Pete Draws Bib 54

The 2011 Musher Drawing was held last night in Anchorage. The 2011 Start will have a lot to do about Bethel!! 2011 Junior Iditarod Winner Jeremiah will lead the mushers out of the Ceremonial Start in Anchorage tomorrow morning. The next musher out of the chute will be former Bethel musher Dee Dee Jonrowe.

Pete drew bib number 54 so he will have a bit of time to wait before heading out of the gate.

The ceremonial start begins tomorrow at 10:00am in Downtown Anchorage.

We will start our coverage from there! If you have photos and are in town. Send them my way!!

Send Photos to kaiserphotos2011@gmail.com

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Jeremiah Klejka WINS Junior Iditarod!

In case you missed it! A few Team Kaiser dogs contributed to the victory! Congratulations to Jeremiah from Team Kaiser!

From Tundra Drums:
Bethel’s Jeremiah Klejka wins Junior Iditarod
Bethel Regional High School junior Jeremiah Klejka drove his dogs to victory on Sunday at the 150-mile Junior Iditarod sled dog race.
The 17-year-old finished nearly a half hour ahead of runnerup, Anitra Winkler from Cantwell.
The prestigous race is for mushers between the ages of 14 and 17 years old.
Klejka ran the course from Knik Lake to Willow Lake in 1 day, 11 hours and 46 minutes, crossing the finish line at 11:46 a.m.
This is Klejka’s third Junior Iditarod and builds on a family legacy for the event – Klejka’s sister Jessica won the Junior Iditarod in 2008.
Emily Krol, 17, from Wasilla came in third at 12:34 p.m., 22 minutes behind Winkler.
The victory gave Klejka back-to-back top five finishes.
He finished fourth last year after coming home ninth as a rookie in 2009.
The Junior Iditarod began in 1978 and has a rich history, featuring some of the best young talent from the finest mushing families in Alaska.

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Midnite Position Report- Safety

GPS Reports Pete and the Team through Safety. 18 Miles to go. It surely could be a finish before 3:am, but most Mushers have been taking 3 hours. In any case, we are down to the last 18 miles of an epic adventure spanning Alaska and the imaginations of us all.

Pete Kaiser is now leading the group of remaining Mushers left on the trail.

More in an hour…

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White Mountain to Safety

From Iditarod

his can be one of the most dangerous stretches on the race when the wind blows or a storm hits. It can make or break champions, not to mention back- of-the-packers. Mushers have nearly died within what would normally be a few hours’ easy running to Nome. In reasonable weather, this is a pleasant five- to eight-hour run; in the worst conditions, it can be impassable.The race uses the main snowmachine trail to Nome. It is well marked at the beginning of the race, but inevitably many markers are knocked over or blown down. Some parts have been permanently marked. Markers are absolutely critical for this leg because visibility can be near zero in storms and ground blizzards.

The trail leaves White Mountain on the Fish River for about three miles, and then leaves the river to cut overland to the southwest, crossing low, rolling tundra and several streams before reaching the Klokerblok River. It runs up the river and across some low ridges, and then crosses into the drainage of the Topkok River.

The trail then turns west and climbs over a series of barren ridges to a 400-foot saddle just northwest of Topkok Head, overlooking the coast. It then descends sharply to the beach, reaching the Nome Kennel Club shelter cabin at the foot of the hill, 30 miles from White Mountain.

For the next 12 miles the trail runs along or just behind the dune line and the “driftwood line” on the shore. This stretch is wide open and is subject to winds of more than 80 miles an hour from the north, as well as blinding whiteouts. The trail will join the Nome-to-Council road (not plowed in the winter) at the Bonanza Ferry bridge and then follow it for the last 12 miles to Safety.

On the way to Safety

Safety Roadhouse

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Elim to White Mountain

Weather Forecast:

OTHER_HFM GOLOVIN, AK, Nome, Alaska (PWS)
Updated: 10:20 PM AKDT on March 16, 2010
Clear     16 °F
Windchill:     6 °F
Humidity:     52%
Dew Point:     1 °F
Wind:     7 mph from the North
Wind Gust:     0.0 mph
Pressure:     30.30 in (Rising)
Visibility:     10.0 miles

Elim to Golovin (Not an official checkpoint)

by Donald Bowers, Jr.

Quick Overview

This is one of the more interesting legs on the race, with quite a variety of trail and terrain in a very short distance. Moreover, there is always a possibility of two extremely different routes for the first ten miles. The race follows the main snowmachine “highway” from Elim to Golovin and it is usually well marked and packed.

The trail usually heads back out on the sea ice from Elim and runs a mile or two offshore to a cabin at Walla Walla, on the coast eight miles south of Elim. In some years, when there is open water just off shore, the traill will stay overland on the Old Elim Mail Trail.

At Walla Walla, the trail rurns inland and climbs over the Kwiktalik Mountains with a series of long, moderately hard grades. The final summit is 1,000 feet at Little McKinley, about eight miles past Walla Walla and ten miles from Golovin. This is considered the hardest climb on the last half of the race.

The trail then makes a fast descent to Golovin Bay, running northwest along the bay ice for the last five miles to Golovin.

Golovin to White Mountain

by Donald Bowers, Jr.

Quick Overview

This is normally a yawner (unless the wind is blowing or it’s snowing). The trail follows the main snowmachine route, running straight as an arrow for ten miles across Golovnin Lagoon, then winding gently around (with some gentle ups and downs) to cross the delta of the Fish River. The last few miles are on the river. There is sometimes overflow on the lagoon or river. Plan on two hours for the trip, perhaps three if the wind is blowing.

Elim to Golovin Trail

Lance Mackey Passes Golovin in 2009

White Mountain

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