Mushers begin rugged Iditarod race after lack of snow forces major changes to iconic Alaska event
The rugged Iditarod started Monday, but a dearth of snow has forced the iconic dog sled race to start further north and added a new route that allows mushers to bypass barren land, but lengthens by more than 100 miles (160.93 kilometers) an unforgiving journey that's often measured in grit and attrition.
The new course reroutes mushers and their dog teams around a difficult stretch of trail north of the Alaska Range, which is treacherous with snow and ice but mostly unpassable in dry conditions for sleds.
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is usually billed as a 1,000-mile (1,609-kilometer) race across Alaska. The route change means it's now 1,128 miles (1,815 kilometers). Mushers began their trek to the finish line in Nome from Fairbanks, the fourth time this century the race has been forced north from the Anchorage area.
A lack of snow in the Anchorage area also caused headaches for race organizers Saturday during the ceremonial start. The parade-like route in Anchorage usually has mushers taking a leisurely course over 11 miles (17.70 kilometers) of city streets and trails with an auction winner riding in their sled.
However, weeks of little-to-no new snowfall and warm temperatures in Alaska's largest city forced organizers to shorten the ceremonial start to less than 2 miles (3.22 kilometers), run over snow that was trucked in to cover downtown city streets.
There are 33 mushers in this year's race, tied with the 2023 race for smallest field ever. Among them are two former champions, Ryan Redington and three-time winner Mitch Seavey.
Mushers and their dog teams will battle the worst of what wild Alaska can throw at them — from bad trails, mushing on frozen rivers and sea ice and possible encounters with wildlife with the winner expected in the old Gold Rush town of Nome on the Bering Sea coast in about 10 days.
This year the Iditarod will honor another famous mushing event, the 1925 Serum Run, in which sled dog teams saved Nome from a deadly diphtheria outbreak.
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The Independent
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- The Independent
Dan Seavey, patriarch of Alaska mushing family who helped organize the first Iditarod, dies
Dan Seavey, who helped organize the first Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and whose son and grandson have each won the famous Alaska race multiple times, has died. He was 87. The Minnesota native, who had been adamant in wanting to remain at the south-central Alaska home in Seward he had moved his family to decades earlier, was out helping tend to his dogs shortly before he died last Thursday, his son Mitch Seavey said. 'It's hard, and everybody will miss him. But he lived a great life and passed away in his own fashion,' Mitch Seavey said. The Iditarod race organization called Dan Seavey a 'true pioneer and cherished figure' in the race's 53-year history and said he was instrumental in the establishment of the Iditarod Trail as a National Historic Trail in 1978. He also wrote a book, 'The First Great Race,' which his son said drew on notes Seavey recorded during the first edition of the Iditarod. Dan Seavey ran the Iditarod five times, including the first two races in 1973 and 1974. His last, in 2012, was aimed at celebrating and drawing attention to the history of the trail. That year featured three generations of Seaveys, with Mitch's son Dallas winning the first of his record-breaking six titles. Mitch, a three-time Iditarod champ, that year finished seventh. Dan Seavey moved with his family to Alaska in 1963 to teach in Seward, a community about 125 miles (201 kilometers) south of Anchorage. In an interview for Project Jukebox, a University of Alaska Fairbanks oral history project, he recalled being inspired as a kid by a radio program centered on a character who was with a Canadian mounted police force and his trusty sled dog, Yukon King, who took on bad guys during the Gold Rush era. Seavey said finding time to train to race was difficult. 'Having to make a living, it kind of interfered with my dog mushing,' Seavey, a longtime history teacher, said. He trained on nights and weekends, and around the first two years of the Iditarod he petitioned the school board for time off, he said. Seavey didn't have competitive aspirations past those first two Iditarod races, his son said, but he continued to mush recreationally. Seavey at one point thought about letting Mitch have his dogs but couldn't bear the thought of not having dogs around, Mitch Seavey said. ___ Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska.
The Independent
14-03-2025
- The Independent
Jessie Holmes says his dogs deserve all the credit for his 'magical' first Iditarod win
Bundled-up well wishers lined a street along the Bering Sea coastline in the early morning darkness Friday, cheering musher Jessie Holmes as he won Alaska's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Holmes pumped his fist as he ran alongside his sled with a headlamp beaming from his forehead, as he and his 10-dog team finished the 1,128-mile (1,815-kilometer) race across the Alaska wilderness in the Gold Rush town of Nome. The distance for this year's running was the longest in the Iditarod's 53-year history. He said his win felt 'magical' and he gave credit — and hugs — to his dogs, whom he described as family. Who is Jessie Holmes? Holmes lives in the Interior Alaska community of Nenana, about 300 miles (480 kilometers) north of Anchorage, where he is a carpenter and lives a subsistence lifestyle. He found reality TV fame as a yearslong cast member of 'Life Below Zero,' a National Geographic program that documents the struggles of people living in remote parts of Alaska. Originally from Alabama, Holmes has lived since 2004 in Alaska, where he found a passion for the wilderness and competing in sled dog races. This year was Holmes' eighth Iditarod, and he has now finished in the top 10 six times, including third last year and in 2022. In 2018, his first Iditarod, he won Rookie of the Year honors with his seventh-place finish. His win this year comes on the heels of adversity. He was helping repair buildings in the remote community of Golovin after the region was walloped by the remnants of Typhoon Merbok in 2022 when part of a house fell on him. He suffered several broken ribs and a broken wrist and was forced to train that winter with one arm, the Anchorage Daily News reported. His dog team Holmes said he bred the 10 dogs that took him to victory, adding that he had held each of them in his hands as puppies. 'I'm really proud of these dogs and I love them. And they did it. They deserve all the credit,' he said. He lavished particular praise on his lead dogs, Hercules and Polar, who were adorned at the finish with floral wreaths. 'These are the best in the world, right here,' he said, smiling, his arms draped around them. The trail A lack of snow this year forced changes to the route and starting point of what is typically a 1,000-mile (1,609-kilometer) race. There are checkpoints along the route for rest or refueling. Mushers feed their dogs and put out straw for them to lay down, and catch some sleep themselves if they can. Mushers' sleds must be able to carry and provide cover to injured or tired dogs, in addition to equipment and food. They must carry adequate emergency food for their dogs when leaving a checkpoint, as well as routine meals and snacks. The temperature in Nome when Holmes finished was -6 degrees Fahrenheit (-21 Celsius). He crossed the finish line after 10 days, 14 hours, 55 minutes and 41 seconds of racing. He came in about three hours ahead of the second place finisher, Matt Hall. Paige Drobny finished third. 'I'll tell you one thing: I damn sure ain't tired,' Holmes said to a chorus of cheering fans. 'It's hard to put into words, but it's a magical feeling, and it's not about this moment now. It's about all those moments along the trail.' He described witnessing a beautiful sunset, the moon shimmering on the snow and the northern lights, and said he had time to ponder his mentors and race legends who had died, 'looking down on me and telling me I could do it. I just wanted to join that club with them. I've wanted that for a long time.' What does Holmes win? Holmes is taking home $57,200 for his victory, in addition to awards including $4,500 worth of gold nuggets and 25 pounds of fresh salmon for finishing first in earlier stages. He described the race as '10 quality days. I got my money's worth.'
The Independent
03-03-2025
- The Independent
Mushers begin rugged Iditarod race after lack of snow forces major changes to iconic Alaska event
The rugged Iditarod started Monday, but a dearth of snow has forced the iconic dog sled race to start further north and added a new route that allows mushers to bypass barren land, but lengthens by more than 100 miles (160.93 kilometers) an unforgiving journey that's often measured in grit and attrition. The new course reroutes mushers and their dog teams around a difficult stretch of trail north of the Alaska Range, which is treacherous with snow and ice but mostly unpassable in dry conditions for sleds. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is usually billed as a 1,000-mile (1,609-kilometer) race across Alaska. The route change means it's now 1,128 miles (1,815 kilometers). Mushers began their trek to the finish line in Nome from Fairbanks, the fourth time this century the race has been forced north from the Anchorage area. A lack of snow in the Anchorage area also caused headaches for race organizers Saturday during the ceremonial start. The parade-like route in Anchorage usually has mushers taking a leisurely course over 11 miles (17.70 kilometers) of city streets and trails with an auction winner riding in their sled. However, weeks of little-to-no new snowfall and warm temperatures in Alaska's largest city forced organizers to shorten the ceremonial start to less than 2 miles (3.22 kilometers), run over snow that was trucked in to cover downtown city streets. There are 33 mushers in this year's race, tied with the 2023 race for smallest field ever. Among them are two former champions, Ryan Redington and three-time winner Mitch Seavey. Mushers and their dog teams will battle the worst of what wild Alaska can throw at them — from bad trails, mushing on frozen rivers and sea ice and possible encounters with wildlife with the winner expected in the old Gold Rush town of Nome on the Bering Sea coast in about 10 days. This year the Iditarod will honor another famous mushing event, the 1925 Serum Run, in which sled dog teams saved Nome from a deadly diphtheria outbreak.
