Category Archives: Huslia to Unalakleet

Last Morning on the Yukon – Toe to Toe in the Race

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After an exceptional run downriver from Koyukuk and Nulato, Pete and the Team are putting a few last minute touches on a snooze in that last Yukon river checkpoint of the 2015 Iditarod. Arriving just before 6am, at 5:48, Pete and his Team of 12 dogs are resting a bit before heading west onto the portage that will take them to Unalakleet. Traveling with Joar Leifseth Ulsom, Pete and the Team looked frosty, but good as they entered into the checkpoint and signed in this morning. Some food and a rest will have them back on the trail, probably by 10 or 11.

When I contemplated the 2015 Iditarod, after learning of the trail change from Fairbanks, I wondered if this race might just be a drag race. In other words, equally matched teams that just give it all in very consistent trail conditions. For the most part, I think that was spot on to this point in the race. There have been little in the way of trail challenge as it has been mostly a river race. The temperatures have been the challenge, but they often are and all mushers had identical challenge.

You can see what I’m talking about by looking at the top 10 teams into Kaltag. It is an wondrous and amazing sight to see as each musher is still racing at speeds that are so similar that only a few minutes separate trail times between the top 10. Very similar to a horse race– Only 1 hour separates trail times in the top 9 teams from Nulato to Kaltag. If you drop the high and the low, only 30 minutes separates 7 mushers, and many are just a few minutes different. This is truly incredible considering we are at mile 633 this morning. It really shows the quality and dedication to training for these Teams. I for one am pretty excited this morning.

Let’s talk about the lowest time, though, that we dropped from the calculation– Dallas Seavey. From what I am seeing, his is the Team to beat. You can’t argue with performance, and his Team is putting down some real fine numbers.

The great equalizer, though, could be about to rear its head. Weather conditions are about to change, as they often do when the race enters the final coastal push to Nome. Today Mushers and Teams will encounter areas of blowing snow and increasing winds. The benefactor is that those winds will be at their back. The issue is the loose fluffy snow that can change a delightful winter romp over the countryside to a gnarly windblown drifted trail.

Go Team Kaiser!

 

EASTERN NORTON SOUND AND NULATO HILLS-
INCLUDING...UNALAKLEET...STEBBINS...ST MICHAEL...ELIM...KOYUK...
SHAKTOOLIK
501 AM AKDT SUN MAR 15 2015

.TODAY...SUNNY. AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHS
AROUND ZERO. NORTHEAST WINDS 15 MPH INCREASING TO 25 MPH AFTER
NOON.
.TONIGHT...SNOW LIKELY. AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW. SNOW ACCUMULATION
OF 1 TO 2 INCHES. LOWS AROUND 3 BELOW. NORTHEAST WINDS 15 TO 30
MPH.
.MONDAY...SNOW LIKELY. AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW. SNOW ACCUMULATION
UP TO 2 INCHES. HIGHS IN THE UPPER TEENS. EAST WINDS 15 TO 30 MPH.
.MONDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF SNOW. LOWS IN THE
LOWER TO MID TEENS. SOUTHEAST WINDS 10 TO 20 MPH.
Teams Resting in Kaltag. I think the Team on the Left is our own Team Kaiser

Teams Resting in Kaltag. I think the Team on the Left is our own Team Kaiser – By Sebastian Schnuelle

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Off for Kaltag – The Cold is Old, but the End is in Sight!

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Yukon River before Nulato

Yukon River before Nulato – Bike Rider in earlier year.

After a 4 hour break in Koyukuk, Pete and the Team are back on the trail. He was out at 10:42 with 12 dogs. Starting with 16, he dropped 1 in Tanana, 1 in Huslia, and 2 in Koyukuk. He has also dropped the “caboose” that he had used up until at least Galena.

I am expecting Pete to head out for Kaltag before taking a break in advance of the run over the portage to Unalakleet. This means a quick signin at Nulato and back on the trail.

It is 22 mile to Nulato and then 47 miles to Kaltag. From here on out, the Iditarod will be on a traditional Northern route trail. This will be Pete’s 3rd run on this trail and he has a good idea what it takes to make it to Nome from here. The leading teams have made the run from Koyukuk to Kaltag in about 7 hours.

This year’s Kuskokwim 300 made a new rule change that limited the Team size to 12 dogs.  Pete is 393 miles from Nome and the finish line, so 12 dogs is not anything to even think about at this point. You would think that being down 25% from the Starting Team size would be a big deal, but it actually allows Pete and the Team to make better time on the trail as well as once in a checkpoint or on a break, it is way faster to feed and care for the Team. I’ll have to admit I wasn’t a fan of the new K300 rule, but it did pay out dividends to Pete and the Team– He won that race in fine fashion!

Weather tonight is going to be dark and cold. The moon is near gone and temperatures, though warming, are well below zero. It’s not going to be pleasant for anyone tonight and I would imagine that Mushers are getting a bit tired from the cold. Miles and miles at severe cold can be detrimental to the mood. But Tomorrow they head for the coast, and that means the end is near. It will feel downright balmy by the time they reach Unalakleet.

Go Team Kaiser!!

Kaltag currently- Temperature -23F – Calm Winds – Clear Skies.

Forecast for tonight-

LOWER KOYUKUK AND MIDDLE YUKON VALLEYS-
INCLUDING...GALENA...NULATO...HUSLIA...KALTAG...RUBY...KOYUKUK
217 PM AKDT SAT MAR 14 2015

.TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS 20 TO 30 BELOW. NORTHEAST WINDS TO
10 MPH.
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From the Gangline – What Was I Thinking??? (Updated)

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Myron Angstman

I  promised a top three by tonight,  but can’t deliver on my promise.  The  combination of  a variety of rest-run cycles, and some speed issues showing up make it impossible to say who the top three are right now (Sat eve).   Jeff King seems to have the edge overall,   although he currently is running in second place.  Aaron Burmeister has the lead but still must take an 8 hour layover  in Kaltag, where that lead will likely disappear.  King will likely stop 5-6 hour there and head for Unalakleet, probably a non-stop run.

King has taken three long runs since his 24 hour in Galena, and they have not required long stops when he rested at  Huslia and Koyukuk.   Others  have had less of a pattern, and are harder to predict as a result.   Aliy Zirkle still has to finish  her 8 hour, and she is currently in third.  She and Burmeister not only have to contend with finishing their 8 hour rest, they also have  the slowest average moving speed  among the contenders.  It is hard to make a team go faster than they are used to traveling  for any great period of time.  Thus, those two teams would have to stay on the trail longer than their competition to win.

Dallas  Seavey has been lurking  just behind the leaders, and traveling a bit faster when he moves.  He is defending champion and will be in this race until the finish.  He is a bit further back than he would like to be at this stage, but traveling faster as he is, he will likely be well in the mix on the coast.  Mitch Seavey has a little less speed and is further back,  but don’t count him out just yet.

[UPDATE]Dallas has turned it up a notch on his last run, and in so doing emerges as the team to beat. He averaged about 10 mph coming into Nulato. With that kind of speed still available at this stage of the race, the defending champion has to be favored to repeat.

A surprising name has moved into the discussion in the last two days.  Jessie Royer had a blazing fast run from Galena to Huslia  and is still moving well, running just ahead of Dallas Seavey right now.  She has the highest average moving speed of all the front runners, a full half mile an hour faster than Dallas, and a full  mile per hour faster than Aaron.   Two others just behind with high speeds are Pete Kaiser and Joar Ulsom.  These teams with high speed coming up from behind have excellent prospects for moving higher.

Among the other rural teams, John Baker has continued a slow but steady climb, now running in 13th place.  John has often moved up late in races, and especially in those races where weather is a factor.   His Kotzebue training comes in handy when it’s cold.  Another team moving up is Thomas Waerner,  from Norway.   The Norway teams that have done well in previous races have done so with slower moving teams that stay on the trail long hours. He seem to be following that trend.

The cold weather that has dominated the race seems to be waning which must be appealing to the racers.  One thing that racers rarely do is complain about the weather, because they have long ago realized it makes little sense to do so.  An occasional  glimpse into life on the trail at -40 tells us all we need to know. Several mushers have frostbite, and some have mentioned the tough time getting any rest during trail stops.  Huslia is known as a very cold village, and it surely didn’t disappoint this year. It is believed that the temps hit -50 in certain locations along the rivers. Dog racers are well familiar with the feeling of dropping off a bank onto a river and having the temp drop several degrees in about 10 feet.  When it is  40 below in the checkpoint, that sudden drop is alarming,  when you consider you are starting on a several hour river run. Now that I no longer face that situation as a mostly retired racer, I wonder “what was I thinking ?”

Myron Angstman is a veteran of the Iditarod and past champion of the Kuskokwim 300 and John Beargrease sled dog races.  He practices law in Bethel, Alaska. For more dog race stuff, check his website at angstmanlawoffice.com

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Is Weather about to Rear it’s Head??

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Weather watchers want to know… Is this nastiness in the Bering Sea going to show some weather??

Iditarod 2015 has been weather boring. No problems. It’s been cold, but this is Alaska and it is winter…

The worst type of weather that a musher can see is when they can’t see. Low pressure systems coming up from the south can bring warmer temperatures and low clouds and wind. Blowing snow can slow a team more than anything.

Forecasts are not as positive as they were earlier this week. It looks like warming temperatures are on the way. I am seeing issues on the trail from Unalakleet up the coast for a bit, but let’s cross our fingers.

Go Team Kaiser!

Unalakleet Forecast:

EASTERN NORTON SOUND AND NULATO HILLS-
INCLUDING...UNALAKLEET...STEBBINS...ST MICHAEL...ELIM...KOYUK...
SHAKTOOLIK
217 PM AKDT SAT MAR 14 2015

.TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS 15 TO 20 BELOW. NORTHEAST WINDS 5
TO 15 MPH.
.SUNDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS AROUND 5 ABOVE. NORTHEAST WINDS 10
TO 20 MPH.
.SUNDAY NIGHT...INCREASING CLOUDS. AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW AND A
CHANCE OF SNOW AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOWS 5 BELOW TO ZERO. NORTHEAST
WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH.

Nome Forecast:

SOUTHERN SEWARD PENINSULA COAST-
INCLUDING...NOME...WHITE MOUNTAIN...GOLOVIN
217 PM AKDT SAT MAR 14 2015

.TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS 15 TO 20 BELOW. NORTHEAST WINDS TO
10 MPH.
.SUNDAY...SUNNY. HIGHS 5 BELOW TO 5 ABOVE. NORTHEAST WINDS 5 TO
15 MPH.
.SUNDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR IN THE EVENING THEN BECOMING MOSTLY
CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF SNOW AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOWS AROUND 5 BELOW.
NORTHEAST WINDS 10 TO 20 MPH.
.MONDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY. A CHANCE OF SNOW. HIGHS IN THE MID
TEENS. NORTHEAST WINDS 10 TO 20 MPH.
.MONDAY NIGHT...CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW. LOWS 6 TO 13 ABOVE.
NORTHEAST WINDS AROUND 10 MPH. 
.TUESDAY...CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW. HIGHS IN THE MID 20S. 
.TUESDAY NIGHT...CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW. LOWS IN THE MID
TEENS.
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Kaiser Racing Radio -Tales of Attla and Analyzing the Nose of the Race

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In this edition of Kaiser Racing Radio, Myron regales us with memories of George Attla and the second closest races in Mushing history. We also run down the leaders and talk about some strategies. Fun Show!

Listen in!

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Long Day in the Afternoon Sun

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It was a long afternoon on the Koyukuk River. Pete and the Team set out at just after 4am this morning. After a break on the trail, a 15 hour run on the 84 miles from Huslia was a very long day.

Initially I was thinking a pass through towards Nulato, but at this point, I’m not sure. After such a stretch, “on the road,” I’m thinking a break here.

Running in a solid 9th place, this is a good position to be in at this point in the race. Apparently Pete had lost track and asked Sebastian as he passed, “What Place?” He left Huslia in 12th and is into Koyukuk in 9th. Top Ten at this point should make him happy, but I’m sure he’s looking forward.

One note, Aaron Burmeister’s team looked real nice into Koyukuk. He has to be pretty happy as well. He turned loose of his tow sled and is hoping to pick up some speed without it. Aaron has been so helpful to Team Kaiser and we wish him the very best on this next part of the trail.

Meanwhile, in Koyukuk, the sun is blaring and it’s a fairly warm day, Arctic-wise.

More Soon!

GO Team Kaiser!

Tonights Mushing Forecast-

LOWER KOYUKUK AND MIDDLE YUKON VALLEYS-
INCLUDING...GALENA...NULATO...HUSLIA...KALTAG...RUBY...KOYUKUK
217 PM AKDT SAT MAR 14 2015

.TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS 20 TO 30 BELOW. NORTHEAST WINDS TO
10 MPH.
.SUNDAY...SUNNY. HIGHS 5 BELOW TO 5 ABOVE. NORTHEAST WINDS 5 TO
15 MPH.
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Short break on the Trail – Off for Koyukuk

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After a 3 hour 30 minute break on the trail, Pete and the Team are again headed for Koyukuk. Joar Leifseth Ulsom is right with them for the 38 mile run into Koyukuk.

Weather is downright Gorgeous! -11F temperature with a very slight wind on their back, it is a beautiful day on this Interior Alaska winter afternoon.

 

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