylight since St. Patrick’s Day, and usually do.

Today should be the final day of the race, weather permitting.

Leaving White Mountain three rookies Sean Williams (2)^R, Bridgett Watkins (36)^R, and Gerhardt Thiart (39)^R got slammed by a weather change and had to be helped back to White Mountain where they scratched.

This morning Riley Dyche (15) is the only one moving. Jeff Deeter (34), KattiJo Deeter (19)^R, and Sebastien Dos Santos Borges (44)^R are camping together about 50 miles from Nome waiting for the winds to die down. The wind chill is -30°F and the puppies don’t like it. The final four teams are waiting it out at White Mountain.

Update: Iditarod mushers Sebastien Dos Santos Borges (bib #44, rookie), KattiJo Deeter (bib #19, rookie) and Jeff Deeter (bib #34, veteran) have scratched from the Iditarod between the checkpoints of White Mountain and Safety.

Update: It is possible that the Red Lantern will make it to Nome before midnight AKDT, but I need to go to bed. [I was right in my estimate with 20 minutes to spare.]

Standings at 2:39AM CDT (11:39PM AKDT):

Finished at Nome
1 Brent Sass (27)
2 Dallas Seavey (20)
3 Jessie Holmes (7)
4 Dan Kaduce (28)
5 Peter Kaiser (37)
6 Richie Diehl (18)
7 Chad Stoddard (46)
8 Aaron Burmeister (23)
9 Ryan Redington (17)
10 Aaron Peck (21)
11 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (12)
12 Travis Beals (42)
13 Ramey Smyth (8)
14 Mille Porsild (33)
15 Mitch Seavey (30)
16 Matt Hall (31)
17 Michelle Phillips (4)
18 Lev Shvarts (16)
19 Hanna Lyrek (13)^R
20 Paige Drobny (5)
21 Martin Massicotte (6)^Q
22 Mats Pettersson (11)
23 Anna Berington (9)
24 Kristy Berington (24)
25 Joe Taylor (22)^R
26 Martin Buser (38)
27 Amanda Otto (32)^R
28 Jeff King (3)
29 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)
30 Matthew Failor (10)
31 Matt Paveglio (48)^R
32 Karin Hendrickson (40)
33 Riley Dyche (15)
34 Eric Kelly (14)^R
35 Kailyn Davis (41)^R
36 Yuka Honda (49)
37 Apayauq Reitan (47)Φ

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Tomorrow is the final full day of the race.

Finished at Nome
21 Martin Massicotte (6)^Q
22 Mats Pettersson (11)
23 Anna Berington (9)
24 Kristy Berington (24)
25 Joe Taylor (22)^R
26 Martin Buser (38)
27 Amanda Otto (32)^R
28 Jeff King (3)
29 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)
30 Matthew Failor (10)
31 Matt Paveglio (48)^R
32 Karin Hendrickson (40)

Standings at 7:45PM CDT (4:45PM AKDT):
Beyond White Mountain
33 Riley Dyche (15)
34 Jeff Deeter (34)
35 KattiJo Deeter (19)^R
36 Sean Williams (2)^R
37 Sebastien Dos Santos Borges (44)^R
38 Bridgett Watkins (36)^R
39 Gerhardt Thiart (39)^R
At White Mountain
40 Kailyn Davis (41)^R
41 Eric Kelly (14)^R
42 Yuka Honda (49)
43 Apayauq Reitan (47)

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Éireann go Brách!

Well everyone agrees that he died on March 17^th, but the year is subject to debate. This is his feast day on the Catholic calendar. Enjoy as you are wont.

Wikipedia has more on Saint Patrick’s Day, if you need more.

From the press release:
Veteran Iditarod musher Lisbet Norris (bib #43) of Fairbanks, Alaska, scratched at 11:50 p.m. on March 16, 2022, at the Unalakleet checkpoint. Norris made the decision to scratch in the best interest of her race team. Norris had 10 dogs in harness at the time she made the decision to scratch.

Her Siberians were the best looking dogs on the trail.

Finished at Nome
11 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (12)
12 Travis Beals (42)
13 Ramey Smyth (8)
14 Mille Porsild (33)
15 Mitch Seavey (30)
16 Matt Hall (31)
17 Michelle Phillips (4)
18 Lev Shvarts (16)
19 Hanna Lyrek (13)^R
20 Paige Drobny (5)
21 Martin Massicotte (6)^Q
22 Mats Pettersson (11)
23 Anna Berington (9)
24 Kristy Berington (24)
25 Joe Taylor (22)^R
26 Martin Buser (38)
27 Amanda Otto (32)^R
28 Jeff King (3)

Standings at 8:45PM CDT (5:45PM AKDT):
Beyond Safety
29 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)
Beyond White Mountain
30 Karin Hendrickson (40)
31 Matthew Failor (10)
32 Matt Paveglio (48)^R
At White Mountain
33 Riley Dyche (15)
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The top 10 are finished this morning. Hanna Lyrek (13) appears to be locked in for rookie of the year.

Finished at Nome
1 Brent Sass (27)
2 Dallas Seavey (20)
3 Jessie Holmes (7)
4 Dan Kaduce (28)
5 Peter Kaiser (37)
6 Richie Diehl (18)
7 Chad Stoddard (46)
8 Aaron Burmeister (23)
9 Ryan Redington (17)
10 Aaron Peck (21)
11 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (12)
12 Travis Beals (42)
13 Ramey Smyth (8)
14 Mille Porsild (33)
15 Mitch Seavey (30)
16 Matt Hall (31)
17 Michelle Phillips (4)
18 Lev Shvarts (16)
19 Hanna Lyrek (13)^R
20 Paige Drobny (5)

Standings at 9:00PM CDT (6:00PM AKDT):
Beyond White Mountain
21 Mats Pettersson (11)
22 Martin Massicotte (6)^Q
23 Kristy Berington (24)
24 Anna Berington (9)
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At 05:38:43 AKDT [08:38:43 CDT] Brent Sass and 11 puppies crossed under the burled arch at Nome to win the Iditarod in 8 days 14 hours 38 minutes 43 seconds of race time. Dallas Seavey made a great run but missed his sixth win by an hour and 12 minutes.

Finished at Nome
1 Brent Sass (27)
2 Dallas Seavey (20)

Standings at 8:45PM CDT (5:45PM AKDT):
Beyond Safety
3 Jessie Holmes (7)
4 Dan Kaduce (28)
Beyond White Mountain
5 Richie Diehl (18)
6 Peter Kaiser (37)
7 Aaron Burmeister (23)
8 Chad Stoddard (46)
9 Ryan Redington (17)
At White Mountain
10 Travis Beals (42)
11 Aaron Peck (21)
12 Ramey Smyth (8)
13 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (12)
14 Mille Porsild (33)
15 Matt Hall (31)
16 Mitch Seavey (30)
Beyond Elim
17 Michelle Phillips (4)
18 Lev Shvarts (16)
At Elim
19 Hanna Lyrek (13)^R
20 Paige Drobny (5)
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From the Press Office:
Veteran Iditarod musher Josh McNeal (bib #45) of Fairbanks, Alaska, scratched at 8:05 p.m. today (3/13) at the Galena checkpoint. McNeal made the decision to scratch in the best interest of his race team. McNeal had 10 dogs in harness at the time he made the decision to scratch.

Standings at 10:00PM CDT (7:00PM AKDT):
At White Mountain
1 Brent Sass (27)
2 Dallas Seavey (20)
Beyond Koyuk
3 Dan Kaduce (28)
4 Jessie Holmes (7)
5 Chad Stoddard (46)
6 Aaron Peck (21)
7 Richie Diehl (18)
8 Aaron Burmeister (23)
9 Peter Kaiser (37)
10 Travis Beals (42)
11 Ryan Redington (17)
12 Mille Porsild (33)
At Koyuk
13 Mitch Seavey (30)
14 Michelle Phillips (4)
15 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (12)
16 Matt Hall (31)
Beyond Shaktoolik
17 Lev Shvarts (16)
18 Ramey Smyth (8)
At Shaktoolik
19 Hanna Lyrek (13)^R
20 Paige Drobny (5)
21 Anna Berington (9)
22 Kristy Berington (24)
23 Mats Pettersson (11)
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3/14 is Albert’s birthday and

Π Day.

I assume you have all shopped for the perfect gift.

To start: Π ≅ 3.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399
3751058209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679….

[[!!Don’t forget the time change!!]]

Standings at 8:00PM CDT (5:00PM AKDT):
Beyond Shaktoolik
1 Brent Sass (27)
2 Dallas Seavey (20)
Beyond Unalakleet
3 Aaron Burmeister (23)
4 Richie Diehl (18)
5 Jessie Holmes (7)
At Unalakleet
6 Dan Kaduce (28)
7 Mille Porsild (33)
8 Michelle Phillips (4)
9 Ryan Redington (17)
10 Chad Stoddard (46)
11 Travis Beals (42)
12 Peter Kaiser (37)
Beyond Kaltag
13 Mitch Seavey (30)
14 Aaron Peck (21)
15 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (12)
16 Lev Shvarts (16)
17 Ramey Smyth (8)
18 Paige Drobny (5)
19 Matt Hall (31)
20 Anna Berington (9)
21 Kristy Berington (24)
22 Hanna Lyrek (13)^R
23 Mats Pettersson (11)
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Spring forward, Fall back.

Just to screw up your life, don’t forget that Congress has stolen 2:00 to 2:59AM Sunday from you. They should at least have the decency to wait until the equinoxes to do this sort of thing. There’s barely enough daylight to do what needs to be done, much less save.

It’s a government conspiracy to make you late for church 😈

Don’t forget the time change tonight (2:00AM becomes 3:00AM Sunday).

There are wind warnings up for the Nulato Hills and the Eastern Norton Sound. The run up the coast could get “exciting” as the puppies don’t like to run into the wind. If you’re on the ice you can get blown off the trail.

Standings at 9:30PM CST (6:30PM AKST):
Beyond Kaltag
1 Brent Sass (27)
2 Dallas Seavey (20)
At Kaltag
3 Jessie Holmes (7)
4 Richie Diehl (18)
5 Ryan Redington (17)
Beyond Nulato
6 Aaron Burmeister (23)
7 Mille Porsild (33)
8 Mitch Seavey (30)
9 Peter Kaiser (37)
10 Travis Beals (42)
At Nulato
11 Chad Stoddard (46)
12 Dan Kaduce (28)
13 Michelle Phillips (4)
14 Aaron Peck (21)
15 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (12)
16 Ramey Smyth (8)
17 Lev Shvarts (16)
Beyond Galena
18 Paige Drobny (5)
19 Matt Hall (31)
20 Hanna Lyrek (13)^R
21 Anna Berington (9)
22 Kristy Berington (24)
23 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)
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According to the press release: Veteran Iditarod musher Ryne Olson (bib #35) of Two Rivers, Alaska, scratched at 5:02 p.m. today (3/10/22) at the McGrath checkpoint. Olson made the decision to scratch in the best interest of her race team. Olson had nine dogs in harness at the time she made the decision to scratch.

Rookie Iditarod competitor Julie Ahnen (bib #29), of Cantwell, Alaska, scratched at 9:30 a.m. today at the McGrath checkpoint. Ahnen made the decision to scratch in the best interest of her race team. Ahnen had 10 dogs with her at the time she made the decision to scratch.

Veteran Iditarod musher Hugh Neff (bib #50) of Anchorage, Alaska, scratched at 11:40 a.m. today at the Ruby checkpoint. In conjunction with Iditarod Race Marshal Mark Nordman, Neff made the decision to scratch due to their concern for his race team. Neff had 11 dogs in harness at the time he made the decision to scratch.

Almost the entire field has finished their mandatory 24-hour rest stop and the start times have been equalized, so the race is on.

Standings at 9:30PM CST (6:30PM AKST):
Beyond Galena
1 Brent Sass (27)
Beyond Ruby
2 Dallas Seavey (20)
3 Jessie Holmes (7)
4 Richie Diehl (18)
5 Paige Drobny (5)
At Ruby
6 Ryan Redington (17)
7 Aaron Burmeister (23)
8 Mitch Seavey (30)
9 Mille Porsild (33)
10 Travis Beals (42)
11 Michelle Phillips (4)
12 Peter Kaiser (37)
13 Dan Kaduce (28)
14 Chad Stoddard (46)
15 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (12)
16 Lev Shvarts (16)
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According to the press release:

Veteran Iditarod competitor Anja Radano (bib #26), of Talkeetna, Alaska,
scratched at 9 p.m. tonight at the Nikolai checkpoint.
Radano made the decision to scratch in the best interest of her race team.
Radano had 12 dogs with her at the time she made the decision to scratch.

A lot of teams spent yesterday in their mandatory 24-hour rest stops. The top 5 are resting at Cripple.

Standings at 8:00PM CST (5:00PM AKST):
Beyond Cripple
1 Brent Sass (27)
At Cripple
2 Dallas Seavey (20)
3 Hugh Neff (50)
4 Ryan Redington (17)
5 Mitch Seavey (30)
Beyond Ophir
6 Richie Diehl (18)
7 Aaron Burmeister (23)
8 Mille Porsild (33)
9 Travis Beals (42)
10 Jessie Holmes (7)
11 Paige Drobny (5)
12 Michelle Phillips (4)
13 Aaron Peck (21)
14 Peter Kaiser (37)
15 Chad Stoddard (46)
16 Lev Shvarts (16)
17 Matt Hall (31)
18 Dan Kaduce (28)
19 Jeff Deeter (34)
20 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (12)
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