Husky News

Five former champions were chasing Norway’s Kjetil Backen through wet falling snow in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Tuesday.

Backen was the first musher to reach the checkpoint at Nikolai, checking in at 10:39 a.m. (1539 GMT) with 15 dogs.

Backen coasted into the checkpoint, 347 miles (560 kilometers) into the 1,100-mile (1,770-kilometer) race. Told he was in the lead, he said, “I can see that.”

Backen told onlookers the going was rough on the frozen Kuskokwim River.

“I fall over but it’s all right,” he said. “No problem.”

Veteran Gerry Willomitzer was second in to Nikolai, population 109, the first of many Native villages along trail to Nome. Willomitzer, a veteran Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, clocked in at 11:17 a.m. (1617 GMT) with 14 dogs.

Last year’s runner-up, Paul Gebhardt, was next, arriving at 11:33 a.m. (1633 GMT) with all 16 dogs. He was followed three minutes later by defending champion Lance Mackey with 15 dogs.

Ten minutes behind Mackey was four-time winner Jeff King with all 16 dogs.

Less than an hour later, three more mushers were in. Three-time Yukon Quest winner Hans Gatt beat Hugh Neff by a minute. Next came 2004 Iditarod winner Mitch Seavey.

Rick Swenson — the only five-time Iditarod winner — arrived at 1:13 p.m. (1813 GMT) with a full team.

Approaching Nikolai was four-time winner Martin Buser.

Mushers next will head west to McGrath, a Kuskokwim River community of 400 in Alaska’s interior. The 54-mile (87-kilometer) stretch is mostly flat, passing through stands of spruce and alders, as well as the river itself. It’s a fairly easy run if the weather cooperates.

But race organizers said unusually high temperatures along the early stretch of the trail are the main concern in the Iditarod so far.

Race spokesman Chas St. George said some areas were reporting temperatures in the 30s F (1-2 C), which “is too hot for the dogs to run in.” A stretch between the checkpoint at Rainy Pass and Nikolai reported a high of 43 F (7 C), according to the National Weather Service.

St. George said last year about this time, temperatures were in the zero degree (minus-18 C) range in this part of the trail.

At the same time, teams are dealing with heavy snow all along the trail.

“But there are no blizzard conditions,” St. George said, “Everybody’s moving.”

About 20 dogs have been dropped so far, but there are no serious casualties, according to St. George. He said the numbers were tapering off.

“Usually in the first third of the race, mushers expect to drop a lot of dogs. This is an area for a lot of opportunities for sprains or other injuries.”

Tom Roig scratched, citing concern for his health and the health of his team. A record field of 94 mushers remains in the running.

Until mushers begin taking a mandatory 24-hour layover and two 8-hour rests, the race is fluid.

In its 36th running, the race commemorates a run by sled dogs in 1925 to deliver lifesaving diphtheria serum to Nome.

The modern-day Iditarod trail crosses frozen rivers, dense woods and two mountain ranges, then goes along the dangerous sea ice up the Bering Sea shore to the finish line under Nome’s burled arch. Along the way, mushers can encounter temperatures far below zero, blinding winds and long stretches of frigid overflow.

Source: AP