Category — Iditarod

Christine is having a terrible time getting over the finish line. It took her 15½ hours to get to Safety, and she had to drop a puppy, which probably explains part of the speed loss. It isn’t certain that she will make it, but you have to admit she is certainly giving it her best effort. I definitely would not want to be the first patient she sees [she’s a dentist] after this, unless she has a solid week of recuperation built into her plans.

The trail from Safety to Nome is mostly downhill and the temperature is above 20°F, but there is 20 knot wind and blowing snow. At least the wind is out of the East, so it is pushing the team towards Nome, rather than hitting them in the face.

Christine made it in around 1:30Pm local time after a decent run from Safety, and has taken the Red Lantern. She has about an hour to clean up before the banquet starts.

Finished At Nome
50 Mikhail Telpin (63)^Q
51 Cindy Gallea (17)
52 James Volek (66)^R
53 Bob Chlupach (43)
54 Christine Roalofs (37)^R 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.

This is the last day of the race. This morning only minutes separated Luan and Mikhail, and Christine only has an hour lead over Bob, so things aren’t quite settled at the moment.

Mikhail has had to finally drop a puppy at White Mountain.

Update: Mikhail is showing no interest in catching Luan, but Luan is really roaring down the trail at better than 8mph.

Bob is only 8 minutes behind Christine having shaved an hour off her lead between Elim and White Mountain.

Update: Dorado’s cause of death has been determined to be: asphyxiation as the result of being buried by snow in severe wind conditions. He was chained and couldn’t move, so he was smothered by drifting snow.

Finished At Nome
45 Mike Williams Sr (35)
46 Gerald Sousa (49)
47 Louie Ambrose (53)^R
48 Angie Taggart (40)
49 Luan Ramos Marques (47)^R
50 Mikhail Telpin (63)^Q
51 Cindy Gallea (17)
Beyond White Mountain
52 James Volek (66)^R
At White Mountain
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 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.

Just over half of the teams still in the race have finished at Nome.

Cindy Abbott (60) has scratched at Kaltag. She pulled a muscle [probably slinging hay bales or food bags, and didn’t feel she could take care of her puppies. Update: Cindy’s problem might have been related to an earlier injury to her leg in the Burn.

Speaking of puppies, Luan Ramos Marques (47) and Mikhail Telpin (63) still have have not had to drop a dog. Mikhail only uses 12 dogs, as he did on the Quest, but Luan is caring for 16.

Finished At Nome
11 Aaron Burmeister (24)
12 Ken Anderson (6)
13 Peter Kaiser (10)
14 Josh Cadzow (55)^Q
15 Cim Smyth (51)
16 Paul Gebhardt (11)
17 Martin Buser (2)
18 Jessie Royer (30)
19 Lance Mackey (5)
20 Ramey Smyth (38)
21 John Baker (13)
22 Brent Sass (62)
23 Michael Williams Jr (46)
24 Michelle Phillips (7)
25 Jessica Hendricks (54)
26 Kelley Griffin (9)
27 Curt Perano (45)
28 Matt Failor (61)
29 Linwood Fiedler (42)
30 Mike Ellis (50)
31 Kelly Maixner (25)
32 Wade Marrs (57)
33 Allen Moore (48)
34 Paige Drobny (14)^Q
35 Jim Lanier (59)
36 Richie Diehl (65)^R
37 Travis Beals (22)^R
38 Justin Savidis (34)
39 Matt Giblin (64)
40 Karin Hendrickson (29)
41 Aaron Peck (58) [Read more →]

Mitch Seavey is the oldest musher to win the Iditarod as he crossed the finish 24 minutes ahead of Aliy. Mitch’s son, Dallas, is the youngest musher to win the Iditarod. Dallas also finished just ahead of Aliy. This is the second time Mitch has won the race.

Mitch kept a consistent pace, but Aliy just couldn’t make up the time. She made up a minute between Safety and Nome, but lost 12 minutes between White Mountain and Safety.

Update: Charley Bejna (15) scratched on the trail to Shaktoolik. He only had 7 puppies left, and wasn’t sure they could make it in.

One of the most annoying things about the Iditarod Trail Committee is that they stop reporting on the back of the back after the leaders reach Nome. Cindy Abbott (60) left Eagle Island more than 24 hours ago for the trail into Kaltag, and seemingly disappeared. She has been running decent times, so she should have arrived in 12 or 13 hours, but there is no indication that she has. Maybe her GPS is working and showing progress, but they haven’t bothered to update their standings for those in the back all day. This is not a very professional way of operating a long distance race.

Finished At Nome
1 Mitch Seavey (36)
2 Aliy Zirkle (27)
3 Jeff King (18)
4 Dallas Seavey (19)
5 Ray Redington Jr (52)
6 Nicolas Petit (16)
7 Joar Leifseth Ulson (32)^R
8 Jake Berkowitz (44)
9 Sonny Lindner (67)
10 DeeDee Jonrowe (28) [Read more →]

Aliy lost the Yukon Quest 300 by 8 seconds this year, I don’t think she’s in the mood for another second place. She picked up over a half hour on Mitch in the run to White Mountain so her puppies are ready for the final run.

There is an 8-hour mandatory stop so they can’t leave until after 1PM local, and then about 75 miles to Nome, around 12 hours at a minimum. The winner will cross the line early tomorrow morning AKDT.

Update: Jason Mackey (12) and Rudy Demonski Sr (39) both scratched at Unalakleet. Jason wasn’t feeling at all well, and Rudy had the same thought about the 9 puppies still in harness. Warm wet weather isn’t good for man or dog.

I see that Jan Steves (26) is currently in last place. I really doubt she wants another Red Lantern. Update: She scratched at Eagle Island. Her team lost its will to race; they weren’t happy puppies anymore.

Update: Robert Bundtzen (23) scratched at Shaktoolik. He didn’t think his puppies were having fun on the trail as they weren’t acting normally.

Beyond Safety
1 Mitch Seavey (36)
2 Aliy Zirkle (27) +00:25:00
Beyond White Mountain
3 Jeff King (18) +01:41:00
4 Dallas Seavey (19) +02:59:00
5 Ray Redington Jr (52) +03:02:00
6 Joar Leifseth Ulson (32)^R +04:06:00
7 Nicolas Petit (16)
8 Jake Berkowitz (44)
9 Aaron Burmeister (24)
10 Sonny Lindner (67)
11 DeeDee Jonrowe (28) [Read more →]

Gerry Willomitzer (21) has been withdrawn because it would take at least a day for the team to go back to Iditarod from Shageluk to take custody of the AWOL Montego, and then continue towards Nome. In addition to the time involved, two travel days, Gerry probably doesn’t have the supplies available for the additional trip.

Montego escaped on the trail after Iditarod. While Gerry was looking, he was told that Montego was in custody and would be taken to the next checkpoint. What Gerry didn’t know is that the person who found Montego was traveling South, and took the puppy back to Iditarod. Gerry continued to Shageluk expecting to find Montego there.

For everyone else, things are getting better as the temperature has finally remembered that Spring hasn’t sprung and things are still supposed to be frozen in Alaska. The original Iditarod run was because it was too cold to transport needed vaccine to Nome using anything but dog sleds.

At Elim
1 Mitch Seavey (36)
Beyond Koyuk
2 Jeff King (18)
3 Aliy Zirkle (27)
4 Ray Redington Jr (52)
5 Aaron Burmeister (24)
6 Joar Leifseth Ulson (32)^R
7 Jake Berkowitz (44)
8 Dallas Seavey (19)
9 Sonny Lindner (67)
10 DeeDee Jonrowe (28)
11 Ken Anderson (6) [Read more →]

Aliy has a lead of just under 2 hours over Aaron, and Martin is a half hour behind them.

The Yukon was not a fun place for puppies. Jessie Royer had to leave 3 of her 12 dogs behind when she left Kaltag, but they have a lot of new dogs to meet at the dog clinic.

You don’t normally have to deal with the wet-dog-odor during the winter in Alaska because the sled dog coat is water repellant and the cold air provides freeze drying. If a dog happens to fall into a river and gets out fairly quickly, a roll in the snow to speed the freezing, and one good shake dries them out in the low humidity of extreme cold. The problem is that when a sled dog gets really soaked, it takes forever for their undercoats to dry out.

The other big problem is cut paws caused by the pads softening in the wet. The booties help to prevent a lot of cuts, but they can’t stop them all.

Mitch Seavey was First to the Coast by passing three other teams to get there. Aliy and Martin are keeping to their schedules, so I expect them both to be back and blow through Unalakleet.

Beyond Unalakleet
1 Mitch Seavey (36)
2 Aaron Burmeister (24)
3 Jeff King (18)
4 Aliy Zirkle (27)
5 Joar Leifseth Ulson (32)^R
6 Ray Redington Jr (52)
At Unalakleet
7 Jake Berkowitz (44)
8 DeeDee Jonrowe (28)
9 Sonny Lindner (67)
10 Martin Buser (2)
11 Dallas Seavey (19)
12 Nicolas Petit (16)
13 John Baker (13)
14 Peter Kaiser (10) [Read more →]

Warm weather and rain are not good for sled dogs. They have over-heating from the high temperature, and foot problems from wet paws. That is what is happening on the trail along the Yukon River. In addition there are concerns about the delivery of supplies to Eagle Island, that have led teams to load up with extra food at Anvik. The weather system that brought the warm temperatures and rain has also been preventing flights into the remote region.

The Yukon River is the transportation system for the region. When it’s liquid, things move by boat; when it’s frozen things move by sled; when it is in transition, things don’t move.

Update: Michael Suprenant (33) has scratched at Iditarod. He turned around and came back because the 12 puppies still in harness weren’t having fun anymore. It is a long way to Shageluk from Iditarod and the puppies weren’t into Singing in the Rain.

Beyond Kaltag
1 Aliy Zirkle (27)
At Kaltag
2 Martin Buser (2)
3 Mitch Seavey (36)
4 Aaron Burmeister (24)
5 Jake Berkowitz (44)
6 Jessie Royer (30)
7 Joar Leifseth Ulson (32)^R
8 Sonny Lindner (67)
9 Ray Redington Jr (52)
Beyond Eagle Island
10 Nicolas Petit (16)
11 Lance Mackey (5)
12 Dallas Seavey (19)
13 DeeDee Jonrowe (28)
14 Jeff King (18)
15 Ken Anderson (6)
16 Paul Gebhardt (11)
17 John Baker (13)
18 Peter Kaiser (10)
19 Brent Sass (62)
20 Michelle Phillips (7) [Read more →]

It is 6AM on the trail between McGrath and the Yukon River and the temperatures are above freezing. This is not good news if you are on a dog sled.

Martin is managing to take full advantage of his early strategy and has arrived for the meal and cash given to the first musher to reach the Yukon, but he had to wade in water to do it. This is not the March in Alaska that I experienced, when I went through Arctic survival school near Fairbanks in temperatures down to -45°F.

Aliy has taken the lead and it looks like Martin is going to take the 8-hour mandatory stop on the Yukon in Anvik. Aliy has an hour lead on Aaron and two hours on Jake, which is not much at this point in the race. Everyone has to take an 8-hour on the Yukon, so the lead will change.

Martin is back in front having finished his 8-hour in Anvik, while Aliy et al. wait theirs out in Grayling. Martin has 5 hours on Aliy, so it will come down to the race to rest ratio the teams use. Jake still has all 16 puppies, and is posting good speeds, but if he starts reducing the rest periods, the speed won’t last. Martin has a plan that has proven to work this year, so he won’t alter it.

Joar Ulson of Norway has been having an impressive race for a veteran, and this is his first time on the Iditarod. He is the latest of a long string of Norwegians to take on the Iditarod, and he obviously has done his homework.

Beyond Grayling
1 Martin Buser (2)
2 Aliy Zirkle (27)
3 Joar Leifseth Ulson (32)^R
4 Nicolas Petit (16)
5 Jessie Royer (30)
6 Mitch Seavey (36)
7 Jeff King (18)
At Grayling
8 Aaron Burmeister (24)
9 Jake Berkowitz (44)
10 Sonny Lindner (67)
11 DeeDee Jonrowe (28)
12 Paul Gebhardt (11)
13 Ray Redington Jr (52)
14 Peter Kaiser (10)
15 Dallas Seavey (19) [Read more →]

Lance picked up the Halfway gold pulling into Iditarod first, but he is going to be stopped when Martin comes through. Aaron is his closest challenger more than 5 hours behind. The Joker in the deck is where everyone is when the warm front moves in – that will change everything.

Update: David Sawatzky (56) scratched at McGrath. He finished his 24-hour stop at Nikolai but his puppies didn’t seem happy making the run to McGrath. Actually, the ‘tell’ is how well the dogs eat on the trail. If their eating patterns change, there is something wrong.

Update: Newton Marshall (8) of the Jamaican Dog Sled Team has had to scratch at Nikolai. One of the puppies, May, got loose, and hasn’t been found in more than a day. All dogs have to be accounted for to continue a race, and the effort has shifted to locating May, rather than running a race. Newton seriously loves dogs and works with them in Jamaica, so he would be looking for May even if it wasn’t part of the rules.

Note: at 7:30PM local time it was 42°F in McGrath and 49°F here on the Gulf Coast!

Beyond Iditarod
1 Martin Buser (2)
2 Aliy Zirkle (27)
3 Aaron Burmeister (24)
4 Mitch Seavey (36)
At Iditarod
5 Lance Mackey (5)
6 Sonny Lindner (67)
7 Jeff King (18)
8 Jason Mackey (12)
9 Jake Berkowitz (44)
10 Jim Lanier (59)
11 Nicolas Petit (16)
12 Joar Leifseth Ulson (32)^R
13 Ray Redington Jr (52)
14 Paul Gebhardt (11)
15 Jessie Royer (30)
16 DeeDee Jonrowe (28)
17 Dallas Seavey (19)
18 John Baker (13) [Read more →]

The majority of the field is settling in at Takotna and McGrath for their 24-hour stops, but Lance is continuing to Iditarod, which is a long run for the Iditarod.

Currently Martin Buser, Matt Failor, David Sawatzky, and Gerald Sousa have all finished their 24-hours and will be moving through the ranks towards the top while the competition rests.

Weather becomes really important after Ophir, as a strong wind coming up can make the trail impassable and extremely dangerous. A two-hour lead can become a two-day lead if you are ahead of the wind.

Lance is already down to 13 puppies on his team. He still hasn’t found a team to replace the group that retired after carrying him to 4 Iditarod and 4 Quest wins. Martin still has all 16 dogs in harness, and they have shown themselves to be very fast indeed. Jake Berkowitz still has his entire team in harness and he got to Ophir more that 4 hours before Lance.

At this point Martin Buser’s strategy is looking good as he has at least 8 hours on everyone at Takotna. If the weather holds for him, he may be the second 5 time winner, but there is a lot of trail between him and Nome.

Update: The Alaska Dispatch reports that the weather is going to get nasty. A warm front is moving in from the South and will bring high winds, higher temperatures, and rain or snow to the trail. Those who can’t stay ahead of the front can’t be competitive. At best there will be whiteout conditions, at worse the snow will turn to slush, which is terrible for the dogs [and not a lot of fun for the mushers.]

Beyond Ophir
1 Lance Mackey (5)
2 Sonny Lindner (67)
3 Jeff King (18)
At Ophir
4 Jake Berkowitz (44)
5 Nicolas Petit (16)
6 Jim Lanier (59)
7 Jason Mackey (12)
8 Martin Buser (2)
9 Jodi Bailey (4)
At Takotna
10 Aaron Burmeister (24) [Read more →]

The lead is changing and the field is mixing as people make it over the Alaskan Range.

Scott Janssen (3), the Mushing Mortician, scratched at Rainy Pass. The heat got to his team, with one dog falling and four more dehydrated, Scott pulled out. There is too much trail left to try it with 11 dogs, and the dog passing out from the heat shook him up. It is difficult for people to understand that these dogs don’t run well above 20°F. Heat is a big problem for them because they are cold weather experts. They have evolved to retain heat so they can function in the bitter cold, and they generate a lot of heat when they are running.

Martin Buser probably set a record for his run from Willow to Rohn, but he is staying at Rohn to recover. Matt Failor, running Martin’s second team, was also quick considering that he started 2 hours after Martin. His kennel definitely has depth in fast dogs, but that speed takes a toll on dogs, mushers, and equipment.

Update: Martin has decided to take his 24-hour stop at Rohn, which will make a lot of people nervous when they find out. He and the team can certainly use the rest, but it is a long way to Nome.

Beyond McGrath
1 Aaron Burmeister (24)
Beyond Nikolai
2 Aliy Zirkle (27)
3 Mitch Seavey (36)
4 Lance Mackey (5)
5 Paul Gebhardt (11)
6 Jake Berkowitz (44)
7 DeeDee Jonrowe (28)
8 Jessie Royer (30)
9 Michelle Phillips (7)
10 Peter Kaiser (10)
11 Sonny Lindner (67)
12 Ray Redington Jr (52)
13 Dallas Seavey (19)
14 Ken Anderson (6)
15 Joar Leifseth Ulson (32)^R
16 Justin Savidis (34)
17 John Baker (13) [Read more →]

Lots of changes this morning as people start to sort out the long haul running order. Martin has two hours on the Mackey brothers and Matt Failor, and tends to use it to get the best, and safest passage through the Stepping Stones and Dalzell Gorge. Getting by those two with a minimum of damage to your team is worth a lot at the end of the race.

Matt Failor made a major move to get to the front, but if he didn’t over-stress the puppies, it will be worth it in the long run.

Beyond Rohn
1 Paul Gebhardt (11)
2 Aliy Zirkle (27)
At Rohn
3 Martin Buser (2)
4 Matt Failor (61)
5 Lance Mackey (5)
6 Jason Mackey (12)
7 Jessie Royer (30)
8 Aaron Burmeister (24)
Beyond Rainy Pass
9 Gerry Willomitzer (21)
10 DeeDee Jonrowe (28)
11 Jeff King (18)
12 Michelle Phillips (7)
13 Justin Savidis (34)
14 Sonny Lindner (67)
15 John Baker (13) [Read more →]