On-line Opinion Magazine…OK, it's a blog

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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Hanna Lyrek (13) at 22nd is leading for Rookies this morning, while Lisbet Norris (43) and her pedigreed Anadyr Siberian Huskies are carrying the Red Lantern.

It is possible that some of the teams are taking their 24-hour stops.

Standings at 9:00PM CST (6:00PM AKST):
At Cripple
1 Brent Sass (27)
Beyond Ophir
2 Dallas Seavey (20)
3 Ryan Redington (17)
4 Mitch Seavey (30)
5 Hugh Neff (50)
At Ophir
6 Richie Diehl (18)
7 Mille Porsild (33)
8 Jessie Holmes (7)
9 Paige Drobny (5)
10 Michelle Phillips (4)
11 Travis Beals (42)
12 Aaron Peck (21)
13 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (12)
14 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)
15 Kristy Berington (24)
16 Anna Berington (9)
Beyond McGrath
17 Jeff King (3)
At McGrath
18 Aaron Burmeister (23)
19 Peter Kaiser (37)
20 Lev Shvarts (16)
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Takotna, a very popular spot for taking the 24-hour mandatory stop, isn’t a check point this year because of Covid. All of the teams are required to be vaccinated to race, are tested throughout the race, and masked when around people inside.

Standings at 9:00PM CST (6:00PM AKST):
At McGrath
1 Aaron Burmeister (23)
Beyond Nikolai
2 Brent Sass (27)
3 Dallas Seavey (20)
4 Ryan Redington (17)
5 Richie Diehl (18)
6 Mille Porsild (33)
7 Mitch Seavey (30)
8 Michelle Phillips (4)
9 Hugh Neff (50)
10 Paige Drobny (5)
11 Jessie Holmes (7)
12 Lev Shvarts (16)
13 Matt Hall (31)
14 Peter Kaiser (37)
15 Dan Kaduce (28)
16 Riley Dyche (15)
At Nikolai
17 Travis Beals (42)
18 Matthew Failor (10)
19 Jeff Deeter (34)
20 Aaron Peck (21)
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Mitch & Dallas Seavey and Kristy & Anna Berington are paired, but Jeff Deeter has left KattiJo behind. Most teams are in the 9 to 10 mph range.

Standings at 10:00PM CST (7:00PM AKST):
At Rohn
1 Ryan Redington (17)
Beyond Rainy Pass
2 Dallas Seavey (20)
3 Paige Drobny (5)
4 Brent Sass (27)
5 Jessie Holmes (7)
6 Michelle Phillips (4)
7 Mille Porsild (33)
8 Mitch Seavey (30)
9 Richie Diehl (18)
10 Dan Kaduce (28)
11 Jeff Deeter (34)
12 Hugh Neff (50)
13 Matt Hall (31)
14 Lev Shvarts (16)
15 Ramey Smyth (8)
16 Riley Dyche (15)
17 Aaron Peck (21)
18 Martin Massicotte (6)^Q
19 Mats Pettersson (11)
20 Chad Stoddard (46)
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And they’re off. The temperature is forecast to be in the low to mid 30s F which can lead to heat stroke in sled dogs, not great conditions and can lead to weak ice on the rivers. There’s about 5 hours of sunlight left at the starting time and teams leave at two minute intervals, so the last team out is over an hour and a half after the first team, which means Hugh Neff has higher temperatures and less sunlight to use.

Update: The Deeters, Lisbet Norris & Yuka Hondo left with 13 puppies, the rest left with 14.

Standings at 10:00PM CST (7:00PM AKST):
Beyond Yentna
1 Martin Massicotte (6)^Q
2 Paige Drobny (5)
3 Jessie Holmes (7)
4 Jeff King (3)
5 Sean Williams (2)^R
6 Ryan Redington (17)
7 Hanna Lyrek (13)^R
8 Anna Berington (9)
9 Mats Pettersson (11)
10 Matthew Failor (10)
11 Michelle Phillips (4)
12 Aaron Burmeister (23)
13 Brent Sass (27)
14 Lev Shvarts (16)
15 Dan Kaduce (28)
16 Kristy Berington (24)
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This is the starting grid for the racing. Jeff King is replacing Nicholas Petit who has been side-lined by Covid.

Standings at 4:30PM CST (1:30PM AKST):

At Willow
1 Sean Williams (2)^R
2 Jeff King (3)
3 Michelle Phillips (4)
4 Paige Drobny (5)
5 Martin Massicotte (6)^Q
6 Jessie Holmes (7)
7 Ramey Smyth (8)
8 Anna Berington (9)
9 Matthew Failor (10)
10 Mats Pettersson (11)
11 Joar Leifseth Ulsom (12)
12 Hanna Lyrek (13)^R
13 Eric Kelly (14)^R
14 Riley Dyche (15)
15 Lev Shvarts (16)
16 Ryan Redington (17)
17 Richie Diehl (18)
18 KattiJo Deeter (19)^R
19 Dallas Seavey (20)
20 Aaron Peck (21)
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Anchorage & Campbell Airstrip
Willow
Skwentna & Yentna, Finger Lake, Rainy Pass, Rohn
McGrath & Nikolai, Takotna, Ophir
Ruby
Galena
Nulato
Kaltag
Unalakleet
Shaktoolik
Koyuk
Elim
Golovin
White Mountain
Nome & Safety

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.

The trail and 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 dogs eager to go. There are reasons not to do this.

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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.

The last day before the beginning of Lent on the Gulf Coast that once belonged to France, it is Mardi Gras, “Fat Tuesday”: Laissez les bon temps rouler!

It was first celebrated in Mobile, Alabama, but the big show these days is in New Orleans, and it is a holiday in the state of Louisiana, because people wouldn’t show up for work anyway, so why fight it.

The tradition is to serve King cake, which is a circle of cinnamon bun dough with a white frosting on top sprinkled with sugar colored purple, gold, and green. If that weren’t bad enough, they put the figurine of a baby in the dough, and whoever finds it in their piece is supposed to be lucky. Actually if you find it and don’t choke on it, I guess you are lucky. You should use a small ceramic figurine, as some of the cheap plastic versions melt in the oven [yummy].

In Britain, Ireland, and many of the Commonwealth countries Shrove Tuesday is celebrated as Pancake Day.

This year there have been limited parades on different than normal routes. Things aren’t back to normal yet and many are still leery of crowds.

He has been planning for this war for a long time.

On Twitter – Rob Lee:

Russia’s current activities are a continuation of the buildup it stared in March 2021, a month before Biden announced the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Units from the 41st Combined Arms Army based in Siberia were deployed in March and never left the Ukrainian border.

If you are going to stage a bogus attack, you need troops with no ties to whoever is being attacked. When the Chinese massacred protesters in Tiananmen Square, they brought in troops from the other side of China with no ties to Beijing. Using non-Slavic troops from the Far East was to be expected as a prelude to the attack. It also means the body bags will be shipped back to Siberia and not to European Russian cities.

During the staged session of Putin’s security council, the head of the SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service), Sergei Naryshin, had a hard time reading his script. He will probably be gone soon as he does not appear to be 100% behind Putin’s plan.

Today, February 23rd is Defense of the Fatherland Day in Russia. It included fireworks, parades, and invading a neighboring country.

When I was stationed at Rhein-Main Air Base outside of Frankfurt am Main one of our main concerns was the Soviet Army coming in through the Fulda Gap. This was the easiest path for mechanized troops to enter the heartland of Europe from the Soviet Union.

An extremely important piece of information was the weather forecast for East Germany. The path was mud during the early Spring when the ground thawed which allowed us to relax a bit. Tracked vehicles might make it through the muck, but the wheeled vehicles that supplied them with fuel and ammunition would be forced to use roads. Main battle tanks tear up secondary roads, but they would have to travel close to the roads to be supplied. MBTs don’t have Prius fuel economy ratings. This makes them easy targets. If you take out the supply vehicles, the tanks become fixed artillery positions.

The ten-day forecast for the Ukraine shows above freezing temperatures and intermittent rain. The Russians have waited too long for their mechanized units to be fully effective. They were already having trouble with the wetlands in Belarus.

The Russian may invade, but they can’t win. Ukrainians are not Russians and don’t want to be. Guerrilla groups can be supplied via Poland. Once the sanctions begin, Putin will have trouble in Moscow as well as Kyiv. NATO will rearm.