Icewind's Ramblings

Sort of . . . Tonight’s post is a mix of intriguing stories being reported over the last several days from along the Iditarod Trail. It is a glimpse of the determination of some of the competitors and the many adventures experienced in the thirty fifth Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. I guess this could be called, the good, the bad, and the ugly but what I think this is might be more in the vein of the spirit of what the original serum run had going for it so many years ago. It takes grit, spirit, and a great sense of self for these men and women who run this race. Here are three stories from the Anchorage Daily News reports and wire reports. Iditarod Air Force pilot finds missing musher safe but far off the trail Staff and wire reports Anchorage Daily News A pilot with the volunteer Iditarod Airforce located a missing Iditarod musher about 18 miles from the Rohn checkpoint at the foot of the Alaska Range Thursday afternoon, ending a search by aircraft and

The magic of Iditarod does not happen by accident or by some unknown force. The yearly race from Anchorage to Nome Alaska with Dog Sled teams traveling over 1,100 miles through wilderness, frozen rivers or tundra cannot be done without the efforts of many volunteers. Along the Iditarod Trail the mushers make their way through two dozen checkpoints that are manned by volunteers. At each checkpoint there are supplies for the competing teams, medical personnel for both human and animal patients, and in the few populated checkpoints even a fan or two cheering everyone on. The couple of villages that the race travels through on the way have been known to have the entire population turn out to wish the mushers well. It does not seem to matter what time of day or night as the excitement of the dogs can be heard coming into the checkpoint. The logistics of bringing off this massive effort supplying the trail falls to a hardy group of people known as the “Iditarod Air Fo

Harsh conditions as teams fall out of the race. We had snow last night and today with windy conditions in Anchorage but nothing like on the trail. Here is an update of Day 3 & 4 of Iditarod XXXV. After the teams set off from the town of Willow on Sunday for the 1,100 mile Iditarod 35 they have found pretty harsh conditions soon after the restart. This was an abrupt change on the trail from Willow where adoring fans set up barbecues along the start line on top of a frozen lake. No longer the ‘party atmosphere’ the mushers will be alone in land unreachable by road. Photo by Bob Hallinen Anchorage Daily News Over the next nine to twenty or some odd days, the mushers will traverse varied terrain while passing through just 20 checkpoints along the way to Nome , three of which are uninhabited the rest of the year and most of which have less than a few dozen residents. The second and third day has seen thirteen teams fall by the wayside scratching from the race

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. Ice Iditarod Update From the Anchorage Daily News reports: The notorious stretch of Iditarod Trail from Finger Lake up into Rainy Pass in the Alaska Range has claimed its first victim of the year, and it's a big one. Iditarod officials said four-time champ Doug Swingley from Lincoln , Mont. scratched from the race Monday after crashing his sled on the way into the checkpoint at Puntilla Lake . Race spokesman Chas St. George reported Swingley had possible broken ribs and a dislocated thumb. The latter, more than the former, could make it difficult for Swingley to care for dogs; particularly in the prevailing subzero cold that often necessitates regular changes of booties on their feet. Changing dog booties with one-hand is a difficult task. Swingley reportedly told race officials before scratching that he was concerned about his

Iditarod XXXV Its official . . . they’re off and running . . . What a great weekend here in the far north. Leading up to the weekend there was bitingly cold temperatures and strong winds for several days that put the wind chill well below minus 40 below zero. It has been clear skies here for days (and nights) leading up to the 2007 start to Iditarod 35 . There has been a large full moon overhead the last couple of nights ready to help the mushers find their way along the old Iditarod Trail leading to Nome , Alaska . Saturday’s ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage had thousands of people enjoying the great weather. The winds had died down overnight and with the sun shining on everyone the 15 to 17 degrees outside felt almost like spring was here at last. Fourth Avenue was filled with over a thousand dogs anxiously waiting for their starting time to pull their sled along the streets and trails through Anchorage to the Campbell Airstrip thirteen mil