We are within DAYS of the 42nd running of the Last Great Race, the Iditarod. We wish every entrant a clean safe run, but a special WOO-WOO for our Sibe teams, Mike Ellis' Team Tsuga of course and Karen Ramstead's last running with her Pretty Curly Tails team. The trails are in pretty rough shape this year, the restart being moved to Willow AK….and the last 100 miles into Nome looking like this:



it could make things very interesting out there!


So Far our musher list is shaping up to be
Entrant # Musher Name Sex City State Country Status 1 Charley Bejna M Addison IL USA Rookie 2 Martin Buser M Big Lake AK USA Veteran 3 Scott Janssen M Anchorage AK USA Veteran 4 Jeff King M Denali AK USA Veteran 5 Ramey Smyth M Willow AK USA Veteran 6 Mitch Seavey M Seward AK USA Veteran 7 Lisbet Norris F Willow AK USA Rookie 8 Rick Casillo M Willow AK USA Veteran 9 Yvonne Dabakk F Oslo NORWAY Rookie 10 Dallas Seavey M Willow AK USA Veteran 11 DeeDee Jonrowe F Willow AK USA Veteran 12 Justin Savidis M Willow AK USA Veteran 13 Jake Berkowitz M Big Lake AK USA Veteran 14 Jim Lanier M Chugiak AK USA Veteran 15 Allen Moore M Two Rivers AK USA Veteran 16 Travis Beals M Seward AK USA Veteran 17 Aaron Burmeister M Nome AK USA Veteran 18 Nathan Schroeder M Chisholm MN USA Rookie 19 Cindy Abbott F Irvine CA USA Rookie 20 Newton Marshall M St. Anne JAMAICA Veteran 21 Ray Redington Jr M Wasilla AK USA Veteran 22 Marcelle Fressineau F Whitehorse YT CANADA Rookie 23 Jason Mackey M Wasilla AK USA Veteran 24 Cindy Gallea F Wykoff MN USA Veteran 25 Christian Turner M Karratha WA AUSTRALIA Rookie 26 Paige Drobny F Fairbanks AK USA Veteran 27 Curt Perano M Central Otago NEW ZEALAND Veteran 28 Joar Leifseth Ulsom M Mo i Rana NORWAY Veteran 29 John Dixon M Fairbanks AK USA Veteran 30 Cim Smyth M Big Lake AK USA Veteran 31 Nicolas Petit M Girdwood AK USA Veteran 32 Peter Kaiser M Bethel AK USA Veteran 33 Michael Williams, Jr. M Akiak AK USA Veteran 34 Lev Shvarts M Willow AK USA Rookie 35 Tommy Jordbrudal M Longyearbyen NORWAY Rookie 36 Michelle Phillips F Tagish YT CANADA Veteran 37 Kelly Maixner M Big Lake AK USA Veteran 38 Gus Guenther M Clam Gulch AK USA Veteran 39 Robert Sorlie M Hurdal NORWAY Veteran 40 Ellen Halverson F Wasilla AK USA Veteran 41 Paul Gebhardt M Kasilof AK USA Veteran 42 Karin Hendrickson F Wasilla AK USA Veteran 43 Dan Kaduce M Chatanika AK USA Veteran 44 Jessie Royer F Darby MT USA Veteran 45 Mats Pettersson M Kiruna SWEDEN Rookie 46 Aliy Zirkle F Two Rivers AK USA Veteran 47 Jan Steves F Edmonds WA USA Veteran 48 Richie Diehl M Aniak AK USA Veteran 49 Monica Zappa F Kasilof AK USA Rookie 50 Linwood Fiedler M Willow AK USA Veteran 51 Ralph Johannessen M Dagali NORWAY Rookie 52 Karen Ramstead F Perryvale AB CANADA Veteran 53 Sonny Lindner M Two Rivers AK USA Veteran 54 Elliot Anderson M Big Lake AK USA Rookie 55 Matt Failor M Willow AK USA Veteran 56 Robert Bundtzen M Anchorage AK USA Veteran 57 Mike Santos M Cantwell AK USA Veteran 58 Ken Anderson M Fairbanks AK USA Veteran 59 John Baker M Kotzebue AK USA Veteran 60 Hans Gatt M Whitehorse YT CANADA Veteran 61 Katherine Keith F Kotzebue AK USA Rookie 62 Danny Seavey M Seward AK Veteran 63 Wade Marrs M Wasilla AK USA Veteran 64 Hugh Neff M Tok AK USA Veteran 65 Abbie West F Two Rivers AK USA Rookie 66 Mike Ellis M Two Rivers AK USA Veteran 67 Anna Berington F Kasilof AK USA Veteran 68 Alex Buetow M Fairbanks AK USA Rookie 69 Kristy Berington F Kasilof AK USA Veteran

And Sadly the Mushers that have already withdrawn- (and I would bet this list will grow still)
Musher Name Sex City State Country Status Ed Stielstra M McMillan MI USA Veteran Gerry Willomitzer M Whitehorse YT CANADA Veteran Aaron Peck M Bezanson AB CANADA Veteran Matt Giblin M Sterling AK USA Veteran Brent Sass M Eureka AK USA Veteran

For those interested in a taste of what these Mushers and their teams are exposed to- this is one of the most challenging portions of the race as stated by many veterans who have run the trail- This is the Happy River Steps, buckle up and hold on! It's gonna get bumpy!

Just found this thread and saw the pic of the last 100 miles. Should be interesting, indeed! Sad there are only two Sibe teams this year but I suppose it's to be expected.

Lani, do you know if there'll be any video coverage this year, either from media streamable online or from the mushers themselves? I'd love to follow the race for at least portions of the trail. I love those videos like the one from Aliy Zirkle.

I believe there will be a 'documentary' that will be aired on the Outdoor Channel after the race. Typically though there are no 'musher' views. Camera crews are not allowed to interfere with the teams. Aliy will have her camera on board though! I know a few others that will put together footage after they recover as well

Awesome, I'll have to find that documentary and see some of the footage from the mushers' perspectives after the race. I'll keep an eye on the Aliy cam as well.

So, forgive me if this has been asked before, but is the entire trial cut out like the trail for the Happy Lake Steps seen in that video? If so, how do mushers pass one another?

It should be a very interesting race! Although I personally probably wont get to watch it often... :/

ICRedz wrote:

So, forgive me if this has been asked before, but is the entire trial cut out like the trail for the Happy Lake Steps seen in that video? If so, how do mushers pass one another?

Much of the trail is still in use for regular traffic, but areas that require grooming like the Steps which can get rather deep are groomed as needed.  Obviously the Steps are rather parlous so no passing in that area.  The Iditarod isn't exactly a 'sprint' either.  Much of the passing, which isn't a lot, happens on the flats vs in the hills.  Safety of the teams first-

This is what much of the trail looks like outside of the mountain passes-

Uhm, I had to look twice for Aliy Zirkle's name on the roster twice, but even going through a third time I seem to have missed [i]your[/i] name Lani! I liked Aliy last year, I really thought she had a good chance to win.

THanks for the videos!!! I love seeing these!

HuskyMom09 wrote:

ICRedz wrote:

So, forgive me if this has been asked before, but is the entire trial cut out like the trail for the Happy Lake Steps seen in that video? If so, how do mushers pass one another?

Much of the trail is still in use for regular traffic, but areas that require grooming like the Steps which can get rather deep are groomed as needed.  Obviously the Steps are rather parlous so no passing in that area.  The Iditarod isn't exactly a 'sprint' either.  Much of the passing, which isn't a lot, happens on the flats vs in the hills.  Safety of the teams first-

This is what much of the trail looks like outside of the mountain passes-

I like to say it's more of a chess game than a race, planning and plotting take the front seat in this race, agreed?

Oh I could only hope to someday be in a position to be able to run the Iditarod with my husky team! I need at least 10 more sound dogs first and I'd agree distance races like this are more of a chess game, I hear a lot of 'if I can power through this check point and make camp elsewhere it will keep me ahead of so-n-so' LOL

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20140225/love-keeps-iditarod-mushers-connected-their-siberian-huskies

The Iditarod starts in just about an hour from right now! Our fantastic breed representatives will include:

Mike Ellis and Team Tsuga


Karen Ramstead and her Pretty Sled Dogs of North Wapiti


Yvonne Dabakk and her Siberian Sleddogs


Iditarod Rookie Lisbet Norris and her Anadyr Siberians! Anadyr is a familiar name on the trails- Welcome back Anadyr and good luck Lisbet!

*NOT her full Iditarod team*


Good luck and safe trip for all! Team Keahi will be rooting you all on from WA!

All the teams look amazing! I'm especially rooting for Team Tsuga. They used to be based in my neck of the woods up in New Hampshire before moving to Alaska.

I must admit, I am addicted to Iditarod coverage! It's my March Madness! I read an interesting article about Lisbet Norris. She is the granddaughter of one of the first Iditarod mushers. She also hates hearing people say that an all Sibe team will never win. She has one dog she clocks at 20 mph! She thinks that the Sibe teams are so much more suited for the race and one day someone will find the right set of Sibes to make a winning team. I must admit with all the Greyhound blood in the racing teams, it's hard for me to picture a Sibe team winning. They usually just race against the Sibe record and each other. It has been fun to see 4 Sibe teams this year and rumor has it a team of Malamutes is training to race it soon!

I guess it will all be over tonight while I'm sleeping. Records will be broken and I'll have to go back into my real world where I don't follow Iditarod coverage all evening.

I love this post I just read on www.iditarod.com!

"Ellis and the Sibes staged their arrival like the meat between two pieces of bread, the bread being the departure of Kaduce and Savidis. The Sibes came into view directly under the rising sun then made the turn to follow the bank into the checkpoint. His Sibes stood with heads high, ears cocked toward their coach and tails flagging while Mike set snow hooks on both ends of the team. Their tails were still flagging when the vets came around and even a little later while Mike was signing in. It’s hard to find the right bunch of adjectives to capture the essence of fine Siberian Team like Mike’s. I guess I’ll just go with majestic and hope you get the picture as well as the feeling of what it’s like to stand next to such handsome powerful dogs. Ellis said his run was good and while it’s good to be at mile seven hundred of the race, he’s sorry to be off the Yukon where the trail was quite excellent. Mike took booties off then let his heavily furred athletes roll in the snow for the fun of it as well as to cool down before he spread straw. The Sibes arranged and re-arranged the straw. Satisfied with their nests, they settled down and waited for hors d’oeuvres then dinner."

Some great pix here at this link:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2014/03/2014_iditarod_trail_dog_sled_race.html

Very nice! I'm proud to see this came from our local paper.