Idit 2009 Gears Up

Believe it or not, Iditarod 2009 is up and running, thanks in part to huge interest in Alaska lately. In the spirit of 'Deadliest Catch' and the other Alaska-themed shows where the Lower 48 gets to live vicariously through us Alaskans, there is a new show in town.

'Toughest Race on Earth; Iditarod' starts tomorrow night (Tues) on the Discovery Channel at 8 p.m. Alaska time. Tonight Yukon, Bear, and I, along with about 500 of the Idit's closest friends, got to see the preview. Over six weeks, viewers who are intrigued about the Iditarod Sled Dog Race will get to see an insider's impression of what goes on along the 1,000 + miles of trail.

The show is pretty accurate, given the Hollywood nature of television 'reality' these days. For those who follow this blog, you will get to see mushers interviewed by yours truly, and follow them on the trail throughout Race 2008. If you look hard, you can even see me crouched along the starting line in Anchorage. On the left, just beyond the line.

Last week I (barring any unforseen issues) secured the Idit and Fur Rondy Guides for Coast magazine. Let the race begin!

Iditarod Race Start Photos

Start Your Dogs

With a whole lot of barking and yowling, the 36th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race began in downtown Anchorage this morning. From the moment the side streets surrounding 4th Avenue opened to mushers around 6:30 a.m., the atmosphere fairly crackeled with excitement.

Down in the staging areas early myself, I spent most of the morning talking with mushers, taking photos, and getting kissed. Sled dogs are a happy, loveable lot, and every outstretched hand meant another opportunity for some lovin'. I patted and petted hundreds of heads as I wandered among teams preparing for the 1,100 mile journey that really begins tomorrow in Willow, about 60 miles north of Anchorage.

The official starting time was slated for 10 a.m., and shortly before I staked out my spot along a snow berm 10 yards or so from the Starting Line, along with a pair of photographers from National Geographic, a CNN reporter, and a local radio personality that was calling in to her show via cell phone. Hoping my digital camera with no telephoto lens didn't give me away as an amateur, I nonetheless stretched GI-style across the berm to catch teams readying themselves for the call to "Go!"

Let me reinforce at this point an important clarification that continues to be contentious among animal rights organizations. These dogs LOVE to run! As soon as the harnesses and tug lines come out of their trucks and the booties go on their feet, these athletes are the picture of unbridled enthusiasm. Each team is assigned at least 7 or 8 handlers to hold a dog or two as they await their turn to start (for this race, teams start every four minutes). Dogs waiting to go yip, bark, and sometimes shriek their impatience to begin the race with their favorite person. Mushers will usually take a moment before the start to go from dog to dog, holding their heads and murmuring a few words of encouragement, not that any is needed. When the final word is uttered by the start official, the team is released and immediately the team is absolutely silent, heading out to open trail awaiting them and them alone, in their way of thinking.

After about a quarter of the teams had mushed out of the start area, I returned home to gather up the rest of the family and transition to the end of the day's route, at Campbell Creek Airstrip, owned by the Bureau of Land Management and a short drive from the house.

A perfect place to view teams out on the trail, the Airstrip was uncrowded and quiet, with a view of the Chugach mountains providing a backdrop for incoming teams. The sun was out at this end of town and the boys busied themselves playing in the trees, popping out when a team would come by to say "Good Luck!"

Tomorrow is the big time, with different attitude for some serious racing. Today was the warm up; an Alaskan adventure in the making.

I will post race updates as they come in, should something interesting happen to any of the mushers I met today. Readers can also follow along at http://www.iditarod.com/ for daily posts and interviews. A post immediately after this one will be all photos.

Media Circus

10 days to go until the 2008 Iditarod proceeds into mushing history with a record number of teams still signed up. Mushers from across the U.S., Germany, Norway, Sweden, etc. are doing final checks of team ability; most will not make a final decision until right before start time.

Idit volunteers in Anchorage are beginning the back-breaking task of loading up small airplanes for distribution drops all along the course. No small task, it takes hundreds of folks to make the drops happen; from private pilots who donate their time to young college kids who can heft a 75-lb bale of straw over and over.

Everyone is watching the weather closely, for, up until Sunday night, we had what was shaping up to be a fair trail for most of the way. Then here in the Anchorage area, it began to warm up. And up. Right now the temperature is in the mid 40's and pouring rain, and the two feet of snow we had over the past week is rapidly becoming but a memory.

My media credentials have been "approved" and now I must attend a briefing next week at the Milennium Hotel, the center of it all for the Iditarod, to learn all the must-do's and musn't-do's for the upcoming race. Since most of the media folks are from Outside, it makes sense to hold such a briefing, and we are asked to familiarize ourselves with the 60-page "Media Guide" beforehand. This Guide covers everything from fun facts to finding lodging in areas of the race where there is no lodging (read, you better like sleeping on somebody's floor), and what to bring/not bring.

On Sunday we traveled downtown to visit with some sled dogs participating in our Fur Rondy sprint races (races of around 11 miles through town and back), just to get ourselves excited about the Iditarod. Wolf had a ball patting and hugging and being loved back by some of the most delightfully well-behaved dogs, who, nonetheless, were excited about the commotion and the idea that perhaps they might be running soon. Bear and Yukon spent most of their time eating hot dogs and watching the trains at the nearby depot.

Mush on, everybody, and don't forget to visit the Official Iditarod Web Site at http://www.iditarod.com/, or the Anchorage Daily News at http://www.adn.com/ for regular updates and interesting stories.

Yes, we might be getting some more anti-race comments, but we'll take 'em. After all, they are there, and we are here!

Mush On!

As any good Alaskan knows, there is little that embodies the sense of fierce Northern independence more than the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. The Iditarod, a race of over 1,000 miles from Anchorage to Nome, tests dogs, mushers, and equipment through ice, blizzards, and incredibly cold temperatures. Good mushers know they are nothing without their dogs, and the best ones pamper their pooches year 'round.

The 2008 race starts March 1st with the ceremonial send-off in downtown Anchorage. And I get to be there, press pass firmly attached to my parka.

The start is a frenzy of dogs, sleds, and crazy people dressed in fur. Teams take up howling and barking as start time nears, and pretty soon they all begin a chorus; with over 1,000 dogs, that's a loud choir of yips and yelps.

My coverage of this race actually begins now, with the creation of the Fur Rendezvous guide for Coast Magazine, based out of Anchorage. http://www.coast-magazine.com/ My participation on start day is purely reward for hundreds of phone calls and interviews with mushers, veterinarians, and other bigwigs of the race. This race has intriqued me for years, and to be invited to move among the chosen few is the opportunity of a lifetime. Our family will also travel to Willow the next day for the "official start" of the race, about 90 miles North of town. From the front row we'll watch sled dog teams begin their odyssey, and hope everyone makes it under the burled arch of Nome.

I'll provide links to the race and other interesting tidbits of information as they are garnered. In the meantime, check out the guide to "Fur Rondy" as it is called, in case you are thinking of a mid-winter trip to the North. http://www.furrondy.net/