It’s just a race, but it’s incredible to me how connected you become to these mushers and their teams as they travel through wilderness that most people will never see. The highs are exhilarating. The lows...crushing. Today was one of those days.
This was supposed to be Aliy Zirkle’s farewell tour. Early this morning it came to an abrupt end, as she had to airlifted from the checkpoint of Rohn after suffering from a concussion and (probably) broken ribs from a hard crash on her sled. Not a lot is known yet about what exactly happened, but most likely the accident took place through a tough section of the trail called the Dalzell Gorge, that is known for its rough terrain that always has mushers on edge. She managed to make it into the checkpoint of Rohn with her dog team, and is now resting safely with her family after an overnight visit to the hospital in Anchorage. You can bet the hearts of the entire state of Alaska are with her right now.
Aliy has experienced many ups and downs over the course of her career, including fearing being swept off the sea ice in a ferocious wind storm in the 2014 race and having her team intentionally hit by a snowmachine in the 2016 Iditarod, a race where she was looking like a favorite to win and ended up placing third. You can be sure she’ll tackle this final blow with the grace and positivity that has marked the rest of her career.
A heartfelt message from the Seavey clan about Aliy’s accident:
“So sad to hear the news about Aliy this morning. She was injured going down the infamous Dalzell Gorge. She's in stable condition, dogs all ok, but medivac took her to Anchorage, and her race is over. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her and her team. Aliy is one of our favorite mushers of all time, (and easily the coolest) and we'll miss seeing her this week.”
And an awesome memory of Aliy on the trail in the 2017 from Zachariah Hughes, a journalist based in Anchorage, who is covering the Iditarod this year for the Alaska Dispatch News:
What's one of your favorite Iditarod memories from previous races?
Zachariah: In 2017, the Iditarod had to be moved to Fairbanks, and the route passed through Koyukuk, which it normally doesn’t. While I was there, waiting for mushers down at the checkpoint, I chatted with Benedict Jones, an elder who has lived in the region most of his life.
He told me about his family’s sled dogs back when he was a boy in the 30s and 40s, small teams that would haul dry fish back from camp after the summer, pulled sleds loaded down with beaver pelts and meat after trapping trips. He told me about how in the summer they’d run the dogs on gravel bars to toughen up their paws — all these old husbandry practices that, while a world apart from the long-distance competitive mushing on display in the Iditarod, spring from the same traditions.
A little later that same evening, Mr. Jones and his wife, I believe her name is Eliza, sat at a small table chatting with Aliy Zirkle. Just visiting, chit-chatting about people they knew in common and how the winter weather had been. Zirkle was kind enough to let me sit there, too, even though that was sort of a personable, intimate conversation — a reprieve from the race she could have reasonably asked me to exit from. But she didn’t, so I got to eat moose soup at the table with these two deeply knowledgeable elders while Zirkle asked them really smart questions about the region and dogs.
After a while, the Joneses had something else to attend to. And right after they left, Zirkle jotted down a few details on a pad or a scrap of paper. I asked her what she was writing, and she said it was a reminder to herself to send them a postcard once she was back home.
That’s one of my favorite memories from past races.
And still, the race goes on.
Current Top Ten:
- Dallas Seavey (McGrath, Mile 311)
- Pete Kaiser (Mile 306)
- Richie Diehl (Mile 306)
- Joar Leifseth Ulsom (Mile 306)
- Travis Beals (Mile 304)
- Brent Sass (Mile 302)
- Ryan Redington (Mile 299)
- Wade Marrs (Mile 297)
- Jessie Royer (Mile 289)
- Nicolas Petit (Mile 285)
Quote of the Day
“Since I don’t make a plan I’m not too upset about not being on the plan” - Nicolas Petit
“It’s like everyone is racing this like it’s a mid-distance 300 [mile] race. It’s kind of insane.” - Rick Castillo
“I get the feeling a lot of people really don’t want to go back through the burn!” - Iditarod Insider Cameraman Ian, having just snowmobiled the Farewell Burn from Rohn to Nikolai and talking to mushers along the way.
Post-Nikolai, the race has started to converge and the overall picture of the competition is becoming clearer. Once mushers have finished their mandatory 24-hour rest we’ll have a pretty good idea of who is sitting in the driver’s seat for this year’s race, but even now some top teams are emerging.
Dallas Seavey is first into McGrath. He’s run a smart, disciplined race so far, and will absolutely be helping set the pace as teams approach the half-way point in this race. No surprises there...but there’s still a lot of racing ahead.
What will be interesting to see with this blistering early pace is who doesn’t keep up. Expect to see some teams that were blazing in the early going here to start to struggle as the miles start to add up. Ryan Redington has been setting the early pace and recently completed his 8-hour mandatory rest in Nikolai. His team has been looking great so far, but he has a history of going out in a blaze of glory--and not in a good way.
Some teams that were lagging behind from the begin are now beginning to make their way to front of the pack, as both Joar Leifseth Ulsom and Jessie Royer are now firmly in the top ten after conservative early runs. And as expected, there are still many, many teams still in striking distance. This is going to be a fun one to watch unfold. Will the fast pace early on pay off for some of these teams? Which teams who played it safe early on are going to start putting on the heat?
This year, teams are required to take their 24-hour rest at any of the checkpoints up to and including Iditarod. (But they must take it on the way out, and not on the return leg of the race.) Additionally, all teams must take an additional 8-hour rest at any checkpoint from Rohn and back to Rohn. Expect most teams to take their 8-hour rest later on in the race, but a few teams may squeeze it in earlier.
The 24-hour rest is a key strategy decision in the race. Take it too early, and it won’t provide the benefit and the boost your team needs to make it through the end of the race. Take it too late and you might have pushed your team too far to recover.
At this point, mushers have basically three options for their 24-hour rest: McGrath, Ophir, and Iditarod. Expect a lot of teams to choose to stop at McGrath, but some may push to Ophir and beyond before they stop.
After fast and furious conditions to start the race (teams are flying!), things slowed down a little bit today as mushers faced warmer conditions and some snow coming into Nikolai. Nothing too crazy, however, and overall speeds look to be staying pretty fast as teams make their way from Nikolai to McGrath.
Word on the trail was that the Dalzell Gorge was pretty gnarly this year, with several mushers expressing trepidation about the return trip, as it sounds like there’s some treacherous stretches of dirt and bare ground that teams will be traveling downhill for on that way back.
Odds and ends:
- -Dallas Seavey talking through mandatory rests and the strategy involved: https://fb.watch/47OkKe11Be/
-Ever wondered what beaver dust was? Wonder no longer by reading this great article with some good anecdotes from mushers on the trail: https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/ ... rt+Tuesday
-Some further details about Aliy’s accident: https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/ ... cials-say/
One thing’s for sure: it’s never a boring day on the Iditarod trail.
