Tag: Iditarod

The 42-year-old musher took command of this year’s race around the halfway point and never gave it up.

One musher has regrets. Another is focused on canine appetite. And a third is relieved to have survived the "spiciest" trail.

Hugh Neff said his 54-year-old arms were exhausted by the constant bumping. “I’ve taken a few Tylenols, let’s say,” he said.

As one race fan put it, the Iditarod felt back to "normal-ish."

This year marks the 50th running of the Iditarod. How has the competition changed over the last five decades and what might the next 50 years bring? 

The race director has chopped about 20 miles off this year's trail because of too much snow. Also, another musher has dropped out of the competition.

For Dallas Seavey’s first-place arrival, he won mittens made of beaver fur and moose hide, plus a beaver-fur hat. McGrath is roughly a third of the way into the race.

With Gallea’s scratch, 45 teams remain on the Iditarod trail. There's still a long way to go, but by late Monday afternoon, Skagway musher Ryan Redington had taken over the lead.

Waerner won the race March 18th. But he couldn't get back to Norway because of coronavirus-related, international travel restrictions related to flying his dogs. So he ended up staying with friends near Fairbanks in Ester.

As the leading Iditarod mushers approach the finish line in Nome, a different sled dog race has been crippled by the coronavirus.

The next Outdoor Explorer will air during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, and we’ll be discussing Alaska’s signature sporting event with nature writer Bill Sherwonit. Bill spent many years covering the Iditarod as a newspaper reporter and he has lots of stories from the trail. He’s recently put out a new book about the race. Tune in for a discussion with author Bill Sherwonit about the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Thanks for listening!

KSKA Tuesday, March. 6 2018, at 2:00 p.m. This show is all about the Iditarod National Historic Trail. This isn’t your average Iditarod dog mushing show though, this is also a celebration. 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the national trail system, which includes the Iditarod trail. The Iditarod Trail is the only winter trail in the National Trails System and the only Congressionally-designated National Historic Trail in Alaska. LISTEN HERE

KSKA: Thursday, Jan. 04, at 2:00 p.m. On the next Outdoor Explorer, we take a look at one of the biggest sports and outdoor stories in Alaska in the last year: the Iditarod drug doping scandal that hit the race in the fall, with a positive drug test and the surrounding controversy.  We’ll also learn about getting your skis ready for the season, and about a big dam removal project in Anchorage, which was funded completely by donations. LISTEN HERE

This year’s Iditarod restart will be in Fairbanks for only the second time in the race’s 43-year history. Poor trail conditions prompted the move, and many some mushers are happy with the change. For businesses in the Susitna Valley, however, there will be a significant economic impact. Download Audio

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.

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. Download Audio

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. Download Audio

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. Download Audio

The Norton Sound 450, a regional sled dog race along the western coast of Alaska, will run in 2015, race officials say, committing to a race that was canceled last year and severely shortened the year before.

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.