FAA Captures Pete into Shaktoolik – Got to Luv Luv Luv Technology

You can see Pete into the checkpoint here.

You can see Pete into the checkpoint here.

Technology is a wonderful thing. One of my dreams is to have a webcam at every checkpoint. Not live video, just a once every couple of seconds or so webcam like the old days. It would be efficient, cheap, and we would, how do they say it, luv luv luv it!

In any case, the FAA has webcams all over the State of Alaska. They are very useful for pilots to see actual conditions of destinations. Today the webcam caught our own Pete Kaiser into Shaktoolik! Cool!!

Pete and the Team followed Wade Mars and his Team into the Checkpoint at 2:04pm after a 9hour and 9 minute run. Whooee baby! That’s a long tough time for this stretch of trail. I’m sure this will be a very good tale once we get it, but for now, we are glad to see both Teams safe and sound in Shaktoolik.

After such a struggle, I’m expecting a short break here. The thing on Pete’s mind, though, is Ken Anderson and Jason Campeau who are burning the trail up behind them. It will all be about the Team I’m sure, but it has to be looming in his mind.

At the front of the pack Aaron Burmeister was passed by Dallas Seavey who arrive into Koyuk at 12:34pm. Aaron arrived just 3 minutes later, but Dallas had made up an hour and 20 minutes since Shaktoolik. An arrival at this time today puts an evening finish tomorrow as my latest prediction and a finish for Team Kaiser in the early morning hours of Wednesday morning.

Pete is holding a solid 9th at this point, which has to satisfy him to some extent, but the ordeal on the trail is something that he will have to push from his mind and drive on up the trail to Koyuk and beyond.

Go Team Kaiser!

Current weather isn’t too bad actually. It is partly cloudy , temperatures have risen, and winds have subsided. It should be a fairly pleasant trip up to Koyuk. There is a chance of more wind later today as a front moves through, but hopefully it will remain at bay.

Shaktoolik Weather- Temperature 16F – North Winds at 10knots – Partly Cloudy Skies
Koyuk Weather- Temperature 16F – Northwest Winds at 7knots – Partly Cloudy Skies

Mushing Weather Forecast:

EASTERN NORTON SOUND AND NULATO HILLS-
INCLUDING...UNALAKLEET...STEBBINS...ST MICHAEL...ELIM...KOYUK...
SHAKTOOLIK
512 AM AKDT MON MAR 16 2015

.TODAY...CLOUDY. PERIODS OF SNOW THIS MORNING. SOME FLURRIES
AFTER NOON. AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW. SNOW ACCUMULATION AROUND 1
INCH. HIGHS IN THE TEENS. NORTHEAST WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH. LOCAL
GUSTS NEAR 40 MPH.
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What’s Going On???

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Inquiring minds want to know– What happened on the trail out of Unalakleet this morning?

I wasn’t too worried about it actually, as the tracker was out of sorts, but when it came back, a fan called and was all kinds of excited, so I checked in myself. The tracker is back online and Pete and the Team are moving again.

At about 7am this morning, both Team Kaiser and Wade Mars’ Team stopped up the trail from Unalakleet. And they stayed stopped for about 2 hours exactly.

We won’t know for sure what happened, but trail prognosticator, Myron Angstman, seems to feel that in the area of the old cannery, it is quite a challenge and with blowing snow and such, he feels that the Teams just took a break for a bit rather than play a bad hand and get lost or tangled in the pickets of driftwood in the area. Apparently Mitch Seavey had some trouble as well in the area earlier in the evening. Winds can get super strong in several “blow holes” along the coast causing a great deal of trouble for teams.

Both Teams are back on the trail at this hour and we will get the story as soon as Pete and the Team get to Shaktoolik.

The good news is that the low pressure system that was causing the winds is deteriorating and breaking up. Koyuk is now showing 5 knot winds. That should be a pleasant break for Teams headed over the ice to Koyuk.

Go Team Kaiser!

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A Look Back – Huslia Hospitality – Thanks Doreen David!

Everyone has said it over and over– Huslia was Awesome! The hospitality, the friendship, the food, the kids, and just the whole community put out all they had to make it possible. Pete said he wished he could have stayed a couple of days, but there was a race to run. Thanks Huslia! And Thanks to Doreen David for sharing her photos with us! Quyana! Ena baasee’!

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Out of Unalakleet – Old School Tracking

Pete and the Team were out of Unalakleet early this morning at just before 5am with a good 6hr 37minute break in Unalakleet. It was a long run yesterday and I’m sure Pete and the Team needed just a bit more rest before todays run up the coast into Koyuk and beyond. All 12 dogs were in harness as he left the land of the Ryan’s and Ivanoff’s and Ariel Tweto, and moved North on the trail to Shaktoolik.

At this hour the tracker has him resting, but I am having a hard time believing that at this point because he is just out of the Unalakleet checkpoint. The tracker automatically assumes rest with no movement or no pings for a certain period.

Dallas Seavey had the fastest time yesterday into Shaktoolik with a 5hr 21minute trail time in from Unalakleet. Other Teams are averaging just about 6 1/2 hours for the trip.

The shootout at the front is Aaron Burmeister, who is leading at this point by about 3 miles, but apparently the Tracker has been sporadic all night. The old school spectating of Sled Dog racing was all about checkpoint times. That was the only information a fan had in front of them. I can remember fans coming into K300 race headquarters with pen and paper, eager to do some calculations and derive the smallest little race tidbit about the race in front of them. In those days it was checkpoint times and imagination! But it was still fun.

With a tracker on the blink, that is what we will have to do. Stay tuned to the Race Standings page to see how Pete and the Team are doing this morning. They should be arriving into Shaktoolik in time for a quick snack at lunch time before taking the trail to Koyuk.

Team Kaiser is notorious on the coast and this is where they are dangerous! I’m sure Pete gave everyone a bit of extra rest looking at the weather and knowing the trail ahead of them so well. Other mushers may unwisely cut rest on this trail and it can come back to bite them as they move past Koyuk towards the winds of White Mountain.

Mushing Weather for this Morning:

It’s going to be a windy morning. The winds are literally strong enough to knock you off your feet on the icy trail today. Unalakleet is reporting Northeast wind at 24 gusting to 30 knots (36mph) this morning. Temperatures are warmer, but with the added wind, the windchill factor is down to -13F. Skies are cloudy, so it’s going to be pretty white out there on the trail.

Today’s Forecast:

EASTERN NORTON SOUND AND NULATO HILLS-
INCLUDING...UNALAKLEET...STEBBINS...ST MICHAEL...ELIM...KOYUK...
SHAKTOOLIK
512 AM AKDT MON MAR 16 2015

.TODAY...CLOUDY. PERIODS OF SNOW THIS MORNING. SOME FLURRIES
AFTER NOON. AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW. SNOW ACCUMULATION AROUND 1
INCH. HIGHS IN THE TEENS. NORTHEAST WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH. LOCAL
GUSTS NEAR 40 MPH.
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Kaiser Racing Radio – Ariel Tweto Cookin’ Up Bacon!

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Unalakleet’s Own– Ariel Tweto

I got a quick call into Unalakleet and who answered the phone, but Unalakleet’s very own Ariel Tweto! She was manning the Iditarod Checkpoint Kitchen, cooking to order for Mushers as they came in to take a break. A lively little gal, Ariel explains a bit about the checkpoint and also describes Pete and the Team into the checkpoint. Listen into this fun short conversation as she takes a break between meals:

 

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Into Unalakleet – In Good Time

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Pete and the Team are into Unalakleet at 10:18pm for a travel time of 11hours 18minutes for the run in from Kaltag. They have arrived in 7th place about 25 minutes behind Joar Leifseth Ulsom and Jesse Royer, who they had been traveling with for much of the trail. Team Kaiser had a slowdown on the trail for a bit, but the speed coming into Unalakleet was very good.  What is most noteable is that Joar left 1hour and 17 minutes in front of Pete, and though losing some ground on the trail, at the checkpoint, he is only 48 minutes behind. So although he was even on the trail at one point, he is actually GAINING!

Pete is watching his back though as Mitch Seavey arrived just 10 minutes behind after taking a break on the trail. He moved up towards Shaktoolik, so this will be interesting to watch. Mitch and Pete have traveled this stretch before together up to Koyuk. A couple of years back, Pete, completely asleep, rode on as Team Kaiser pulled on and passed Mitch and his Team on the Trail. Once Pete got into the checkpoint, Mitch came up to him and they chuckled about it. Mitch had said hi as Pete and the Team trucked on by, but Pete was dreaming away and totally missed it. Sebastian Schnuelle laughed and laughed later, (in his bavarian accent)”Ya, it’s bad to get passed on the trail, but it’s Really bad to get passed by a Team totally asleep!”

I think of that story every year at this time.

The weather in Unalakleet is cold and windy. Windchills are well below zero as ambient temperatures rise. It is a bristling cold night and there is the Team to tend to before getting a meal and drifting off to sleep.

Pete and the Team will take a good break here after the long stretch of trail. I would look for a 4 to 6 hour break here. That would put them back on the trail early tomorrow morning on the northbound trail to Shaktoolik and Koyuk.

There are 261 miles from Unalakleet to Nome. As we found last year, the wind in this area can be the great influencer. Pete and his Team will have some advantage to some Teams in this new area of the race as we LIVE in the wind! A young team that has been training in the interior, though, will need management and guidance to get down the trail.

Mushing Weather for tomorrow:

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

.TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS IN THE EVENING...
THEN SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT. AREAS OF BLOWING
SNOW. AREAS OF FOG AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOWS 1 TO 7 BELOW. NORTHEAST
WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH. 
.MONDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY. SNOW LIKELY IN THE MORNING...THEN
SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON. AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW IN
THE MORNING. AREAS OF FOG. SNOW ACCUMULATION AROUND 1 INCH. HIGHS
IN THE TEENS. NORTHEAST WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH.

 

 

 

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A Cakewalk? Hardly…

Earlier to day I posted an article talking about the lack of challenge to the race. Well, that was pretty short sighted!!

After listening a bit to mushers and watching some of the video, this may go down as one of the coldest Iditarods ever. The Mushers and Teams have had the same weather– its been deceivingly clear and brilliant, but it’s been very cold. Imagine each night for the last 7 days at -40 in the evening. Or even COLDER!! It’s taking a toll to fingers, faces, and other extremities. It is a tough go to take care of the Team, and that comes first. What was an easy chore at -10 is a challenge at -40F. No sleep or very little. At those temperatures, it is desperate, but that is the amazing thing! They keep going!

So the challenge was the unseen- The chill of the Arctic.

As Pete and the Team enter the checkpoint of Unalakleet, this blogger, secure in the warmth of my living room, has learned a quick lesson. What you see is not always there!

More soon as Pete and the Team bed down for a break in Unalakleet.

Go Team Kaiser!

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Video – Andy Angstman Moves Up

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Generally at this point in the race, we have commentary from Andy Angstman. In fact, one year he had a column on Kaiser Racing called Andy’s Corner. An Iditarod and Kuskokwim 300 veteran, his analysis has been fun. It is almost ironic that his dad, Myron has filled his shoes, usually its the other way around!

Andy has been announcing the start of the Kuskokwim 300 for several years and this year the Iditarod asked if he would do the Restart in Fairbanks. He also was called on to be a Race Judge in Unalakleet. Having young people move into the race with roles that make a difference is what will keep this sport alive. Congrats Andy!

Here’s the interview I got with him just after the restart (unfortunately he’s taller than I am and the camera was, so we are looking up at him:)–

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