Rumor or Reality? - Iditarod Reality Series

[Heidi]

Me too. As long as this is not used to 'spot' the teams. As we know there are a lot of interesting things that happen all along the trail, including the back of the pack and the middle also, come to think of it. Should be fun for us arm chair mushers.
fdf

Hey FDF...Hi! <wave>

I'm curious about this too!

[fladogfan]

<wave> back atcha Heidi
fdf

[Johncn]

Hey,

Some info on this, I think, is on the Iditarod Forums:

http://www.iditarodforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=75#p403

We have a new partner this year, Original Productions, who will be filming the race this year and next, at least. Their programming (a series) will begin to air on the Discovery Channel in October. You may not know who Original Productions is, but you will likely recognize the name of at least one successful series they have produced, The Deadliest Catch, which also airs on Discovery. O.P. will have a fairly large crew following specific mushers, leap-frogging between Anchorage and Nome with our assistance. Their style of programming is somewhat different than the manner in which any other entity has attempted to cover the race. They will use a fair amount of our footage as well.

So, I guess now the question really becomes "Which mushers will be the stars of reality television show?"

Regards,

Johncn

[Heidi]

So, I guess now the question really becomes "Which mushers will be the stars of reality television show?"

Rick Holt, for one.

http://mushingdogs.com/rick/?p=47

[tanglefoot]

damn wish we had cable or sat.tv here, cant get it in the valley we live in not even digital. we onyl get 2 good channels and 2 poor ones thats it! not that we watch a lot anyway as busy with the dogs, horse and work.

[Breeze]

Can't seem to find an appropriate voice for myself on this GPS " experiment", so bear with me Its a tough one for me to get my mind around.

The general public seems to think GPS ( of one form or another) is as necessary as a Cell Phone for activities of daily living. Put a GPS in your car and never need a map again! Have Onstar and NEVER be LOST! Carry a cell phone with you and you'll ALWAYS BE IN TOUCH!

That may work well for a LOT of people on some parts of this earth's crust, and to me it obviously works SO WELL for them that when they discover there are places where NEITHER GPS nor Cell are functional or trustworthy, it is a meltdown moment ... and I see this almost daily, year-round. Yes, I really do. Nothing so pitiful as an angry, embarrassed and frustrated doctor on call who is sneaking 10 miles away from home for a family picnic, who suddenly realizes " being on call" is impossible because he can't TAKE call. Or the 99 clients a day who have reservations 60 miles away but were directed to MY location because the mapping software bundled with their *($%)### aftermarket car system is WRONG.

I live near and work IN the White Mountain National Forest of New Hampshire. At my winter workplace, there are a very few spots where cellphones have ANY reception,and you can lose that marginal cell signal by moving a few inches or simply by turning around in place. Topography and tower location are the reasons. You can't send or receive a cellular signal if the towers in every direction are obstructed by MOUNTAINS!

GPS-- or any satellite uplink, has a similar constraint. The satellites have certain orbits, and your transmitter has to have a clear window to a tolerable +/- degree and minute above the horizon from the selected location to send or receive signal. Again, in the tough terrain of the WMNF, you can't send or receive signal through MOUNTAINS! Our sat signal for our internet connection at work has exactly a 1degree 8 minute clearance over the southwestern shoulder of Mt Washington. When Mother Nature parks a dumping storm in that location.... POOF! No signal! WAYYYYYYY!


So while I'm digesting all of that for where I live and work ( there are 24 miles in my commute to work and I have cell signal for just 8 miles of that total), I'm thinking about the hikers and mountain climbers who are drawn to the Presidential Range of the WMNF in all kinds of weather. Just in this month of February 08 we have had several dramatic SAR operations with a couple of fatalities and some VERY Close Calls. There are several survivors today who thank their Deity that NH Air National Guard Blackhawk helicopter crews treat local SAR as Federally Funded training time . Our tax dollars at work, at home. cough cough but I digress.

I know this is Off Topic for a sled-dog forum, but we ARE discussing GPS here, too. If you are inclined to some ancillary reading before race time, there was an article in Sunday's Boston Globe. ... I found the part about the 2 Presi Traverse veterans from WV quite telling ( they fared pretty well by virtue of being prepared for conditions, but their GPS foundation as a safety net failed them for lack of signal in terrain and weather).

http://www.boston.com/news/local/ar...ues_at_a_price/

So I'm rambling, and I may be very much mistaken ( and don't hesitate to tell me that I truly Do NOT know Jack____), but I'm quite positive that sections of both the Iditarod routes ( Northern and Southern) have similarly marginal terrain for sat/cell service. We've seen it , we've been bogged down by it, heck we've all got the t-shirts.

IF ITC is taking money in sponsorship from a GPS vendor for this "Experiment" , I think it should be evident and transparent to all.

Karen Ramsted, you posted at the Irod site your particular views as an experienced veteran Irod musher and I thank you for entering your position.


Breeze

[tanglefoot]

to be honest i have a sat nav for climbing and hardly ever use it , in fact we use it more for plotting the trail for the dogs, keeping data for training runs for distance speed etc. and if running a new trail mapping it back to the paper version so we can see where we can improve it. i never trust a GPS and have been present when we had to conduct our own sar to get ill equipped people off mountians. when traveling long car journeys i use my trust old head up display on the windscreen..... i use a traditional map to work out the route, then write it in drywipe baord marker pen along the top of the windscreen (shield), then as im driving i can look up and through the windscreen and check where i need to exit the motor way by reading it, as i take that turn i wipe it off with a finger and then at the end of the journey if i need to fidn my way back can just write it back up in reverse...works great!cheap and if it fails, ive just written it down wrong, so check the map in my car..no batteries! to fail or sat black spots..and its cheap to buy and easy to install! hahaha i find red marker pen works best!

[eluciq_kennels]

I think the GPS and sat Nav comments should have a Thread of their own...as I think it is worthy for discussion...but it is hiding in other threads and throwing those threads off topic...just my honest opinion. Give it a VOICE...start a thread of its own.

As Heidi mentioned...we can not lie...Rick will be one of the mushers followed...probably a surprise as some of you have your superstars from the back of the pack to the front and well Rick is not on that list(I suppose why he was picked and the fact that he has a good story...that makes him tear up when he tells it...ha)...but none the less he is obviously our(my boys' and I) superstar for lots of reasons! He will not have a sat nav gadget or a GPS gadget on him...but he will have a camera that will last 4 hours, then batteries will be changed when possible by the production company at checkpoints...and he will be mic-ed, so it will certainly be interesting to know what comes out of his mouth while on the runners. Think lots of singing of nonsense lyrics and maybe a few hallucinations of bright beams that will have him ducking...giggle

tiff...a wife of a superstar
eluciq kennels

[fladogfan]

"By eliminating some of the duplication of equipment and personnel, we reduce the overall footprint and impact of the media on race teams as well as the communities/checkpoints."

The above is from the Irod article. I'm so pleased with myself, if I was a cat I'd be purring I finally was able to make my brain connect with what Heidi told me and COPIED with the left click button. Then PASTED it!!! You don't know how happy this has made me, I'm one of the old codgers and it takes awhile for brain to 'get it'! Wheeeeeedogggggies Hope I remember it tomorrow

Now the reason I wanted to post that was, it mentioned the concern I thought of which is, are the crews going to get in the way of the teams? So it sounds like they have thought of that, good. AND I GET THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL

Plus I'm on the Rick Holt band wagon anyway. Got the shirt

fdf

[Johncn]

Hey,

That's fabulous news, Tiff. Thanks for confirming. Rick is a personable, articulate guy...I think he'll make a good Iditarod reality star !

Besides, although Rick is not well known in mushing circles, I know that he is racing for the right reasons, treats his dogs with respect and dignity, and is living out a lifelong dream. How could that NOT make that a great story? He may not work for BSSD now, but he is still part of the IditaProject roots, and therefore one our own!

Do we know who the other Iditarod mushers are who will be recorded? Is Rachel one, as some have reported? I heard one of my favorites, Sigrid Ekran may be part of the show, but haven't had that confirmed.

And, I DO get Discovery Channel on our little Dish Network dish in Unalakleet!

I think that many were concerned that GPS tracking would spoil the suspense and thrill of following the race, and it does not appear that the Discovery thing will do that. Excellent.

Regards,

Johncn