The teams are headed to the checkpoint at Skwentna. But the race is far from over: Close behind Sass were three other mushers, including four-time champion Dallas Seavey of Talkeetna, who took a four-hour midday rest on Saturday, allowing a few of his competitors to pass him. Ryan Redington of Skagway and Wade Marrs of Willow were also in the lead group, and all were within two hours of Burmeister as of Saturday evening.
Burmeister arrived at the checkpoint in Rohn, miles before the finish line in Willow, at about p. Saturday, with the other four top mushers not far behind. All the leading mushers have now taken their required and 8-hour breaks, and each will have one last 8-hour rest when they arrive at the checkpoint in Skwentna — just about 70 miles shy of the finish line. Race officials are predicting a finish some time in the very early hours of Monday morning. Here is a video of what it looked like as some of the first teams made their way in and got a little rest.
Temperatures along the Iditarod Trail the past few days, have been on the warmer side, which is set to change starting as early as today. The storm responsible for the warmer conditions has exited off to the east and in its place is a surge of colder air. Many locations west of the Alaska Range are waking up to single-digit lows, with afternoon highs briefly expected to climb into the 20s. While it will still be seemingly warm today, the big change arrives overnight into Thursday. For mushers making their journey to the Iditarod checkpoint in the coming days, one can expect to battle some of the coldest temperatures along the journey so far.
By Wednesday night subzero lows are likely, with some locations seeing temperatures hovering 10 to 20 below zero. Factor in the breezy winds and wind chills will easily fall as low as 30 below in many locations. If one were to look at the silver lining, at least the sun will be shining as the week comes to an end. That meant an uncomfortable nasal swab and a rapid test that came back negative.
All of the top five into McGrath also tested negative for the virus, said Dr. Warm, comfortable and with access to electricity, all of the top five mushers into the McGrath checkpoint declared their hour layovers there. Veteran Iditarod musher Brent Sass is the first musher to check out of the Ophir checkpoint after only being there for only 11 minutes.
Rise and shine! It's another race day! Of the top three, only Sass is the one who has not completed any of his layovers. Brent Sass and Aaron Burmeister are both near Takotna. Everyone else is either in McGrath or has not arrived there yet. Separately, a video released by the Iditarod shows Aliy Zirkle being evaluated at the Rohn checkpoint before she was medevaced via helicopter to Anchorage. Zirkle comments in the video that she suffered a concussion — as previously reported — as well as a dislocated shoulder.
Her scratch was officially announced on Tuesday morning. Aaron Burmeister is the third musher to leave McGrath Tuesday night. According to Iditarod standings, Burmeister left the checkpoint at p. Ophir, the next checkpoint, is about 23 miles away from Takotna.
Iditarod Race Marshal Mark Nordman says the race route is being shortened to eliminate the loop to Flat. Nordman says the decision to shorten the route was made because there is too much snow to break the trail in that area.
Veteran Iditarod musher Ryan Redington has left the McGrath checkpoint after resting there for just over two hours. He left at p. Mushers have started to arrive at the McGrath checkpoint, with most of the frontrunners planning to declare their hour mandatory rest there. Days before their arrival, the Iditarod volunteers were busy making sure the teams had a good place to recuperate.
Coordinating the effort is Matt Anderson. Not a lot of mushers have declared their mandatory rests as of Tuesday night; however, it appears that many of the frontrunners are planning to declare their hour rests in McGrath. Veteran Iditarod musher Brent Sass moved quickly through McGrath after reaching the checkpoint at p.
He stayed only eight minutes at the checkpoint before heading back on the trail with 14 dogs in harness — sliding into the number one spot in the race. Leading mushers are continuing to check in to McGrath. The top six teams have already reached the checkpoint and the Iditarod GPS shows a large group on the way. Seavey had a sizeable lead in the race Tuesday, miles ahead of other mushers on the trail.
He checked in to McGrath at 4 p. Tuesday with 14 dogs, according to the latest Iditarod standings. A press release from the Iditarod says Seavey was given handmade prizes that were crafted by McGrath residents.
Dallas Seavey is the first musher to make it to McGrath. He pulled into the checkpoint at 4 p. The standings do show that Brent Sass was actually the first one to leave Nikolai. Veteran Iditarod musher Dallas Seavey is the first to check out the Nikolai checkpoint and start his journey to McGrath.
He checked out of Nikolai at a. Officials say Zirkle scratched at the Rohn checkpoint Monday night at p. Veteran Iditarod musher Aliy Zirkle scratches from the race. Charlie Sokaitis breaks down what we know so far and gives Light snow showers continue to fall across the Alaska Range as a frontal system stalls out across the region. While the snow will linger through the day for points as far west as McGrath, the accumulation will be light.
Most locations will likely see an additional 1 to 3 inches of snowfall. The snow will slowly exit the region, with most locations seeing drier weather into the night. This will likely slow down many of the mushers, as the warmer weather is not a favorite for the dogs. There is good news on the horizon though, as temperatures are expected to quickly fall in the days ahead. Starting tonight into Wednesday, clouds will slowly clear as colder and drier air filters into the region.
Temperatures along the trail will dip into the teens tonight, with even colder conditions expected through the day Wednesday and Thursday. By Thursday and into the end of the week, many locations along the trail will feature highs near 0 and subzero values likely as low as below. The top five mushers have made their way into the Nikolai checkpoint. The first to check-in was Ryan Redington followed by Aaron Burmeister over an hour later.
Reporter Taylor Clark takes us behind the scenes ahead of mushers arriving in McGrath. A post shared by Alaska's News Source alaskasnewssource. Just before 5 a. Thirty other teams have arrived at Rohn as of a. They are all closing in on the Nikolai checkpoint, currently about 30 miles away. A total of 26 mushers have left Rohn so far, according to the standings list. Dallas Seavey was also resting near the group, but has recently started racing again and is in third behind Petit, according to the tracker.
Veteran Iditarod musher Nic Petit has raced past a group of mushers resting on the trail, sliding into the second place spot behind Brent Sass. Soon enough, the mushers of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and their dog teams will be livening things up a bit.
There were a number of sleds ready at the checkpoint for mushers to swap out. Volunteers spent the end of the day lining the checkpoint with straw for the dogs and supplies for the teams flown in prior.
Most of those volunteers will likely spend the duration of Iditarod at the McGrath checkpoint. The leading eight teams have checked out of Rohn and are racing toward Nikolai, according to the Iditarod race standings. These smaller numbers mean fewer flights for the Iditarod Air Force. He added most volunteers and veterinarians are staying at one checkpoint, and flights are taking twice the amount of normal material to checkpoints to limit travel.
The Iditarod Air Force has 22 volunteer pilots, using their planes to fly out supplies, volunteers, and equipment to checkpoints during the race. Mushers rested outside, too, casually chatting with each other and enjoying the scenery at one of the most picturesque spots on the trail. The gold trail loop will take mushers and their dogs across the Alaska Range before they head to the ghost town of Iditarod.
Meet Lash, an month-old sled dog, running with Pete Kaiser. Notorious stretches of the Iditarod trail like Dalzell Gorge and the Happy Steps kept Buser up at night thinking how he would tackle them backwards when the trail is designed to go in one direction.
The top three teams in the Iditarod race have checked out of Rohn and are racing toward Nikolai. Diehl is about four miles behind Buser. Many teams took some time to rest at the checkpoint Monday, waiting for temperatures to cool before heading back on the trail. Here's what the day looked like at Rainy Pass. Many teams took some time to rest at the checkpoint today, waiting for temperatures to cool before heading back on the trail.
Veteran Iditarod musher Ryan Redington spent just 37 minutes in Rohn before heading back out on the Iditarod trail. Redington left Rohn at p. Veteran Iditarod musher Cindy Gallea scratched at a.
Monday in Skwentna. According to Iditarod, she became ill and decided to scratch in the best interest of her race team. Gallea had 14 dogs in harness.
Ryan Redington and Aaron Burmeister have to checked in to Rohn. Veteran Iditarod musher Dallas Seavey is the second musher to check in to Rohn. He arrived at p. Hall is about a mile behind Buser.
Veteran Iditarod musher Nic Petit is the first musher to check in to Rohn. According to Iditarod race standings, Petit got to the checkpoint at p. As mushers check in and out of the Rainy Pass checkpoint and head to Rohn, our sports director Patrick Enslow captures this video as he made his way to McGrath. The top five look a lot different when compared to the current race standings. Sleds and I in McGrath waiting for mushers. Throughout the day he has stayed in the top spot. He checked in to Rainy Pass at a.
That is about two hours ahead of the next musher to check in to the checkpoint, which was Richie Diehl at a. Mushers need to take an 8-hour layover sometime between Rohn on the way out and Rohn on the way back. Plus they need to take their hour rest at some point on the way out. Just before hitting the trail Sunday, rookie Iditarod musher Sean Underwood spoke about his team. Rookie Iditarod musher Sean Underwood shared some insight on his team for the race just before heading out on the trail yesterday.
With a different trail to follow, required rest — which is mandatory for all mushers and their dogs at several points throughout the race — is also not quite the same as usual. While the number of mandatory rests and their duration are the same, details of each have been amended to go along with the changes to the trail itself. With the race beginning and ending at Deshka Landing, and looping around Flat, locations of each of the mandatory rests have been noticeably altered.
While this means mushers will start off the morning with clear and cold conditions, temperatures will have no trouble warming through the day. This comes as the higher March sun warms many locations roughly 10 to 20 degrees warmer than the morning lows. The trail ahead continues to show a decent snowpack in place and there looks to be no significant warmth that mushers will have to deal with, the only exception will be for parts of today where highs will top out near or above freezing across the Susitna Valley.
As mushers mush westward through the day, a steady stream of clouds will roll into the region. This will mark the return of some snow overnight into Wednesday. This will likely mean that the lead musher will begin to experience visibility issues as they approach the Alaskan Range. For now though, things remain quiet with sunshine and mild conditions headlining the first full day of the race.
Here is a look back at the start line Sunday afternoon in Deshka Landing. Here's an up-close look at the start of the Iditarod from Deshka Landing in Willow. Nic Petit, running under bib number 10, has arrived at the Finger Lake checkpoint, about miles from the Deshka Landing start.
All but seven mushers have made it to Skwentna thus far according to official race standings, and at least 30 have departed the same checkpoint. As of , at least 14 teams had come through Skwentna and departed as well. Brent Sass, Jeff Deeter and Dallas Seavey are among those who appear to have left Skwenta as well, GPS tracking shows, though official race standings do not yet reflect their departures.
At least 31 teams have now made it to Skwentna or beyond, with Joanna Jagow and Dan Kaduce among those who most recently arrived but do not appear to have left.
Behind him are 15 mushers who have thus far gotten to Skwentna, with rookie Joanna Jagow becoming the most recent check-in after arriving at p. Of the top 20 mushers, Nicolas Petit, Diehl and Pete Kaiser are the only three actively running as of p.
Diehl is 20 miles behind him. The tracker shows Ryan Redington about five miles behind Petit, resting on the trail. Around two miles behind him is Ramey Smyth, also resting. In a live update from Finger Lake — the next checkpoint — Iditarod Insiders said they expect mushers to reach the checkpoint around 3 a. Monday, depending on how often racers take a break along the trail.
Nic Petit stayed for 15 minutes. All four teams still have 14 dogs. He had checked out before p. We have our first official arrival to Skwentna, the first checkpoint in Iditarod49 — Ryan Redington, wearing bib no. Running close behind Redington and within just a couple of miles at the time of his arrival reported by the GPS system were numerous fellow veterans, including but not limited to Gunnar Johnson and Dennis Kananowicz, both of whom appeared to arrive to the checkpoint shortly after Redington; as well as Nic Petit, Jeff Deeter, Matt Hall, Brenda Mackey, Mille Porsild, champion Pete Kaiser and Richie Diehl.
Thirteen other mushers were within about five miles of them. Veteran Iditarod musher Martin Buser shares his thoughts on the route just before heading out on the trail. The year-old Johnson, of Duluth, Minnesota, had scouted out parts of the trail with veteran Jim Lanier in advance of the start, he said, as he looks to finish his third career Iditarod.
Veteran musher Jessie Royer shared a little bit of insight about her team before they hit the Iditarod trail. Of her dog team, 11 also raced the Iditarod with her last year. Veteran musher Jessie Royer shared with us a little bit of insight about her team just ahead of hitting the trail. The top 16 mushers on the trail so far have bypassed Yentna Station Roadhouse and are making their way toward Skwentna.
Before he set off on the Iditarod trail, veteran Iditarod musher Cody Strathe introduced us to one of his lead dogs Chevelle. Reporter Taylor Clark caught up with veteran Iditarod musher Cody Strathe as he introduced us to one of his lead dogs Chevelle.
Following her win of Rookie of the Year in , veteran musher Mille Porsild shares her thoughts on the route and the impact it can have on veteran and rookie mushers alike. Porsild took 15th place in the 48th running of the Iditarod, which finished under the burled arch in Nome. Veteran musher Ryan Redington shared his outlook for the race.
The last musher left Deshka Landing at p. No matter the changes, participating mushers were all excited to hit the trail, expressing relief ahead of the official start on Sunday. Veteran Iditarod mushers Kristy and Anna Berington talk about the route and the challenges it may produce for mushers. Veteran Iditarod musher Nicolas Petit shares his thoughts on the route and if it will impact musher standings. Mushers are about to take off on the Iditarod trail from Deshka Landing in Willow.
Stay with Alaska's News Source as we cover the start of the iditarod race. Rookie Iditarod musher Sean Williams, bib 35, has scratched before the start of the race.
Williams scratched at a. Both Buser and Seavey are chasing their fifth Iditarod victories while Leifseth Ulsom and Kaiser are looking to win the race for a second time. Veteran Iditarod musher Aaron Peck shares his thoughts on this year's route and its impact on not just rookie mushers but even those familiar with the race.
The first musher leaves at 2 p. The mushers will move toward the snow starting later in the day on Monday into early Tuesday morning. At the time of his scratch, Keller said little about the trail itself, but spoke of his desire to be back with his loved ones.
This week, Keller went into much more detail about what he faced during his return trip, and some of the trail features he expects others to be challenged by as they navigate the newly-minted Gold Trail Loop , the Iditarod route for The fan-favorite will retire from competitive sled dog racing after the 49th Iditarod. The legendary musher is the only woman to ever win the Yukon Quest and has only finished outside of the Iditarod top 10 twice since This year marks the 49th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and the 10th year Failor is running the race with his own team.
Regardless of his experience , preparing for this race is not easy. Usually when we talk about athletes being sponsored it is a shoe deal, but Richie Diehl is getting a beer named after him at Odd Man Rush Brewing in Eagle River. The name of the beer is the Real Diehl and just like Diehl has never had a beer named after him before, Odd Man Rush has never brewed this type of beer before. For Petit, the dogs are an extension of his family and lovingly calls them his kids.
This chemistry is something his team will need on the trail as they prepare for their 11th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. While the COVID pandemic has drastically changed the route and protocols of the Iditarod, race officials say that in addition to paying homage to the serum run — a relay of dog teams carrying diphtheria serum to Nome — the running of the 49th Iditarod will also fulfill the original dream of the man most know as the Father of the Iditarod.
The second third of the race: putting us into position. Now, the final third, we actually get to do it. On Thursday evening, Iditarod mushers also started passing one another head-on for the first time ever, as some teams began their return journey on the out-and-back course. The Anchorage Daily News reported that most sections of trail had just enough room for teams to squeeze by one another, but a few steep and winding stretches had little room for error.
By Friday afternoon, the testing had turned up no additional cases, according to Dr. Jodie Guest, an epidemiologist working with the race.
She said by email that officials still had not identified the two mushers Johnson shared a tent with at a prior checkpoint , in Nikolai. Friday at the checkpoint of Iditarod. But according to the Seaveys not in the race — based on spreadsheets and Excel formulas — it could be Sunday night. Alaska Public Media is our partner station in Anchorage.
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