Mushers embark on new route across Alaska as Iditarod begins
FAIRBANKS, Alaska – Iditarod mushers began their 1,000-mile trek across Alaska along a new route Monday after poor trail conditions forced organizers to push the race’s start north, bypassing a mountain range.
Canadian rookie Rob Cooke, who hails from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, was the first musher to leave Fairbanks in the staggered start.
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race usually kicks off 225 miles south in Willow. But because of a lack of snow, officials decided to move the entire route around the Alaska Range and area that left many mushers bruised and bloodied last year.
This is only the second time Fairbanks has hosted the official start; similar low-snow conditions moved the Iditarod there in 2003.
The new route reduces the number of checkpoints in the early part of the race. But it adds stops at villages that have never been part of the Iditarod – like tiny Huslia, an Athabascan village of about 300 residents.
The finish line remains in Nome, on the state’s wind-whipped western coast.
The route change eliminates mountainous terrain and a treacherous gorge. But the race now will be run on about 600 miles of river ice, and that can create a whole new set of obstacles.
“There’s kind of a little bit of holding our breath to see just what the route will actually be like given the persisting warm temperatures,” said Mitch Seavey, a two-time champion and the oldest musher to win the race at age 53 two years ago.
The same weather pattern that repeatedly dumped snow on the East Coast left Alaska fairly warm and snowless this winter. Even a snowstorm projected to dump up to 9 inches of snow Friday in Anchorage turned into an all-night rain instead.
The lack of snow has made for poor conditions south of the Alaska Range, especially in the area of the Dalzell Gorge, considered the roughest patch for mushers and dogs.
This is where many mushers were injured in crashes last year. Officials said this year’s conditions there are worse.
The 2015 Iditarod features 78 mushers, including 20 rookies and six former champions.
Unlike the festive ceremonial start, which is designed to let fans interact with mushers, the competitive start in Fairbanks is all business for participants.
Racers leave the starting chute in two-minute intervals. The first musher to reach the finish line will pocket $70,000, which is $19,600 more than what defending champion Dallas Seavey received last year because of an increased purse. Dallas Seavey is Mitch’s son and another two-time winner.
Musher Aliy Zirkle, who has finished in second place the past three years, said she’s just pleased the Iditarod is happening at all this year.
“I’m pretty happy they are going to pull it off,” she said last week. “There’s been a lot of races that have been canceled.”