Iditapod: Anchorage ceremonial start and the trail-side parties
The 2018 Iditarod kicks off with the ceremonial start in Anchorage and an 11-mile jaunt through downtown and the city's trails, past race revelers that call themselves "trailgaters." We introduce KNOM News Director and trail reporter Davis Hovey, and hear from DeeDee Jonrowe, Nicolas Petit and some of the folks along the trail.
Iditapod: Race clock ticking after Willow restart
Mushers in the 2018 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race are officially on course for the 1,000-mile trek to Nome after the restart in Willow. We take a rather, uh, unique question from a listener, and Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes does whatever it takes to get an interview.
Iditapod: Race day 2, plus Rookie of the Year contenders
In less than 24 hours, the Iditarod front-runners have made it to the Finger Lake checkpoint, 123 miles into the 1,000-mile race. But not before checking in at Yentna and Skwentna, the first two checkpoints after leaving Willow. And, even before that, KNOM's Davis Hovey caught up with two top candidates for Rookie of the Year: Two Rivers' Matt Hall and Nenana's Jessie Holmes.
Zoya DeNure scratches in Skwentna, first scratch of 2018 Iditarod
The first musher to scratch in the 2018 Iditarod is Zoya DeNure of Delta Junction. Listen now
Redington, Pettersson and Seavey first into Skwentna checkpoint
From Anchorage the mushers restarted in Willow on Sunday. Then, every two minutes, they took off headed east to the first two checkpoints: Yentna and Skwentna. Listen now
Iditapod: Race day 3, and tricky mushing out of Rainy Pass
Things get pretty technical for Iditarod mushers heading out of the Rainy Pass checkpoint and into the Dalzell Gorge before Rohn and Nikolai. Plus, we hear from animal-rights activist and documentary filmmaker Fern Levitt, and we get four-time Iditarod Jeff King's take on criticism of dog mushing.
Snowier year makes for smoother run to Nikolai
It’s one of the snowiest years in recent memory along a notoriously bare stretch of the Iditarod trail. In recent years, low-snow and a bald, icy trail conditions have made for a perilous run down the Dalzell Gorge through Rohn and across the Farwell Burn on the way to the village of Nikolai. Listen now
DeeDee Jonrowe second musher to scratch in 2018 Iditarod
Willow musher DeeDee Jonrowe has scratched from the 2018 Iditarod. Listen now
Some mushers deck out in “full body armor” to tackle Dalzell Gorge
Even years later, the infamous 2014 conditions along the Dalzell Gorge stretch has left a lasting impression on mushers – one that they bring specialty gear for. Listen now
Seavey reaches Takotna first, declares 24-hour layover
A small crowd gathered next to burning logs and a large welcome banner as Mitch Seavey arrived first to Takotna checkpoint in a light snow Tuesday night. Listen now
Iditapod: An icon drops out, 24-hour rests and dog-doping reignites
A lot has happened since the last podcast: Willow musher DeeDee Jonrowe has scratched in her 36th Iditarod, which she said would be her last. Meantime, front-of-the-pack mushers are taking their 24-hour layovers, so this is a good time to talk about how times are adjusted to correct from the staggered, every-two-minute race starts. Plus: More off-trail drama related to dogs and drugs! Sheesh! We talk to a fellow Iditarod reporter about what has been described as a confrontational encounter between the race's head toxicologist and a musher right before the official start on Sunday.
Iditapod: Leaders into Iditarod, where to 24 and snack attack returns!
As Iditarod mushers decide when and where to take their mandatory 24-hour layovers, the leaders are in to the ghost town of Iditarod. And our trail reporters are breaking into their snack packs! Also, we hear from a Takotna elder about the moose he shot and fed at the village checkpoint.
Iditapod: First to the Yukon, Alaska Native mushers and a bison encounter
Friday morning saw Girdwood musher Nicolas Petit charge ahead leading the 2018 Iditarod to Anvik after passing teams resting in the ghost town checkpoint of Iditarod. As the first to reach the Yukon River, Petit is treated to a five-course meal. The main course is bison, which is an animal Whitehorse's Marcelle Fressineau encountered very much alive and not on a dinner plate farther back on the trail. We talk to Fressineau about how she fended off the bison with an axe, as well as some of the Alaska Native mushers in the race.
Petit out front: Iditarod leaders swap positions as race pivots to the Yukon
This year's Iditarod has hit what could prove the defining moment in who wins the race. Joar Ulsom pushed his 24-hour rest all the way to the Iditarod checkpoint, arriving Wednesday evening while his main competitors were posted up in towns further down the trail.
As Iditarod has changed, so has its relationship with its Native roots, mushers say
Fewer than ten mushers out of the 67 competing in this year’s Iditarod are Alaska Native. The only Inupiaq musher to win the Iditarod, John Baker of Kotzebue, is not racing this year, so it now falls to other competitors to bring home the championship. Listen now
Musher chases bison off trail, with an ax
Wildlife are a common occurrence on the Iditarod trail, and they sometimes have chance encounters with mushers. Now, in this year’s Iditarod, one more musher can say they’ve come across bison along the trail.
Listen now
Iditapod: Scramble in Anvik, slog up the Yukon and Takotna survives on pies
With the Iditarod leaders on the mighty Yukon River and through the village checkpoint of Grayling, we hear about how weather prevented flying supplies to Eagle Island and caused the checkpoint to be downgraded to a mere "hospitality stop." That's why mushers scrambled to get mandatory rest in earlier and why they had to load up on supplies before one of the most formidable overnight trips of the race. Plus, back in Takotna, the village reflects on why it's been so steady as a checkpoint over the years, and we hear from KYUK's Johanna Eurich about what it used to be like covering the Last Great Race.
Iditapod: Petit leads, but how did we get here? Plus: Fantasy mushing..?!
As Girdwood's Nicolas Petit, Norwegian Joar Leifseth Ulsom and defending champ Mitch Seavey lead a chase pack to Unalakleet and the Bering Sea coast, we talk to Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes about how the 2018 Iditarod shaped up like this and how that chase pack got so bunched up. Also on today's Iditapod, we have a report from KCAW's Katherine Rose about a way for Iditarod fans around the world to get connected to the race: fantasy mushing.
Iditapod: Up the coast, DeeDee in UNK and oh snaps! Plus, Dallas Seavey in Norway
It's Monday and the frontrunners in the 2018 Iditarod are on the Bering Sea coast, venturing out on a trail over sea ice from Shaktoolik to Koyuk. Alaska Public Media's Zachariah Hughes caught up with the top three -- Nicolas Petit, Mitch Seavey, Joar Leifseth Ulsom -- in Unalakleet on Sunday, as well as the legendary musher DeeDee Jonrowe, who scratched earlier in what she says was her last Iditarod after 36 total starts. We also hear from a Norwegian mushing reporter on four-time Iditarod champ Dallas Seavey's foray into the Finnmarksløpet, Europe's longest sled dog race.