Iditarod 2009!!! About This Page:

[Tonichelle]

Sebastian Schnuelle is in first and he just blew through Finger Lake... all of the others are still somewhere between Skwentna and Finger Lake. He's on his way to Rainy Pass and then the Dalzell Gourge (the most dangerous part of the first leg of the trail... and possibly the most dangerous, period).
Dallas Seavey is the highest ranked Seavey at the moment, in 16th, seems his not running the puppy team is a very good thing as he's far more competitive this time around. Jen was in drop dead last place last night but she's moved up three or four spots since then.Mitch is just a couple of places lower than Dallas.
Martin, and Jeff are in the middle of the pack... Rick Swenson is in 12th, Lance is in 14th...
we'll no doubt start seeing some new strategies with the weather pattern being what it is, and because it seems it takes a new breed of play to win.

[Minnie Lor]

I am the Insider exclusive coverage. Yesterday morning the site was very very slow and I was thinking that I just wasted $20. Yesterday afternoon with the LIVE start was awesome. Today, the videos are coming in fine.

[Minnie Lor]

Holy cow Lance goes from 47 up to first place at Rainy Pass. He's flying! It gets difficult from Rainy to Rohn or is it still difficult thru the Farewell Burn?

Now tell me again. What are you doing thru out the race, Toni? Are you at a checkpoint or feeding the hungry, or ....?

[Tonichelle]

I'm not doing anything during the race. I'm here in Anchorage. I volunteered for the ceremonial start, and I supplied food for the Seavey's by making a huge lasagne and they sent it to one of the check points with the drop bags...


Well, while Lance Mackey was first INTO Rainy Pass, Schnuelle - who just won the Yukon Quest last month - is first out.

The next portion of the trail is tough, there's the Dalzell Gourge that they have to go down and it's a very dangerous portion of the trail. A few years ago many of the mushers had to scratch because of it. Rick Swenson destroyed his sled and his wrist. DeeDee Jonrowe broke her finger, and many other's lost their sled and their bearings. It was pretty bad.

Most mushers prefer to run the gourge in the daytime when they can see really well. Other's love the beauty of the night (Buser talks about the fantastic scene of the dogs in the gourge at night) but it makes the travel that much slower...

Dallas Seavey is the only Seavey into Rainy Pass, though Mitch is out of Finger Lake and is 5 places behind Dallas. Jen is slowly but surely climbing the ranks, she's now in 57th. Jen's goal this year is just get the team to Nome. When you run the 'puppy team' you aren't running to be super competitive.

Rick Swenson is currently third, Jeff King in 9th, Mackey 10th (Mackey left two minutes after King), Buser is in 20th... DeeDee is 16th.

I feel so out of the loop this year and it's driving me nuts!

[Tonichelle]

Mitch is now in 12th, Dallas in 25th

and the leapfrog continues...

[Minnie Lor]

Originally Posted by Tonichelle

(Mackey left two minutes after King)

I saw that too and had a good chuckle.

[Tonichelle]

good to know someone else caught it... looks like Mackey still sees Jeff as his main threat... you'd think he'd learn not to dance to that man's tune!


great blog by Iditarod blogger, Bruce Lee - Eye on the Trail » What are Mushers Really Thinking Right About Now

[claytrgtshooter]

Latest update I saw as I got ready for work was Paul Gebhart in 1st, Lance is third -- they are both out of Rohn -- Jeff King has not left Rohn yet. Maybe he is planning a daytime run

[Tonichelle]

yup, nothing much has changed as I just checked it... Dallas is into Rohn as is Buser... didn't see where Jonrowe and Swenson are.... so far no scratches that I can see *whew*

another article that's a good read - So far, Iditarod setbacks are minor: 2009 Iditarod 37 | adn.com

[Tonichelle]

Well first of all I typed up this big long summary of the days events and my computer crashed, so to say the least I am more than a little frustrated.
Anyway...
Last night/this morning's leap frog movement has continued throughout the day after some really rough runs through the dalzell gorge last night and this morning. In fact, a musher broke up her sled so bad that she became a hazard on the trail for the rest of the teams to have to deal with - Iditarod rookie crashes on Steps; rescue under way: 2009 Iditarod 37 | adn.com - Now, the Anchorage Daily News makes a bigger deal out of it than it probably was. Quite frankly it would be far more news worthy if all of the teams made it out without problem. But, that's just me.
Dalzell injured some mushers - Jeff King had a bloody face from something (he didn't even know he was hurt till someone pointed it out, according to articles) on the trail - and others had some badly injured sleds.
More depressing is the announcement of the first canine casulty from the trail. The cause is unknown, but Jeff Holt's dog will undergo a necropsy to determine the cause. Stupid associated press articles earlier today suggest not so descreetly that the dog might have been injured in the Dalzell Gorge due to the pile up of earlier in the day, though they have no basis for that. It's reporters like these that really get under my skin. Don't just blindly throw things out for any reason. Just wait till the report comes out.
Btw, the necropsy will be performed by someone outside of the Iditarod. It's completely immune from the idea that it's all in the family and it's something less than trusthworthy. Let's just get that out now.
Back to the race, seems with the warm weather (we were in the 40s this afternoon) the teams have taken it slow. This is a typical pattern for the race because dogs run better at night. Why? Because it's decidedly colder. Dogs run their best around -10 to -15. Seriously.
A lot of the slow down is also due to the fact that the mushers have entered "the burn". This is a stretch of Alaskan wilderness that is flat and ugly. There's not much in the way of trees, there's not much in the way of snow... but, there are a lot of tussoks (sp). This creates a pinball effect for the sled and the musher is lucky to ride out even part of the burn on the back of the sled. It's just as difficult as -if not more so- than the Dalzell Gorge. Talking with Dallas I think that he dreads the burn (and the yukon river wind) more than the Gorge. He's not alone in that thought.
As for where they are tonight, be aware this will have changed, more than likely, before I finish typing all of this up. However, most of the big names have made it into Nikolai, and some have left in the last three hours. Hugh Neff is out in front as he left around 4:45pm AKST, Lance Mackey was farther back in the pack at 7th into Nikolai but he left behind Paul Gebhardt and is now 5th. Not too shabby.
Jeff King is in 9th, Mitch Seavey is in 12, Rick Swenson is 16, Dallas Seavey is 22nd with DeeDee making a big jump from 31 to 23 in the last half hour, Martin Buser is now in 32 when he was in 30th just a few minutes before. Jen Seavey is still in 57th...
One musher, Bob Hickel, has scratched at this point...
we've seen a lot of mushers drop one or two dogs at least at this point. Mackey, Dallas, Jonrowe, and Jen are the exceptions (of the ones I'm following*)
that's it for now... will possibly give a small update before I go to bed tonight.

* - if there's a musher you want me to follow in these updates let me know. I'm basically picking my favorites (aka Seaveys) and the big names (aka past winners, or the sentimental favorites). But I'm more than willing to keep you updated on others.

[Tonichelle]

I figured we'd start seeing the mushers show their hand last night, and I was right. Huge leaps to the front coming into Takotna. Lance Mackey, Jeff King, and *trumpet fanfare* :laugh: Mitch Seavey are 4th, 5th, and 6th respectively.

there's a jerk commenting on all of the articles about how horrible the Iditarod is for dogs and blah blah blah. It's uneducated people like that, that really get under my skin. If people would just watch the dogs and forget all the hoopla surrounding this race or any race, or better yet just go to a kennel for a day or two and see what the dogs are about. This is just one big walk for them. You know how house pets get excited to get on a leash and just GO? that's the same thing with the sled dogs. They are out in the wilderness getting to be wild and free. Yes, they have a job to do, but they're a pack of 16 running down that trail waiting to see what is around the next bend. That's exciting for them, and it's sure a whole lot better than staying cooped up all day in an overly warm apartment.

Would I send a pack of pugs out there? Heck no. But this is what the Alaskan Huskey was bred to do. Just like sheep dogs - even the house pet ones - having that need to herd things, sled dogs need to be outside and running. Maybe not pulling a sled, but they still have that pack mentality and that adventure drive. That's what makes these dogs so special...

/rant - now I'm off to get ready for work

[Minnie Lor]

Great updates Toni. I've been keeping my eye on Rachel as well as Jeff, Lance, Dee Dee, the 3 Seavey's. It's an interesting race.

[Minnie Lor]

Love the videos of the mushers coming thru McGrath at night. You see nothing but 14-16 pairs of eyes glowing at you. Then you see a handful of people with the glow of their cell phones capturing a picture.

Also saw a video of Dee Dee with a broken sled. She broke it back in the same area of the trail that she broke her finger last yr or the yr before. That part of the trail isn't good for her. I wonder why her sled is made out of wood. You'd think titanium or something else would be better.

[Minnie Lor]

Whoa Martin! Where did he come from?

[Tonichelle]

Well Dalzell gorge takes a toll on everyone's sleds... most mushers pick up a second sled at some point on the trail. And wood is just better for some reason... most of the mushers still use it. probably because it's easier to fix/fudge so that you can limp into camp.


Why I wasn't paying more attention this morning I don't know. When I reported the leaders were in Takotna I forgot to also mention that this check point is the traditional stop for the 24 hour layover. They don't HAVE to take it here, but most do. After the rough couple of days in the Gorge and the Burn it's nice to have 24 hours to regroup. This is the only day that the mushers can get 3-4 good hours of sleep. Taking care of the dogs round the clock is key.

As I said not everyone takes their big break here. Martin Buser sailed through the check point earlier today, but others have declared this spot their stop. Seavey, King, and Mackey among those holing up and preparing for the deep snow of the interior.

We're about half way through the race already, that's just amazing to me. Wasn't it just yesterday I was counting down to the start? Yikes!