Iditarod

Frontrunners, Including Both Seaveys, Charge Toward Manley Hot Springs

... said, he isn't racing with another team representing his kennel as a potential distraction. [VIDEO: Get up close with Martin Buser's 2017 Iditarod team]. Much of the 71-racer field remains in Nenana, where mushers describe a trail with "good snow" and some soft spots. "Everyone kind of has a different plan. A few people camped outside of here," Kasilof musher Monica Zappa said. "I don't know what the answer is but I like having a nice warm checkpoint to go into," she said of the Day 1 rest-run strategy. Meantime, here is Zappa's husky, Blue Steele. Photo by Patrick Enslow. Behold Monica Zappa's #Iditarod husky, Blue Steele: __link__/mmt 0 emvwf 2. — Kyle Hopkins (@kylehopkins AK) March 7, 2017. 6:30 P. M. UPDATE. By 6 p.m., seven racers including defending champ Dallas Seavey had come and gone ...

Nicolas Petit Into Tanana, First To The Yukon River

... The last time the Iditarod ran this non-traditional Fairbanks route, Martin Buser sped into Tanana at the front of the pack. This time, he'll have to overtake Pete Kaiser and hold off a chase pack of young mushers as the race heads north to the confluence of the Tanana and Yukon Rivers. On the official leaderboard, Aliy Zirkle remains at the top as the first musher to leave Manley, but much has happened and will happen in the next few hours along the Tanana River. In 2015, Buser finished 22 nd and Seavey - who was 12 th to Tanana that year, won the race. We asked him today if this year was looking to be a repeat of that last trek from Fairbanks. We meant the cold weather. But Seavey didn't. "I sure hope it is. That turned out pretty well didn’t it?" the 30-year-old said in Manley. Scenes from our trail team in Manley Hot Springs. Next stop: Tanana! #iditarod 2017 #Iditarod __link__/cm Tg 5 bi Vyo. 9:30 A. M. UPDATE. Race leaders are back on the trail, with Aliy Zirkle first to leave Manley Hot Springs. Zirkle, 47, departed the chilly Interior checkpoint at 8:47 a.m. with all 16 dogs. She spent just 17 ...

After Twice Rebuilding Their Fire-ravaged Home, Willow Couple Ready To Run The Iditarod

... spruce tress in the background in Willow, Alaska, on Friday, Feb. 24, 2017. (Bob Hallinen / Alaska Dispatch News). Justin, of Michigan, and Jaimee, of Idaho, met in 2009 while "scooping poop," as they say. They both moved to Alaska to work as dog handlers for well-known Iditarod veteran Dee Dee Jonrowe. They took care of the musher's dogs, sewed her gear and helped prepare her for the race to Nome. "Dee Dee says we hated each other that first winter," Jaimee said. "I don't think we hated each other. It was two different working styles, just trying to figure how we worked together.". Jonrowe sticks to her story. They didn't get along at first, she said in an interview in late February. But after a winter of handling, Justin stuck around. Jonrowe's mother was diagnosed with cancer, her husband was fishing in Bristol Bay and Justin decided to stay the summer to help at the kennel, even though Jonrowe said she told him she had no money to pay him. "He stayed here so he could take care of the dogs, so I could take care of my mom," she said. Eventually, her two handlers, Justin and Jaimee, started dating. Jonrowe said ...

Great Moments In Iditarod History

... seats were correctly installed, according to the group’s website. The car seat check’s aim is […]. Police investigate early morning bagel shop burglary. by Lauren Maxwell on Mar 07, 19:46. An Anchorage bagel restaurant was burglarized early Monday morning. Anchorage police spokeswoman Renee Oistad said officers responded to The Bagel Factory restaurant, located on West 34 th Avenue, shortly after 5 a.m. after receiving reports that the front glass door of the restaurant had been smashed in. An employee confirmed that a suspect was able to steal […]. Record number of budget amendments could derail lawmakers from 90 day deadline. by Liz Raines on Mar 07, 19:35. Will legislators get done on time this year? Maybe not if a record number of budget amendments introduced in the House Finance Committee Tuesday is any indication. The panel hoped to have budget work wrapped up by Friday, but co-chairs are now talking about working through the ...

Meet The Woman Behind The Iconic Yellow Iditarod Wreaths

... initially began making the Iditarod wreaths in the late 1970 s and received plaques instead of payments. “I have a ’78 here, and that was Dick Mackey and then another one from ’83 and this is Rick Mackey,” said Osmond, as she sifted through memorabilia. Osmond said she’s been a floral designer all her life, so it made sense to take over the craft when her mother retired. Thirty years later she’s got a stack of Iditarod calendars that document her designs. “Here’s Jeff King, here’s Martin Buser,” she said, fanning out the calendars. “It shows them evolving and changing what they look like and also you can see my embroidery on some of them. That’s kind of fun for me.”. This year, for the first time, Osmond and her mother will travel to Nome to watch the finish in person. “It’s going to be really exciting. It’s going to be so much fun,” she said. Osmond said she enjoys the Iditarod because it’s uniquely Alaskan, and she’s happy to leave her mark on a little piece of mushing history every year. KTVA 11’s Heather Hintze can be reached via ...

2017 Iditarod Checkpoint Description

... bank of the Yukon River, Kaltag is situated on a 35-foot bluff at the base of the Nulato Hills and offers mushers a brief respite from driving winds. Infrastructure arrived in the village as early as 1867 with a military telegraph line. Kaltag was officially established after the food shortage and measles epidemic of 1900 when villagers from three nearby camps moved to the area to regroup. Kaltag is the home of the late Virginia Kalland, widow of Edgar Kalland, who was one of the original mushers who helped carry diphtheria serum along the trail 90 years ago. Unalakleet: Just north of the Unalakleet River delta on Norton Sound, Unalakleet is one of the largest communities on the Iditarod trail. Unalakleet, which means “from the southern side,” has long been an important trading hub as the terminus for the Kaltag Portage. House remnants from along the beach have been dated around A. D. 200. From Unalakleet, mushers have 221 miles to Nome and can expect sudden storms and ample wind as they enter the gateway to ...

Iditarod Fans ‘trailgate’ At The Nenana Checkpoint

... That announcement came from police Chief Bryce Johnson, who released a statement on Tuesday in response to questions from the public. Johnson said the department doesn’t have federal authority to enforce immigration laws. He added that public safety is their top priority, […]. Marijuana Control Board votes against onsite consumption – again. by Shannon Ballard on Mar 07, 19:09. Clearing up confusion was a top priority for the Alaska Marijuana Control Board (MCB) during its March meeting on Tuesday.  Last month, the board rejected a proposal allowing onsite consumption at some retail pot stores, but in the days that followed, it became very clear the issue wasn’t dead. The board had already approved licenses […]. FAA records show pilot killed in Nome-area crash was not permitted to fly at night. by Eric Ruble on Mar 07, 19:00. The Alaska pilot killed when his plane crashed about 10 miles east of Nome should not have been ...

Trump Supporters Declare Pride In President, Slam Opponents

... on sedition in their opposition to the Republican president. Some men were seen walking through the Raleigh crowd carrying a Trump flag as well as a Confederate flag. Gathered just behind the rally was a handful of protesters, some of whom blew air horns in an attempt to disrupt the event. "We're gonna take our country back and we're gonna establish borders and have legal immigration and law and order," said Cherie Francis, of Cary, North Carolina. In Indianapolis, about 30 Trump supporters rallied at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis to denounce what they see as unfair treatment of the Republican. A local organizer, 61-year-old Patty Collins, of Indianapolis, said Trump's critics "aren't giving him a chance.". Trump supporters turned out Saturday in Phoenix. Media outlets reported that several hundred people participated in the Phoenix event held on a lawn at the State Capitol. In Texas, Austin ...

Saturday, Years Faded Away As Iditarod Dogsled Race Began

... Race to Nome. I also get to be someone else on that Saturday. The guys called me Seven-Dog Slim, because that was how many I had in front of that sled. And I had to borrow a house pet and bail another out of the pound to get seven of them. Seven dogs, you see, was the minimum number you had to have to compete. And, since the other guys had more dog food than I did, they had more dogs, as well. Most of the teams were in the 10- to 14-dog vicinity. This made me the equivalent of the driver of a VW Bug in the Indy 500. Later, they upped the minimum to nine dogs, so I guess I’ll always be the only idiot to start out on the Idiot Road with seven dogs. But I was IN the Iditarod — the race Joe Redington Sr. worked so many years to establish. I was among a few of the homesteader types who lived in the woods and actually used a dog team for transportation. Our cabin was more than 12 miles from where we parked the car, you see. So the dogs were not only part of our happy little Alaska Bush family, but also hauled in the ...

How An Iditarod Competitor Who Lost Everything Found Solace In Alaska's Wilderness

... But you also have to train your mind to be able to withstand the difficulties in life. By putting myself through the Iron Mans, I think in my twisted way, I was tuning up my mind to make it a more resilient place.". She sees her dog-mushing career the same way. If she could finish the Yukon Quest - all 946.7 hand-freezing, energy-sapping, hallucination-inducing miles of it - she would have more proof that she can survive whatever life throws at her. Katie Orlinsky for ESPN. The 1,000 miles of the Yukon Quest are grueling, making it one of the toughest endurance races in the world. Katie Orlinsky for ESPN (2). The Yukon Quest is one of the toughest endurance races in the world, 11 days across the rugged and barren terrain between Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and Fairbanks, Alaska. Mushers get so little sleep while expending so much energy that they often hallucinate. For example, Katherine, out of the corner of her eye, saw the ocean lapping onto a sandy beach. And as ...