ASK THE MUSHER Vol 10: Mitch Seavey

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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 10: Mitch Seavey (12/10 thru 12/16)

Postby mamamia » Sun Dec 14, 2008 5:37 am

Thank you so much for joining us here!

Congratulations Mitch on all of your successes as a competative musher. It has been great fun over the years watching you and your family and I appreciate you all sharing the fun with us.

As was already mentioned, we all got a great kick out of the Tread stories (glad to hear he is doing well). One of my favorite parts of the race is getting to know the lead dogs. Can you share another lead dog story? One that demonstrates the special qualities of a lead dog or one where the lead dog saved your bacon?

Thanks and good luck to all of you this season. Please tell Jen that marrying into this family means she has a ready made fan club and that we will be following her race.
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 10: Mitch Seavey (12/10 thru 12/16)

Postby mitchseavey » Sun Dec 14, 2008 8:13 pm

OK, this isn't about Tread, but Sparky, one of our old leaders who probably holds the record for most Iditarods ever run by one dog. (If you believe all the stories, she's ahead of Tread's 10 races)

"I had Sparky in single lead during the Copper Basin 300 many years ago. We were approaching the infamous crossing of the Gulkana River. There had been several teams ahead of us on the trail, and as I approached the crossing I could see they had all crossed in the water, about a foot deep and fifty feet wide. The trail just went into and through the river. I also noticed a lot of extra tracks around on the river bank, attesting to the tribulations often associated with such crossings. I wasn’t looking forward to this!
As we rolled down the last hill to the water, Sparky and I both looked to the right and then to the left and at the same instant spotted an ice bridge 50 yards to our left. Not wide, but just wide enough. I knew Sparky had seen the ice bridge, because she gave me a glance back over her shoulder for permission to leave the trail. “Okay, Sparky.” With no other command she veered left through about 18 inches of unbroken snow and charged across that ice bridge, and angled back and onto the main trail, completely avoiding any open water!
At the checkpoint I overheard another musher bragging about his great command leader and how he steered that leader off the main trail and over this ice bridge with only one track over it and avoided the water. “Shoot, you don’t need a great command leader for that,” I thought to myself, “All you need is a smart, short-legged leader who hates water!”
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 10: Mitch Seavey (12/10 thru 12/16)

Postby mitchseavey » Sun Dec 14, 2008 8:15 pm

This and the last post were both written by my dad:

"All four of the Seavey boys are/were homeschooled and never darkened the door of a classroom until college. That decision was made (about 20 years ago) for various reasons, all far more important than dog mushing. We have been extremely happy with that decision and the results. We’re not particularly religious so I don’t want to mislead anyone to think that’s why we homeschool, and it may not be the right thing for everyone in every situation. Having the dog business going on allows us to all work together every day, and the learning opportunities are endless. Homeschool is not just public school at home. As parents, Janine and I make it a point to take as much time as necessary to answer every question and fully explain every situation. Learning always happens best at those moments when the mind is open to receive, not necessarily on a classroom schedule.
The dog operation definitely benefits though, from having four capable guys around on our family schedule, rather than on the schedule of the school district."
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 10: Mitch Seavey (12/10 thru 12/16)

Postby Di* » Sun Dec 14, 2008 8:20 pm

Great leader story Mitch!

How did Dallas like Sheep Mountain? Sounds like it was chilly but good for the dogs!
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 10: Mitch Seavey (12/10 thru 12/16)

Postby boo » Sun Dec 14, 2008 10:25 pm

Mitch, I vaguely remember a story about a training run, getting 'gee' and 'haw' wrong and a team taking you up rip-rap along the river ....and something about you holding your tongue and not correcting it, because you didn't want your dogs second-guessing you when it mattered.....and later something about a big sucking hole, an expanding rim of ice and how staying with a command was REALLY important.....is this true? And if it is, I'd rather you tell the story.....please......thanks.
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 10: Mitch Seavey (12/10 thru 12/16)

Postby mamamia » Sun Dec 14, 2008 11:47 pm

Thanks so much for the story! As much fun as it is to follow a race by analyzing strategies, equipment, training, feeding checkpoint behavior etc., in the end it is the stories from the trail that we crave.

Thank you
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 10: Mitch Seavey (12/10 thru 12/16)

Postby mitchseavey » Mon Dec 15, 2008 5:42 pm

Okay, since Boo brings it up, here’s an excerpt from the section titled “Consistency” in my new book Lead, Follow or Get Out of the Way:

One spectacular feat I witnessed was by a leader I had named Vitus. He took the team 30 feet up a near vertical road embankment held in place by rip-rap, boulders approximately four to six feet in diameter. That was actually an accident of sorts. I meant to turn left, away from the road, but my mental dyslexia got me at just that moment and in my best Sergeant Preston voice I thundered “Vitus. Gee!” Then in a Guns and Roses-like whine, I said “Oh, shucks!” or words to that effect. Well, “gee” I had said so “gee” it must be. Old Vitus charged up and around those boulders and the team scrambled up after him using everything but their teeth for traction. I think that son-of-a-gun enjoyed making me climb those rocks behind the sled.


And yes, just a month later on the Kuskokwim River, we were heading directly for a big hole in the ice, with the ice slanting steeply to the open water below. Vitus obeyed my “haw” command instantly and turned the team away from the hole, and as we did a big “crack the whip” maneuver, only the tails of my runners got wet. I’m not sure how deep the water was at that particular point but getting sucked under the ice by a deep, strong river current is not something I really look forward to.
Experiences like that cause a guy to take a no-nonsense approach to leader training. “Do what I say, or we might all die.” Leaders simply have to follow commands, and we really appreciate the good ones.
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 10: Mitch Seavey (12/10 thru 12/16)

Postby boo » Mon Dec 15, 2008 6:38 pm

Thanks, Mitch.....I don't remember when or where I heard that story.....but it wasn't from you, I don't think. Maybe from Tyrell up at Lake Louise....or sitting in Danny's car for two hours waiting for Rachael and Ty to come in on the T200. Did you say you have a book??? Is it out to purchase yet? That would be one I'd love to add to the collection.
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 10: Mitch Seavey (12/10 thru 12/16)

Postby braider » Mon Dec 15, 2008 10:45 pm

I have no particular question - I just want to commend you for your position about the possible/probable use of drugs during the race. I've often thought - 'How could it not be happening and what is being done about it?' ...Dave - a Minnesota Squarehead :)
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Re: ASK THE MUSHER Vol 10: Mitch Seavey (12/10 thru 12/16)

Postby mitchseavey » Tue Dec 16, 2008 10:47 am

Thanks for joining in Dave. My grandparents were Swedish dairy farmers in central Minnesota, so even though you are a Norwegian you could be my cousin, though I wouldn’t go around admitting it if I were you!

Yes, the Iditarod needs to “take the next step” as an event, and institute a thorough drug testing program for mushers (we already have it for the dogs). I’m not implying any suspicion about any certain mushers, but every other major event has drug testing, so it’s high time (no pun intended) we do the same. For the sake of fair competition and setting a good example, I think that at least during the event, mushers should be tested and held accountable.
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