Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race organizers are deciding to make a change in the route for the 2012 race. This year’s race marks the 40th run, and it follows the Northern route.
Race Marshall Mark Nordman says the race route will be altered somewhat to avoid the section known as the Happy River Steps. That area is notorious for being a deal breaker for both rookie and veteran mushers, because of its steep terrain. Erin MacLarnen is the Iditarod’s new spokesperson. MacLarnen says there’s reasons for the change.
The alternate route has been made available because of a mining road constructed in 2010 that runs parallel to the Iditarod trail. The race route will use the mining road as an alternative to the Steps.
The 2012 Iditarod starts Saturday March 3 in Anchorage. The race restarts in Willow on Sunday, March 4. Sixty eight dog drivers are signed up for the annual trek to Nome.
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APTI Reporter-Producer Ellen Lockyer started her radio career in the late 1980s, after a stint at bush Alaska weekly newspapers, the Copper Valley Views and the Cordova Times. When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Valdez Public Radio station KCHU needed a reporter, and Ellen picked up the microphone.
Since then, she has literally traveled the length of the state, from Attu to Eagle and from Barrow to Juneau, covering Alaska stories on the ground for the AK show, Alaska News Nightly, the Alaska Morning News and for Anchorage public radio station, KSKA
elockyer (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8446 | About Ellen
