ASK THE MUSHER Vol 1: Karen Ramstead

[northwapiti]

Why Siberians?? Well my first love is the Siberian Husky, not the sport. I came to the sport because of the breed, not to the breed because of the sport. Does that make sense???
I am first and foremost a Siberian Husky fan - that is where my passion in life lies.

I think that Siberians are more of a 'thinking' dog then many Alaskans. I train alot with Jamie Nelson who runs Alaskans out of Minnesota. It seems to me that when we are both working on teaching dogs something new, Jamie tells her dogs what she wants them to do and they figure out how to do it. My dogs however, ask 'why?' and it is upon me as their trainer to tell them exactly why this new thing is important and why they should learn it. That extra step is their 'Siberian-ness'.
Siberians look out for themselves. They rarely will trust their driver to completely take care of them, like many Alaskans do.

Karen

[northwapiti]

Cool questions Heidi.

Don't know if I can pick one checkpoint though - let me give a few and my reasons for them.

Best location - Rohn. Rohn is really I imagined an Iditarod checkpoint to be before I ran my first Iditarod. A great, secluded, little cabin in a beautiful location. Dog teams are parked nestled in the trees. The little cabin is always warm and cozy. Jasper and Terry (the checkers) always have water on the stove, a place for you to dry your gear, and are happy to heat up meals for mushers - just don't put your hat or gloves on the table.

Most hospitible - Takotna. Just no denying it - Takotna is in a league of it's own for looking after mushers. Huge amounts of great food, hot water for the dogs, flushing toilets, showers, and a community that makes mushers feel like the most important people on the planet. I can't imagine 24'ing anywhere else.

Best Northern Lights viewing - Ruby. A beautiful spot up on a hillside which the northern lights seems to love to dance around. The display this year was amoung the best I've EVER seen in my life.

Best Stop for Sleeping - Galena. Galena offers sleeping matts, blankets and pillows for the mushers. Sweet!!!

Most Improved - Nulato. Nulato used to be a 'not great' checkpoint, but this year they had great parking for dog teams, hot water for the dogs, matts and cots for mushers to sleep on, flushing toilets, showers, a great room for drying gear, and weather and trail reports! They really deserved the 'Golden Clipboard' award this year.

Best 'checkpoint' that isn't a 'checkpoint' - Old Woman Cabin. Another beautiful location, a great cabin, lots of split wood, good parking for the dogs, and great history. A truly cool place to camp. Just don't forget to leave some candy along the trail for the old woman. That will ensure safe passage along the portage!!

The five things I think every checkpoint should have -

1. A warm place to sleep
2. Somewhere to dry out wet clothing
3. A quiet place to sleep
4. Hot water for the dogs
5. TANG!!

Karen

[Heidi]

Thanks for that response Karen. I enjoyed reading it.

I'd heard good things about Takotna before, but I didn't really know much about the rest of the checkpoints. I read in Jon Little's blog that there was some kind of mix-up with Nulato's community hall this year so they had to move that checkpoint to the school - looks like it turned out to be a good thing for both the mushers and dogs alike!

Best 'checkpoint' that isn't a 'checkpoint' - Old Woman Cabin. Another beautiful location, a great cabin, lots of split wood, good parking for the dogs, and great history. A truly cool place to camp. Just don't forget to leave some candy along the trail for the old woman. That will ensure safe passage along the portage!!

So did you leave any candy for the old woman?

[adella]

Hi Karen, do you ever show your dogs in the US? And if you do, do you show at the Siberian National? This year it is late October, so I think I answered my own question. Probably too close to training season.
Also do you take visitors to your kennel in September? We are planning a trip to Banff and Jasper this year.

[northwapiti]

I always leave something for the old woman!!!

Adella,

I was able to attend the US Nationals this year - AND my Crunchie (who just finished his 3rd Iditarod with me) won the Open Dog Class - and non-titled Sled Dog Class.

Karen

[tanglefoot]

hi karen thanks so much for all the great questions your answering for us all, its so nice that one of the mushers is giving back to all the fans. thank you!!! as a musher, do the other mushers know the amount of support they get from the fans out there when they are running the trail?

couple of questions,

do you ever get scared on the trail?

what would be your top tips for someone looking at running the trail for the first time?

[northwapiti]

I think some mushers are very aware of the fan base of the sport - others seem oblivious - but those ones are mostly oblivious to most of the real world too!!

I really reccomend that folks take their time preparing for Iditarod. You can be qualified to run the Race, but that doesn't mean you are prepared!! (I would make qualifying much tougher, if I had my way). Iditarod should be the pinacle of a mushing career - not the start. It takes many years to learn to be comfortable enough on the trail and in the wilderness to not only care for yourself in dire situations, but 16 other dependants.

Find a mentor and go train with them. That's what I did. I had ran enough 200 and 300 mile races to be qualified for Iditarod before I met and started training with Jamie Nelson, but she was the one that turned me into a musher capable of hitting the Iditarod Trail.

And be cautious with your kennel. Too many folks rush into getting dogs, just wanting to get their numbers up there. Not every dog is capable of running Iditarod. Select lines and dogs that you KNOW (because they are PROVEN) can. You will save money - and much heartache - in the long run.

Karen

[northwapiti]

Missed the 'getting scared' question -

Yup, sure do. If you aren't getting a pit in your stomach as you approach the Happy River Steps or the Gorge or a nasty storm or ...... - you are not dealing in reality.

There are things on Iditarod that can hurt or even kill you - alittle bit of fear shows respect for that and is good.

Karen

[Daphne in Alberta]

Karen, This is a very prosaic question but how do you transport your team, equipment etc to Willow and back? The logistics of it boggle my mind.

[Di*]

Hi Karen,
Thanks for your faithful participation here with us rabid fans

I've been reading with curious interest how sibes are different from Alaskans in that they think more independently for themselves, you said they need to be shown the "reason why" in training etc.

So with that said, do they not make good "pets"? Should they only be working dogs? What do they need to be happy? (I'm not a musher)
I owned a sib/mal mix(I think) and he was the sweetest dog I had ever had unfortunately didn't have him long enough to really see how he would develop as an adult. I'm very curious about this beautiful breed. Guess I interchange sib/mal are they very different?