Category Archives: 2013 Iditarod

Delta FOURce Update – Tuesday in Review

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If you are from the YK Delta, you can hold your head up high today! The Delta FOURce, as we have played with the name, is really doing a bang up job.

This morning’s update on the four-

Pete is running near the front and keeping his number 10 spot pretty solid. He had a good day yesterday that started camping on the trail with several other mushers, then making his way to Nikolai in the morning and down the Kuskokwim to McGrath ending up just before midnight in Takotna.

Mike Williams Sr and his son “Junior”, as Big Mike calls him, have been more or less traveling together the whole race. Mike Sr. isn’t a small guy and for that team to be running together with Mike Jr. is really something. But more, for Mike Sr. to be keeping up with his son really shows his stamina as well. Mike Jr. is having a great race and is in position in the middle of the pack as he has done in years past. Look for him to push a bit more once we get closer to the coast.

Richie Diehl is being conservative. His run cycle is not agressive, but he is still moving up the ladder. Early on in the race his run times and speeds were a bit down, but I have noticed that now they seem much more consistent and faster. I am assuming it was just jitters and he is getting into the pace of the race. It’s a totally different thing to be mushing for days at a time and you have to almost establish a routine. Make sure your dogs are eating, resting, and healthy, as well as making sure that you get some rest as well. This is a 10-11 day race for mushers at the end of the standings board, so consistency will truly pay off to get a musher to the finish line.

Go Men! Great Job So Far– Keep it up!

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Resting In Takotna – Strategies Continue

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After a steak and a piece of pie, the dogs are all snuggled into a good nights rest and Pete is dreaming of tugboats on the river. The run has been very respectable and Pete has kept the front runners much closer than his previous races. After the 24 hour layover, the differentials will be adjusted and we will have a better idea of the true position Team Kaiser holds.  While Team Kaiser rests, strategies continue.

Several mushers have different ideas this year in terms of the 24 hour layover strategy. We saw it first with Martin Buser taking his layover very early in Rohn, and now we see several differing ideas in the traditional rest areas.

Early on, McGrath was the favorite rest stop, but as the race has gotten quicker, teams moved up into Takotna, just a bit further down the trail. In the last several years we have seen mushers even move further down the trail. Last year there were layovers in Cripple on the northern route.

Jake Berkowitz blasted through Takotna last night and moved up into Ophir for his 24. His speed to Ophir was dramatically faster than he had been moving earlier in the day reaching well over 9mph most of the way. After an 8 hour run to have that much speed available is a testament to the quality of that team. He will be one to watch.

But then Lance Mackey took back to the trail after a break in Takotna and is now past Ophir headed for Iditarod. Jeff King also didn’t take a break in Takotna and is resting between that checkpoint and Ophir, so I assume he will be moving forward past Ophir as well. (There would be no reason to take a break between two close checkpoints unless a musher planned on another longer run)

I am wondering if Mackey and King are looking at weather or Buser to push them further, or if this was part of the original plan. In any case, by tonight we will see quiet a different race to be sure as Buser moves back into the mix and teams return to the trail.

Pete and the Team should be able to return to the trail close to 12:30am this evening if my calculations are correct.

In weather news, the low that has been warming western Alaska seems to be dissipating, but it still could be a factor in the next few days.

UPPER KUSKOKWIM VALLEY-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MCGRATH...NIKOLAI...TAKOTNA...
FAREWELL LAKE
410 AM AKST WED MAR 6 2013

...HIGH WIND WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY MORNING THROUGH FRIDAY
AFTERNOON...

.TODAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS. HIGHS IN THE
LOWER 30S. SOUTHEAST WINDS TO 10 MPH. 
.TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS IN THE EVENING.
LOWS IN THE UPPER TEENS TO LOWER 20S. NORTHEAST WINDS 5 TO
15 MPH.
AKZ215-070415-
LOWER YUKON VALLEY-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...RUSSIAN MISSION...GRAYLING...
HOLY CROSS...SHAGELUK...ANVIK...FLAT
410 AM AKST WED MAR 6 2013

...WINTER STORM WARNING IS CANCELLED...

.TODAY...CLOUDY. SNOW LIKELY IN THE MORNING. LESS THAN AN
INCH SNOW ACCUMULATION. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 30S. SOUTHEAST WINDS
5 TO 15 MPH. 
.TONIGHT...CLOUDY. SNOW LIKELY AFTER MIDNIGHT. AREAS OF
BLOWING SNOW AFTER MIDNIGHT. SNOW ACCUMULATION AROUND 1 INCH.
LOWS IN THE LOWER TO MID 20S. EAST WINDS 5 TO 15 MPH INCREASING
TO NORTHEAST 15 TO 25 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT.
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Berkowitz Moves On to Ophir – Pete?

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Takotna Pies

Takotna Pies

Jake Berkowitz is still on the trail headed for Ophir. In a race with all kinds of twists and tangles in terms of stories and strategies, here goes another one.

Pete and the Team are into Takotna at 11:30pm. Laureli Kineen just had a big slice of banana cream pie. I’d bet Pete will go for the best food on the Iditarod Trail and do his 24 hour layover. If he does, he would leave close to 1:30am tomorrow night.

DELTA FORCE UPDATE-

  • Pete is in Takotna
  • Mike Sr. and Jr. are running together on the trail. What an awesome experience it must be. In any case, the are on the trail between Nikolai and McGrath.
  • Richie Diehl is in Nikolai and resting. His conservative run will pay out dividends as he learns the “ropes” of this great race.

Trail Weather Tonight:

UPPER KUSKOKWIM VALLEY-
INCLUDING...MCGRATH...NIKOLAI...TAKOTNA...FAREWELL LAKE
630 PM AKST TUE MAR 5 2013

.TONIGHT...CLOUDY. SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS IN THE EVENING...WITH
SNOW DEVELOPING TOWARD MORNING. SNOW ACCUMULATION UP TO 2 INCHES.
LOWS IN THE TEENS TO LOWER 20S. LIGHT WINDS.  
.WEDNESDAY...SNOW. SNOW ACCUMULATION 1 TO 3 INCHES. HIGHS IN THE
20S TO LOWER 30S. LIGHT WINDS.
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Plane Crash Claims 3 Enroute to Takotna

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http://www.ktuu.com/news/plane-with-3-passengers-overdue-to-takotna-anchorage-ktuu-20130304,0,6898307.story

A plane with 3 people headed for Takotna to volunteer at the Iditarod Checkpoint crashed in Rainy Pass Monday morning claiming the lives of the pilot and a mother and her 12 year old daughter. Our thoughts and prayers for the families at this difficult time.

 

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Into Mcgrath – Cool for Now

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Signing in at McGrath Checkpoint – Tuesday 9:19pm

As a warm storm moves North, mushers are moving into 24 hour layovers in the Middle Kuskokwim area of McGrath, Takotna, and Ophir. Temperatures were above freezing as far north as Nome, with other coastal communities reaching close to the 40’s.

Luckily today, mushers were largely immune as they mushed in the last remnants of cooler air and clear skies they may see for awhile.

Pete and the Team arrived into Mcgrath just a few minutes after Dallas Seavey in 10th position at 9:07pm and left 2 minutes later with all 15 dogs in harness.

There are 7 teams within an hour of each other that are inbound to Takotna at this hour. It is still a bit unclear who is actually leading the race because of the differential from the staggered start. The last team out of the Starting line has no differential. Teams at the front of the pack have time added to their layover by the amount of mushers they are in front of the last musher. Martin Buser had over two hours added to his 24 hour layover.

Aaron Burmeister was the first of the Mushers into Takotna where a majority of Teams will spend their 24. Veteran Kaiser Fans remember that the Food, especially the pies, is outstanding, but the question of the night is where teams will layover. Speculation exists that some mushers may keep going towards Ophir to give them more even run legs on the way to the Yukon River checkpoint of Anvik.

I have a few photos coming in from McGrath as I write this, so Stay Tuned!!

 

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Headed Downriver!

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Nikolai - Tuesday Afternoon

Nikolai – Tuesday Afternoon

Pete and the Team took a 5 hour break after a 6 hour run in from their camp spot at Little Egypt last night. They were back on the trail at 3:20 for a 48 mile run into McGrath and then a 23 mile run into Takotna where I assume he will stick to the game plan and take his 24 hour layover.

The trail to McGrath is a well traveled snowmachine trail that should be pretty hard packed. A couple of weeks ago, the Iron dog mushers had very fast times on this trail which is a good indication of the condition.

Eight mushers left within 20 minutes of each other so I imagine it is quite a scene out there with all of the dogs and sleds headed down the river.

Temperatures are rising into the 30’s unfortunately, but that is good for Pete and the Team because they can take their 24 and hopefully this storm will pass. (It could also hang around as well, so either way is a gamble) Speaking of a gamble, this year’s Southern route will take them closer to the warmer temperatures, so it will be interesting to see if Martin Buser’s gamble will pay out as he keeps going while other mushers are standing pat.

Long range outlook is for the warm storm to pass to the North this weekend, but that puts all of the mushers in the thick of it.

SOUTHWEST ALASKA/BERING SEA...ASIDE FROM STRONG WINDS THE MAIN THREAT
FROM THIS DEVELOPING SYSTEM WILL BE BLIZZARD CONDITIONS. THE AIR MASS
AHEAD OF THE FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL BE COLD ENOUGH TO INITIALLY SUPPORT
SNOW. WITH GOOD UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT EXPECT STRONG UPWARD VERTICAL
MOTION TO PRODUCE MODERATE TO HEAVY PRECIP WHEN IT FIRST ARRIVES. 
THE SYSTEM WILL BE MOVING AT A PRETTY GOOD PACE WHEN IT FIRST REACHES
SOUTHWEST ALASKA SO WARMER AIR WILL ALSO MOVE IN. THE QUESTION IS
WHETHER THERE IS WILL BE A LONG ENOUGH PERIOD OF SUB-FREEZING
TEMPERATURES TO PRODUCE A BRIEF BLIZZARD. THE MOST LIKELY AREAS ARE
THE WESTERN CAPES OF BRISTOL BAY UP TO THE KUSKOKWIM DELTA COAST
WHERE AIR MASS WILL START OUT A LITTLE COLDER AND WHERE NORTHERLY
WINDS WILL HOLD IN LONGER.
.LONG TERM FORECAST...THE STORM SYSTEM TRACKING TO SOUTHWEST ALASK
WILL EXIT TO THE NORTH THIS WEEKEND. MODELS THEN INDICATE A STRONG
BLOCKING RIDGE SETTING UP SHOP OVER MAINLAND ALASKA EARLY NEXT WEEK.
THIS MEANS STORM TRACK WILL BE HELD WEST OF THE RIDGE OVER THE
WESTERN BERING SEA.

.AER/ALU...WATCH/WARNING SUMMARY
PUBLIC...BLIZZARD WATCH 185.
MARINE...STORM WARNING...132 150 155 160 170.
         GALE WARNING 130 138 165 171 172 179 180.

 

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Sebastian Schnuelle’s Photos from Nikolai

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The Iditarod has done a real nice job this year by taking a leaf out of our playbook and just blogging away. Sebastian is on the trail just posting what he sees– That’s the key! Through his eyes we are really getting the feel of the trail. Become an insider and see it all.

Here are his photos of Pete in Nikolai- Looks like he is happy and the dogs look great.

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