Emily Schwing, special to Alaska Public Media
Many Iditarod Mushers Stock Up On Music, Movies And Audio Books For The Trail
Travelling a thousand miles by dog team can be exciting, but many of those miles can also be repetitive, so many mushers carry iPods stocked with music, audio books, and even movies.
Aliy Zirkle Leads Iditarod Mushers Out Of Tanana
Aliy Zirkle's team was the first out of Tanana Tuesday night, leading the field down the Yukon River toward Ruby on the race's longest leg. Mushers are required to take a mandatory eight-hour rest at a checkpoint along the river. Sub-zero temperatures helped some mushers decide to take the rest early.
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Yukon Quest Champ Brent Sass Disqualified From Iditarod
Brent Sass has been disqualified from the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The musher was informed by race Marshall Mark Nordman after he arrived in Tanana that he will not be able to continue the race because the Eureka-based musher violated a rule about using a wireless communication device on the trail.
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Buser Retakes Iditarod Lead, First to Tanana; Neff, Zirkle Not Far Behind
Martin Buser regained the early lead in this year’s Iditarod. He was the first to Tanana Tuesday afternoon. He was followed by Hugh Neff and Aliy Zirkle, both had made it to Tanana by early evening.
Iditarod Leaders Pull Into Manley Hot Springs
Girdwood's Nicolas Petit pulled into Manley Hot Springs just after 3 a.m. Tuesday, with Martin Buser, Hugh Neff, DeeDee Jonrowe and Aaron Burmeister less than two hours behind. The competition in this year’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race can only be described as stiff. There are six returning champions and a handful of other mushers vying for a top-10 finish. But, mushers are all feeling a little new to the race as they travel down an unfamiliar, rerouted trail.
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Buser Takes Early Iditarod Lead
Race Update 6:30: Past Iditarod champion Martin Buser and rookie Thomas Waerner were the first in to and out of Nenana Monday afternoon. They were trailed by Michelle Phillips and Jessie Royer. Buser arrived about 3:00 p.m. He took off shortly before 3:30 p.m. Waerner was bout 30 minutes behind Buser. DeeDee Jonrowe and Aliy Zirkle left Nenana minutes apart and were trailing the leaders Monday afternoon.
AK: Women Who Mush
This year 78 mushers are signed up to drive dog teams in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, but only a third of them are women. In the Yukon Quest, only 3 of 26 mushers who started this year were women. Despite the small numbers, many are up-and-coming mushers who are redefining what it means to run dogs.
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Brent Sass Outduels Allen Moore For Yukon Quest Win
The bells of the historic Immaculate Conception Cathedral in downtown Fairbanks rang in honor of legendary musher George Attla who died this week as Eureka musher Brent Sass cruised across the finish line to win this year’s Yukon Quest.
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Some Yukon Quest Teams Surprised To Find Themselves Among Top-10
There are three Yukon Quest teams currently running among the top-10 that did not plan on racing with the front-runners when they left Whitehorse. In fact, none of them were able to complete the race last year, so they returned simply to finish what they started.
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Brent Sass Extends Yukon Quest Lead
The first two Yukon Quest dog teams had smooth runs up and over American Summit and arrived safely in Eagle, the sixth checkpoint on the trail.
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Jeff King Takes Cautious Approach To Frigid Yukon Quest
Jeff King won the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race back in 1989. He is also well-known on the Iditarod trail, having won Alaska’s other 1,000 mile sled dog race four times. This year, he returned to the Quest, but decided to scratch from the race after only 300 miles.
Layovers Vital To Yukon Quest Mushers, Dogs
After Yukon Quest mushers arrive in Dawson City, they drive their teams head across the Yukon River to a public campground, where handlers build elaborate camps for the dogs. They’ll get massaged, fed and sleep for the 24 hour layover.
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For Yukon Quest Musher Lance Mackey, ‘Retirement’ Is A 4-Letter Word
Lance Mackey is currently running in 12th place on the Yukon Quest trail. He is the winningest musher in Yukon Quest history. The four-time champion is a cancer survivor and both his public and private life hasn’t always been positive. The lifelong musher knows he can’t run dogs the way he used to, but he may never be ready to hang up the harnesses.
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Lack Of Snow Pushes Iditarod Restart To Fairbanks
The lack of snow in the Alaska Range has persuaded the Iditarod Trail Committee to move the race start to Fairbanks. After a flyover, mushers say the Dalzell Gorge is impassable and the Farewell Burn area is, again, completely bare.
Brent Sass First Yukon Quest Musher To Reach Dawson
Brent Sass was the first Yukon Quest musher to arrive today in Dawson City, the halfway point on the Yukon Quest trail. The 200-mile stretch of trail to Dawson City is the longest between official race checkpoints.
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Yukon Quest Trail Puts Dog Sled Designs To The Test
On the Yukon Quest Trail, there are a few things mushers have to be especially picky about including a sturdy sled. Jumble ice near McCabe Creek, half way to Pelly Crossing is testing sled engineering this year.
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Yukon Quest Rookies Tout Knowledge, Experience Of Champions
Of the 26 mushers signed up to race dog teams in this year’s Yukon Quest International Sled Dog race, 10 are rookies. They might be new to the race, but a few trained dog teams with a handful of well-known and champion long-distance mushers.
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Climate Change, Weather Variability Challenge Yukon Quest Personnel, Mushers
The Yukon Quest International Sled Dog race starts Saturday. For more than 30 years, the race course has followed an old Gold Rush era trail that took advantage of the frozen Yukon River. But recently, there have been places where the river hasn’t frozen up. That’s starting to raise question about the impacts of climate change on Alaska’s state sport.
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Sled Dogs Get Their Final Pre-Race Check Up Before The 32nd Yukon Quest Starts
Over the weekend, veterinarians looked over the sled dogs that will run the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race in both Fairbanks and Whitehorse. They wanted to make sure the dogs were healthy, well-fed and ready to race on the 1000 mile trail.
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Mushers Hand Off Their Drop Bags In Anticipation Of 2015 Yukon Quest
Yukon Quest mushers dropped off all the food and gear they’ll need for the 1000-mile sled dog race in both Fairbanks and Whitehorse, Yukon over the weekend.
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