Into Cripple!

Pete and the Team are into Cripple about 9:30pm. No official time yet. Times are pretty good over this stretch of the trail. Mitch Seavey’s team looked absolutely great as they come into the checkpoint earlier. Mitch commented that the trail good and seemed to be in good spirits. Here’s hoping that Pete and the team had a good run as well!

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Andy’s Corner – A New Iditarod Emerges and a Close Race Materializes

Andy at his 2007 Iditarod Finish

Last night I noticed something noteworthy while watching the GPS trackers:  every musher in the race was between Nikolai and Ophir, within a 100 mile stretch of trail.  This is remarkable, and it’s not something I’ve seen before.  I believe what we’re seeing in this race is the fruition of years of effort by the Iditarod Trail Committee to limit the number of unqualified and inexperienced mushers taking part.  The current last-place team, for instance, is none other than Dan Seavey, patriarch of the Seavey mushing juggernaut, and veteran of the very first Iditarod in 1973.  Others in the back of the pack are also quite experienced dog drivers, and a number of the rookies are running younger puppy teams for Iditarod contenders.  Gone are the days of any yahoo showing up in Anchorage with a team of dogs.  (See my dad’s description of his rookie run in 1979).  Nowadays, in addition to the racing requirements (200 and 300 mile qualifiers), a rookie must provide a reference of an Iditarod veteran who can vouch for their mushing and wilderness survival ability.  This is in addition to the mandatory rookie meeting in December prior to the race, where they receive rigorous instruction on dog-care, trail hazards, and equipment, culminating with a visit to Martin Buser’s kennel.  This doesn’t take into account the immense expense and time allotment for their own training and preparation.

This is good and bad.  On the good side, dog care has dramatically improved (no dog deaths in the last two Iditarods), there are fewer scratches (no one likes to see someone’s work and investment end in failure), and the Iditarod organization is able to shore up their support (veterinarians, race judges, and volunteers are able to move up the trail more efficiently, not having to wait for stragglers).  This saves money for the race and helps promote a good image of professional dog drivers and well-cared-for dogs.  On the flip side, the overall number of young and rookie mushers getting into long-distance racing -already limited by the outrageous expense of having and maintaining a dog team- is hampered by the strict requirements placed on participating in the sport’s single biggest event.  At the same time, some of the frontier magic of the old Iditarod is gone.  Mushers coming off the trapline or showing up in Anchorage on a shoestring are a thing of the past.  This is why, I think, a lot of mushing fans are excited about some of the younger mushers from off the road system, like Pete, Mike Williams, Jr., and Josh Cadzow.  There is still an element of Bush Alaska pride that comes from bringing a team from off the road system to do battle with the established mushers from Fairbanks and the Matsu Valley.

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A Man with a Plan

One of the things I like about Pete Kaiser is his method. He makes a plan and pretty much sticks with it. In his interview he was talking about the run from Ophir to Cripple as being a run that he thought he would have to split into two runs depending on the conditions. GPS shows him stopped almost halfway between Ophir and Cripple. Pretty smart move in my book as it is the heat of the day and not so great trail conditions. Take a break and wait it out a bit. I think it is a smart move.

He is holed up on the trail with 5 or so other mushers and we will probably see a 3-4 hour break before he heads out. The tell of the tail will be when the teams reach Ruby. Overall times across the stretch will really determine how much this section of the trail has taken out of teams and how it will affect the rest of their race.

As always, Pete has a plan and is sticking to it.

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Mike Williams Jr. KNOM Nikolai and Takotna Interviews

Mike Williams Jr. Left Takotna this morning at 5:27am with 15 Dogs. He is currently out of Ophir as well.

From KNOM Laureli Kineen:

In this interview Mike talks about the trail into Nikolai and the Farewell Burn
Nikolai
[audio:http://kaiserracing.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/mikejrnikolai.mp3|titles=mikejrnikolai]

In this interview Mike talks about falling asleep on the trail – Funny!
Takotna
[audio:http://kaiserracing.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/MikeJrTakotna1.mp3|titles=MikeJrTakotna1]

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