Unalakleet Sunday!

Good Morning Race Fans!

If you’re like me, you love the extra daylight that daylight savings time brings, but the first few days are it’s a little tough to get used to. I know I’m running a little behind.

That’s not the case this morning for Pete and the Team as they are making great time on the Iditarod trail.

At this hour Pete and the Team are taking a break near the Old Woman trail cabin on the portage to Unalakleet. Over the years strategy has changed and Unalakleet is no longer a place where many Teams take their break. Instead, they split the run from Kaltag to Shaktoolik into two longer runs and bypass the pancake extravaganza that the Unalakleet checkpoint puts on each year.

There has been a bit of jockeying between Travis Beals and Team Kaiser over the night with Travis pushing slightly ahead to take his break. The Teams seem pretty evenly matched at this point, but it is still pretty early to call.

At the front of the Race, Dallas Seavey appears to be gaining on Brent Sass with only about 13 miles between them Seavey has a faster Team and plenty of time to catch Sass at this rate, so it looks to be a great finish. As many Teams have found over the years though, anything can happen between even Safety and Nome, so all bets are off as to what Team will reach the burled arches to take the win.

Mushing weather is going to be a bit cold as Teams turn Northward. Not as bad as it has been in past years, but still it will be a bit of a slap in the face!

Unalakleet:
Today-  Sunny. Highs in the mid to upper teens. Northeast winds 15 to 25 mph.
Tonight-  Clear. Lows 1 below to 4 above. Northeast winds 15 to 25 mph.

It looks to be a beautiful, if a bit chillier day.

Go Team Kaiser!

 

 

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Down the Yukon Off into the Sunset

Kaltag Sunset – 2017

Good Evening Race Fans!

The race is heating up as Teams jockey for position as they run down the Yukon.

There are about 350 miles until Teams reach the burled arches in Nome, but the clear picture of a winner is a bit blurrier at this point.

Brent Sass still maintains a sizeable lead running across the portage from Kaltag to Unalakleet, but Dallas Seavey has a faster Team and with so many miles to go, anything can happen. This holds true for Pete and the Team as well who are gaining trail on Mitch Seavey as they approach Kaltag.

Years ago, Iditarod Winner John Baker once said, “watch Kaiser on the trail up the coast!” For whatever reason, Team Kaiser seems to morph into a different Team as they leave Unalakleet and head North up the Coast. Presently running in 9th, there are several Teams that are looking back to make sure the orange Parka isn’t in their rear view mirror!

Travis Beals has been traveling with Pete since Ruby and he as well is matching Pete as they run down the trail.

Bottom line is that the race is far from over and the excitement is building for everyone.

Tomorrow is Unalakleet Sunday. So many stories… So many memories. It is bound to be a great Sunday of racing as we reach this milestone.

Mushing Weather for the evening will move from an Interior weather system to coastal influence. Thank goodness this race is not a few days ago when Nome experienced 50 mph winds. The blowhole must have been intense!!

Mushing Weather Forecast:

Kaltag:
Tonight- Clear, with a low around -2. Northeast wind around 25 mph.
Sunday- Sunny, with a high near 11. Northeast wind 20 to 25 mph.

Unalakleet:
Tonight- Clear. Areas of blowing snow in the evening. Lows around 6 above. Northeast winds 15 to 30 mph. Gusts up to 45 mph in the evening.
Sunday- Sunny. Highs in the mid to upper teens. Northeast winds 15 to 25 mph.

 

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Another Beautiful Morning

Good Morning Race Fans!

Another beautiful day on the Iditarod Trail!

Brent Sass is solidly leading the race having arrived into Kaltag early this morning at 2:36am. He should be leaving shortly after taking his 8 hour Yukon break. This will give him about a 20 mile lead on the second place Team, Dallas Seavey.

Pete is running in a solid 10th position this morning if you take into account that a Team just ahead, Chad Stoddard, hasn’t taken his 8 hour break yet.

Team Kaiser left out of Ruby at 9:34 last night with 12 dogs, having dropped one in Ruby. Earlier in McGrath he had to drop one as well. The Team arrived into Galena at 3:00am on the dot with one of the fastest runs to this point over that section of trail. After a 3 hour 55 minute break Pete was back on the trail and is presently on the way to Nulato.

The weather is just outstanding. Clear skies, 12 degrees and a 10 mph North wind puts the wind at their back and should be an amazing run down the Yukon. Taking into account the wind and trail speed, it will be almost dead calm for the Team.

What a great day to be dog sled racing!!

Go Team Kaiser!!

 

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Team Kaiser into Ruby

Pete and the Team are into Ruby this afternoon about 1:40pm. The Team looked great, tails wagging and ready to go. I’m figuring a break here in the afternoon sun to get a bit of recharge and a taste of civilization after the last 300 miles! The last warm place to take a break was McGrath a couple of days ago.

The weather is still brilliant and Teams are counting on a fun, fast run down the Yukon in the next day or so.

Go Team Kasier!

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Beautiful Morning to be a Musher!

Good Morning Race Fans!

Pete and the Team are moving along nicely after quite a run last night.

After an 8 hour run, Pete and the Team took a break at 2:00am and rested about 5 hours 30 minutes. At 7:30 they were back on the trail and showing in 13th position.

Brent Sass appears to be the Jackrabbit this year and has quite a substantial lead at this point.

Trail conditions don’t appear to be too bad in terms of trail times and after seeing the Sass Team on the Yukon Trail after Ruby, it looks to be a very fast trail.

The weather this morning is absolutely beautiful. Ruby is reporting 8 degrees, light East wind (10mph) and clear skies. You can’t ask for better conditions.

Not much news from the trail, so we are in kind of a No Man’s Land in terms of information. That will change once we reach the Yukon and are able to see Teams go through checkpoints down the village trail to Kaltag and beyond.

Here’s hoping Mr. Kaiser and the Team are in great spirts as well!

Go Team Kaiser!

 

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Long Trail – Better Weather

Howdy Race Fans!

Pete and the Team seem to be making good time as they head up the trail towards Cripple.

After a 7 hour and 49 mile run on the trail from Ophir, Pete stopped and rested on the trail at about 2:00pm and rested for 4 hours. They returned to the trail at just after 6:00pm this evening and are currently moving towards the halfway point.

From his rest stop to Cripple will be about 26 miles. He may stop for a break, but he also might head North as his buddy Richie Diehl did earlier to break the Ophir to Ruby run into three runs. Richie is currently running in second position and having a beautiful race. Go Richie!!

Weather from the Cripple Camera is good. It’s a little breezy, but not bad. Clear skies and a light breeze with cooler temperatures is going to be a welcome sight for all Teams as they head North. In fact, some of the best weather of the race is headed their way!

The nearest reporting station is Galena-
Tonight- Clear, with a low around -1. North wind 10 to 15 mph.
Friday- Sunny, with a high near 18. North wind around 10 mph.
Friday Night- Mostly clear, with a low around -7. North wind 5 to 10 mph.

Awesome mushing weather!!

 

 

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Out of Ophir – Challenging Wind and Snow

Good Morning Race Fans!

Welcome to Day 4 of the Iditarod!

Pete and the Team are currently headed North to the halfway checkpoint of Cripple. After returning to the trail after his 24 at 9:30pm , Pete reached Ophir at 3:08 last night and took a 4 hour break. The Team returned to the trail this morning at 7:01.

Weather in the area isn’t great. Temperatures are in the mid 20’s but they are headed directly into a Northeast Wind gusting to 25-30 miles per hours. Added to that are snow showers, so visibility may be an issue as well as just the brutal wind in the face. Luckily it isn’t super cold which would really make it nasty.

With these conditions I expect Pete to break the run into two segments as he pushes North. As much as they are rested after a 24 hour layover, Teams need to conserve for the many remaining days and challenges ahead. Running currently in 14th position on the leaderboard, Pete is in a group of 8 Teams that have already taken their layover so it is a bit deceiving in terms of placement.

The weather is going to get a bit cooler which may improve the trail, but this section of the trail will definitely be a tough one! Luckily the weather will improve as they get up to the Yukon!

We don’t have much in terms of Insider video of Pete and the Team, but from my ear on the trail, I hear that everything is going according to plan. Once Teams reach the Yukon we will definitely see more, so stay tuned!

More later! Go Team Kaiser!!

 

 

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24 Hour Complete- Back on the Trail

Howdy Race Fans!

We are officially back on the Race Clock as Pete and the Team have left McGrath and their 24 Hour mandatory layover!

Word from the trail has been a bit sparse, but what I do hear is that Pete and the Team are in good spirits.

Leaving McGrath, the Team will head West to Ophir where they will head North to the Checkpoint of Cripple, basically in the middle of nowhere 🙂

Going to be a long night.

Go Team Kaiser!

 

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