Category — Iditarod

The people who have completed their 24-hour layover are back in front, while the people who delayed it are on theirs.

There is an 8-hour layover that has to be taken on the Yukon, so things will even out. At Ruby are the top three finishers at the Yukon Quest this year, Hans, Lance, and Hugh, as well as Jeff and Mitch who have proved they know how to win this race. There has been some snow in the area, so there will be some trail-breaking that will be more work for the dogs on the leading team, but the temperature is back down in the dog comfort region. Currently [9AM local, Noon CST] in Ruby there is light snow and an invigorating -26°F [-32°C].

At Galena
1 Jeff King (15)

Beyond Ruby
2 Lance Mackey (49)
3 Hugh Neff (56)
4 Mitch Seavey (41)
5 Hans Gatt (20)
6 Sonny Lindner (44)
7 Sebastian Schnuelle (35)
8 Ken Anderson (51)
9 John Baker (8)

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Dallas Seavey won the $3K in gold for the Halfway Prize, but there is a horde on its way that have completed their 24-hour layover, who will soon whiz by. There has been a marked increase in the number of dogs being dropped, Lance Mackey is down to 13 dogs. That probably reflects the early relative warm temperatures and the lack of snow to cushion the trail.

The weather has gotten colder, but there have to be dogs who are not bouncing back from their earlier exertions and don’t want to run. People miss the point that teams are playing when they pull that sled, and if they decide they aren’t having fun, they stop playing and nothing will make them do it again until they are ready. In the old days mushers would whip dogs and they might move, but they wouldn’t put any more than the minimum effort into it. If the dog doesn’t want to do it, it won’t get done. Lead dogs are important, not just for following orders on direction, but for cheerleading. A musher in the Quest carried his primary lead dog on the sled for a couple of checkpoints, because that dog could keep the others charged up until the secondary lead dog got the hang of the job and the respect of the team. It really is all about the dogs.

At Cripple
1 Dallas Seavey (19)
2 John Baker (8)
3 Martin Buser (37)
4 Bruce Linton (65)
5 Michelle Phillips (36)^R
6 Robert Nelson (32)
7 Jeff King (15)
8 Hugh Neff (56)
9 Mitch Seavey (41)
10 Lance Mackey (49)
11 Sebastian Schnuelle (35)
12 Sven Haltmann (42)
13 Sonny Lindner (44)
14 Hans Gatt (20)
15 Rick Swenson (57)
16 Ray Redington, Jr (9)
17 Cim Smyth (3)

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The field is smaller this morning. The Anchorage Daily News has reported on four more scratches at Rainy Pass, in addition to Pat Moon. Michael Suprenant and Zoya DeNure both have medical problems, Karin Hendrickson has a busted sled, and Kirk Barnum scratched because his dogs were too tired to race.

Zoya, along with Colleen Robertia, run “rescues, runts, and rejects” on their teams, and it’s a shame that the dogs can’t do what they have spent months training for.

Kirk is from Seeley Lake, Montana, and his dogs just didn’t like the trail. He had already dropped 4 dogs when he decided to scratch. It’s a long drive from Seeley Lake, and the dogs apparently didn’t acclimate to the new conditions.

The area around Rainy Pass eats sleds and mushers, especially without a lot of snow as a cushion. Generally the sleds don’t track well and slide into trees and boulders.

Jeff King took the Spirit Award for being the first into McGrath, but it is Hans Gatt, the current Quest winner, who is Ophir at the lead this morning.

The mass of teams at Takotna are taking their mandatory 24-hour stop.

Current standings [11:00PM CST] below the fold:

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The Anchorage Daily News is reporting that rookie musher Pat Moon (17) of Chicago had to be medevaced to Anchorage after crashing on the trail from Rainy Pass to Rohn in the notorious Dalzell Gorge.

The Iditarod site is reporting that Sam Deltour (66), a med student from Belgium when he isn’t running dogs, came upon Moon and provided assistance.

Moon’s team was uninjured and was also airlifted out.

This is an example of what happens when there isn’t enough snow on the trail for the sled to “bite” the trail and steer. Because you are going down, you need to be able to slow the team down, which also requires snow.

The official reporting will carry him at Rainy Pass, which is the last check point he made. Moon had delayed getting chemotherapy for a chronic condition to be in shape for the race.

The leading third are playing “pinball” on The Burn, second-growth forest from a major wildfire. The recent snow has helped to provide more cushions, but this is an area known for smashing sleds and mushers. The new growth also attracts moose, who are a danger to dogs and mushers as they will use the trail and often will rest on it. [Update 10:30PM CST]

Beyond Nikolai
1 Jeff King (15)
2 Sebastian Schnuelle (35)
3 John Baker (8)
4 Mitch Seavey (41)
5 Sven Haltmann (42)
6 Hugh Neff (56)
7 Gerry Willomitzer (55)
8 Lance Mackey (49)
9 Zack Steer (47)
10 Aliy Zirkle (50)
11 Dallas Seavey (19)
12 Paul Gebhardt (7)
13 Ray Redington, Jr (9)
14 Cim Smyth (3)
15 Sonny Lindner (44)
16 Ryan Redington (25)
17 Martin Buser (37)

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The leaders are beyond Rainy Pass and everyone is beyond Skwentna. Next up is the descent to Rohn and then the stumps and moose on the Burn into Nikolai. The most current standings [11:30PM CST] are:

At Rohn
1 Sebastian Schnuelle (35)
2 John Baker (8)

Beyond Rainy Pass
3 Warren Palfrey (27)
4 Ray Redington, Jr (9)
5 Zack Steer (47)
6 Paul Gebhardt (7)
7 Sven Haltmann (42)
8 Hugh Neff (56)
9 Jeff King (15)
10 Mitch Seavey (41)
11 William “Middie” Johnson (16)^R
12 Hans Gatt (20)
13 Gerry Willomitzer (55)
14 Lance Mackey (49)
15 Cim Smyth (3)
16 Linwood Fiedler (2)
17 Aliy Zirkle (50)
18 Ryan Redington (25)
19 Martin Buser (37)
20 Dallas Seavey (19)
21 Jessie Royer (6)
22 Ken Anderson (51)
23 Sonny Lindner (44)
24 Thomas Lesatz (62)
25 Jim Lanier (43)

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I just realized I haven’t provided the trail distances between checkpoints.

Willow – Start
Yentna Station – 52 miles [84 km]
Skwentna – 34 miles [55 km]
Finger Lake – 45 miles [72 km]
Rainy Pass – 30 miles [48 km]
Rohn – 48 miles [77 km]
Nikolai – 75 miles [121 km]
McGrath – 54 miles [87 km]
Takotna – 18 miles [29 km]
Ophir – 25 miles [40 km]
Cripple – 59 miles [95 km]
Ruby – 112 miles [180 km]
Galena – 52 miles [84 km]
Nulato – 52 miles [84 km]
Kaltag – 42 miles [68 km]
Unalakleet – 90 miles [145 km]
Shaktoolik – 42 miles [68 km]
Koyuk – 48 miles [77 km]
Elim – 48 miles [77 km]
Golovin – 28 miles [45 km]
White Mountain – 18 miles [29 km]
Safety – 55 miles [88 km]
Nome – 22 miles [35 km]

The distance is from the previous checkpoint. Some teams in the early going will travel at 12 mph [20kph] or better with all 16 dogs eager to go.

The teams left Willow starting at 5:00PM CST [2PM local AKST] with Linwood Fiedler (2) and finishing at 7:20PM CST with Judy Currier (72). That means that Judy with have a mandatory 24-hour layover, while Linwood will have to stay 26 hours and 20 minutes.

The temperatures have been trending a bit lower, and there has been some light snow, but it still looks like a warmer than normal, rough course on both sides of Rainy Pass.

There will be a traffic jam on the trail to Yentna as the pace-setters move to the front and the rookies try to get out of the way. This something that has to take place early as the opportunities become limited once the teams encounter the mountains.

The first position changes won’t be official until the Yentna checkpoint.

Note: 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.

All 71 teams managed to stay in line for the 11 mile parade through Anchorage to the Campbell Airstrip, where dogs and sleds were loaded back onto trucks and taken the 50 miles to Willow, where the real racing begins.

The big news was apparently the Scots who were supporters of their laddies in the race showing up in kilts. Apparently few Alaskans know what the weather is like in the Highlands.

There has been light snow along the route, but nothing like the deep pack of last year.

Update: I forgot to mention that this year they are going to do drug testing of the mushers as well as the dogs. That should be interesting…

OK, so tomorrow is really a parade of the mushers from Anchorage to Campbell Airstrip, and the real racing starts on Sunday from Willow.

There has been a noticeable lack of substantial snowfall on the southern half of the course, which will make for some rough riding and problems steering. So far things have gotten a little colder than last week, but heat will still be a concern when the dogs would prefer temperatures below 20°F [-7°C].

Teams leave Willow at two minute intervals, with the time difference adjusted at the 24-hour stop, i.e. the team that left Willow last can leave after 24 hours, but the team that left first will have over 2 hours added to their stop.

In addition to the 24-hour stop, the teams must make an 8-hour stop on the Yukon, and everyone has an 8-hour stop at White Mountain. The stops have to be at checkpoints, and they can’t be combined.

The trail around Rainy Pass through the Alaska Range is probably the hardest on sleds and mushers, as the climb and descent involve a lot of switch-backs and mountain hugging. With a snow deficit, it will be nastier than normal.

If the wind kicks up around the Norton Sound, blizzard conditions and wind chills below -40°[same in F & C] are quite common.

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Iditarod, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.

The Iditarod posts 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.

Below the fold is the starting grid:

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Next Saturday is Susan Butcher Day in Alaska, which means the start of the Iditarod.

As this is an even year, the race will use the northern loop from Ophir to Kaltag, and pass through lovely places like Galena [a former Air Force facility that put the COLD in Cold War].

If you had been paying attention there will be some familiar names among the 75 teams including Hans Gatt and the rest of the top six finishers in the Yukon Quest, as well as Sam Deltour of Belgium and Gerry Willomitzer of Whitehorse.

In addition to Sam Deltour the foreign mushers have Newton Marshall of Jamaica [completed the Yukon Quest last year], and Wattie McDonald and John Stewart of Scotland.

There are eight mushers in the Canadian contingent, four from the Yukon, two from Alberta, and one each from British Columbia and Ontario.

The real question is weather. The same pattern that has been sucking cold air into Florida has been pulling mild air into Alaska. I had Arctic Survival in March of 1968 and it didn’t get above -40°, so temperatures above freezing at Nome are definitely not what I would have expected. The Yukon Quest was held a week earlier than in past years and the temperatures were moderate, so people may have to consider changing the dates to even earlier in the winter.

Timothy Hunt (64)^R 03/24 04:06AM AKDT 15 days 14 hrs 6 mins 22 secs

67 teams started with 1072 dogs; 52 teams with 575 dogs finished including 8 rookie teams.

7 rookies and 8 veterans had to drop out.

Weather was a major factor, with heavy snows just prior to the start of the race, followed by relatively warm weather, and then the brutal wind chill along the southern route and up the coast. There was a 50° temperature swing, not counting the wind chill.

Update: List of Awards for this year’s race.

The City of Nome Lolly Medley Golden Harness Award Winner– Originally presented by the late Lolly Medley, Wasilla harness maker and one of two women to run the second Iditarod in 1974. The award honors an outstanding lead dog, chosen by the mushers. This year’s recipient was Kuling a 9 year old member of Jessie Royer’s team from Fairbanks Alaska. Kuling has completed seven Iditarods and led her team to an 8th place finish in 2009. She was Jessie’s lead dog for all seven of her Iditarods.

Just after 3 4AM CDT:

45 Rachael Scdoris (58) 03/23 12 01:08:50AM AKDT 14 days 10 11 hrs 8 mins 50 secs.
[Someone forgot to change their clock. Now Rachael can look forward to the 3000 mile road trip to take her dogs back to Bend, Oregon.]
46 Tim Osmar (57)
47 Wade Marrs (48)^R

White Mountain: [Noon CDT the group is headed for Nome; at 9PM CDT they had finished]

48 Trent Herbst (20)
49 Michael Suprenant (11)^R
50 Eric Rogers (60)

Out of Elim: [Both out of White Mountain at 8PM CDT]

51 Heather Siirtola (63)
52 Timothy Hunt (64)^R [Red Lantern]

Heather Siirtola must have really been wiped out; she spent 28 hours at Elim before leaving just behind Timothy Hunt just after midnight AKDT.

Scratched at Shaktoolik: Alan Peck (32)^R was looking at about two days on the trail alone. Finishing would have been nice, but the winds really beat up on him and his team.

Finished as of Midnight CDT:

43 Jen Seavey (61)^R
44 Tom Thurston (27)^R

On the trail between White Mountain and Nome:

45 Tim Osmar (57)
46 Rachael Scdoris (58)
47 Wade Marrs (48)^R

On the trail between Elim and White Mountain:

48 Trent Herbst (20)
49 Eric Rogers (60)
50 Michael Suprenant (11)^R

In Elim:

51 Heather Siirtola (63) [nearly 24 hours]
52 Timothy Hunt (64)^R

On the trail between Shaktoolik and Koyuk:

53 Alan Peck (32)^R [Red Lantern]