Ceremonial Start Kicks Off 42nd Iditarod
On Saturday, mushers lined out their dog teams in downtown Anchorage for the Ceremonial Start of the race. This year's race includes six former champions and at least 20 mushers vying for a top-10 finish.
Iditarod Veterans Anticipating Rough Trail Conditions
The 42nd annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race is underway. Dog teams left Willow Sunday. They’re making their way toward the Alaska Range, where the trail is reportedly extremely rough.
Race Leaders Approach Finger Lake
Martin Buser leads the pack as he approaches the Finger Lake checkpoint. Buser holds a few mile lead over fellow Big Lake musher, Kelly Maixner.
Buser Takes Early Iditarod Lead
Martin Buser took an early lead in this year's Iditarod. The former Iditarod champion was the first into Rainy Pass about 5:42 Monday morning. Nicolas Petit was into Rainy Pass about an hour later.
Norwegian Contingent Prepared For For Iditarod Challenge
Teams are making their way into Rainy Pass as they head trough the Alaska Range. It’s arguably the toughest stretch of trail. Many say they’re ready for the challenge, including a contingent of Norwegians who are in Alaska to find out how their dog teams fare on this side of the world.
Kelly Maixner Leads Mushers Into Rohn
Kelly Maixner is the first musher into Rohn, checking in at 11:26 Monday morning. He took the lead from fellow Big Lake musher Martin Buser at Rainy Pass earlier Monday.
Buser Regains Iditarod Lead, First Out of Rohn
Martin Buser retook the lead in the 2014 Iditarod, leaving Rohn about 1:45 Monday afternoon. Kelly Maixner was the first musher into Rohn, checking in at 11:26 a.m. Buser was being chased by Aliy Zirkle, who finished second in 2013 and 2012. She left Rohn about 5:22 Monday evening. Right behind her was Sonny Lindner. Hugh Neff and Jeff King trailed Lindner.
Buser Reaches Nikolai, Keeps Iditarod Lead
Martin Buser maintained his lead in the 2014 Iditarod reaching Nikolai early Tuesday morning several hours ahead of Nicolas Petit. Buser reached the checkpoint about 1:09 a.m. Petit followed at 5:36 a.m. The leaders were followed by Aliy Zirkle, Sonny Lindner and Hugh Neff. All three were out of Rohn Monday night. Dallas Seavey, who won the race in 2012, had jumped into 7th place, two spots ahead of his father, Mitch, who won last year.
Fast Trail Forces Mushers To Ride The Brakes
Iditarod mushers are working hard to hold back teams on what has been an icy, hard packed trail. A snowless, rocky stretch of trail through a burn will slow them down, but most mushers are riding their brakes.
Two Race Veterans Scratch In Rohn
DeeDee Jonrowe and Linwood Fielder, both of Willow, scratched this morning at the Rohn checkpoint at 6:00 a.m. and 6:21 a.m., respectively, both citing problems in Dalzell Gorge.
Iditarod Leaders Leave Nikolai
The Iditarod race leaders left the checkpoint of Nikolai around mid day today. Sonny Lindner, Hugh Neff, Aliy Zirkle and Nicolas Petit pulled out of Nikolai within an hour of each other. But five mushers, including DeeDee Jonrowe and Jake Berkowitz scratched today, because of broken equipment that was damaged on the extremely rough trail out of Rainy Pass.
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Petit First Out of Taknota, Heads Iditarod Field
Nicolas Petit took the Iditarod lead Tuesday evening when he was the first to dart out of Taknota about 8:35 p.m. He spent just a few minutes in Taknota and headed towards Ophir.
Sonny Lindner Takes Iditarod Lead
Sonny Lindner took the lead in the 2014 Iditarod early Wednesday morning and was heading towards Cripple. He left Ophir almost two hours ahead of Aaron Burmeister. Nicolas Petit was in third. Jeff King and Joar Leifseth Ulsom trailed Petit.
Snow in McGrath Offers Relief for Battered Iditarod Mushers
The Iditarod trail continued to claim victims through Tuesday. Reports of everything from broken ankles to broken hands came filtering back from Rohn and Nikolai. It will take a combination of resilience and persistence for mushers to keep moving down the trail.
Many Mushers Alter Race Plans After Rough Trail Into Nikolai
In the aftermath of Tuesday’s rough run through the Dalzell Gorge and into Nikolai, many Iditarod mushers have had to act fast to change their race plans.
Mandatory 24-Hour Rest Playing Into Race Strategy
Iditarod teams are making their way across the Interior region where the trail is soft, smooth and covered in snow – a far cry from the rough and rocky trail that took many mushers out of the race earlier this week.
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Nome Business Owners Prepare For Iditarod Influx
Mushers are racing towards Nome. And so are the tourists. A small business owner is gearing up to capitalize on the influx.
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Aaron Burmeister First to Cripple, Leads Iditarod
Aaron Burmeister was the first musher to Cripple Wednesday afternoon, about an hour ahead of Jeff King. Burmeister arrived about 3:26 with 13 dogs. King had 15. Sonny Lindner also reached Cripple Wednesday afternoon. He was racing with 16 dogs.
King Charges to Lead in Iditarod; First Out of Cripple
Jeff King took the lead in the 2014 Iditarod when he charged out of Cripple Wednesday night ahead of Sonny Lindner. King left about 8:30 and Lindner followed at 9:09. Both were racing with 14 dogs.
Iditarod Teams Rest Up for A Big Push as They Near the Yukon
As teams come off their mandatory 24-hour rest and head for the Yukon River, they’ll be thinking of how best to pick up the pace in what is turning out to be one of the most dramatic, but also the most competitive races in Iditarod history.