IditaProject Forum

Veteran Iditarod musher Jim Lanier, of Chugiak, and veteran Iditarod musher Scott Janssen, of Anchorage, scratched at the Safety checkpoint at 11:30 am today.

Lanier scratched out of concern for his race team and personal health reasons. Janssen scratched out of concern for Lanier’s safety. Janssen had come upon Lanier and stayed with Lanier until both were safely transported to the Safety checkpoint.

“At approximately 7 a.m. this morning, the Iditarod Trail Committee was alerted that mushers Jim Lanier and Scott Janssen had requested emergency assistance due to weather conditions near an area between the checkpoints of White Mountain and Safety known as ‘the Blowhole’,” said Iditarod race marshal Mark Nordman. “A search and rescue team was immediately notified and then a plan was put in place to safely extract both dog teams and both mushers. Both race teams are currently being mushed to Nome. I met Jim and Scott at the Nome airport when they arrived by helicopter and they are with their loved ones and also in good health. I’d like to thank the local Nome SAR, as well as Mike Owens. I’d also like to thank Iditarod finisher Jessie Royer, who was at Safety this morning at the time of the notification. I asked her to go out for a welfare check and she was able to transport Jim and Scott back to the Safety checkpoint by snowmachine.”

Lanier had 13 dogs in his team and Janssen had 11 dogs in his team at the time they made the decision to scratch.

Eggs wrote:''I'm not going to make it:'' Janssen describes Iditarod rescue

http://www.ktva.com/story/37746650/im-n ... rod-rescue

Janssen, who Hofstetter did not know, was coherent enough to explain that he had a satellite phone with him. The cyclists found it for him and called Janssen’s wife waiting in Nome at the Iditarod finish line.

Meanwhile, knowing that Iditarod mushers carry emergency-locator beacons, the men searched through the dog sleds, found one of those and pushed the rescue button.