Lance Mackey Wins Second Iditarod

[CarpeyBiggs]

These guys are friggin' tough dudes. Same with their dogs. Pretty cool stuff.

http://newsminer.com/news/2008/mar/12/mackey-wins-second-consecutive-iditarod/

[Deathcricket]

NOME -- Lance Mackey on Wednesday won his second consecutive Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, completing the 1,100-mile journey across Alaska in just under nine and a half days.

Sadly I was thinking an "iditarod" was something like the darwin awards. But wow nine days racing dogs across insane terrain,,, that's insane! I'm speechless so running out of words. And like you said, very tough dogs.

I love reading stories like this, thanks for sharing.

[sparker1]

Susan Butcher was one of those tough "dudes"....she won it 4 times in about 6 years. I got to meet her at her dog "ranch" outside Fairbanks. Later, I was told (but never verified) that she took a team to the top of Mt McKinley.

[denaliguide]

his brother rick mackey won it in 1983 and has ran 20 of them, and his dad dick mackey ran in the very first iditarod in 1973 and won it in 1978 by the slimest margin in iditarod history. lot's to be said about family history and he's got good stock in his dogs.

[CarpeyBiggs]

It is all very fascinating stuff... I've read some of the stories about Susan Butcher, and she is very revered up there. I hope I get to meet some of them. I'll be in Fairbanks for the summer, should be a cool experience.

Denaliguide, you from up that way?

[DiscGo]

Last year they rerouted an Alaska Airlines Plane to try and get his Dad there in time for the finish but he barely missed. I have heard he was a lot more excited for the truck he won than the cash prize.


I got to spend a little bit of time with Jeff King this summer (who is an amazing man and is a 4 time iditarod winner). King said something to the effect that he really respects most everyone who participates in the iditarod because it requires a lot of character. Winning must be something else.


You think it is going to be a big group of guys out mushing together, but Susan Butcher (also a 4 time winner who passed away from leukemia in 2006) said that you are alone for days and days with just your dogs.


Definitely not a sport for everyone.

[DiscGo]

It is all very fascinating stuff... I've read some of the stories about Susan Butcher, and she is very revered up there. I hope I get to meet some of them. I'll be in Fairbanks for the summer, should be a cool experience.




Trust me you are going to hear possibly too much about Susan Butcher. Her sled is on display at the "River Boat" in Fairbanks, and you will be going there all the time this summer.

Jeff King has a sled dog camp in Denali and you can get comped there if you want and go check it out, but there are much better things to do in Denali. You have to read "In to the Wild" (if you haven't already) and head out to the bus. I only made it 18 of the 22 miles, but I still have an awesome time.

[denaliguide]

It is all very fascinating stuff... I've read some of the stories about Susan Butcher, and she is very revered up there. I hope I get to meet some of them. I'll be in Fairbanks for the summer, should be a cool experience.

Denaliguide, you from up that way?

spent 19 years in alaska. all over the state. anchorage, fairbanks, some different bush villages. i used to have a team of 13 dogs for about 6 years. ran them about 10,000 miles as a recreational musher. great fun running dogs. i miss it. can't say i miss shoveling up after them though. its a great way to see the backcountry in the winter. all the rivers and swamps are frozen over. alot easier to get around then.

[sparker1]

Before Susan Butcher won her first Iditarod, she was leading the race when a sick moose charges out of the trees and collides with her team. One dog was killed and several injured, leaving her out of the race. She won the next three years.

I don't know if her husband still operates the kennel, but the boat tour out of Fairbanks used to stop there. It was a great operation.

[denaliguide]

Before Susan Butcher won her first Iditarod, she was leading the race when a sick moose charges out of the trees and collides with her team. One dog was killed and several injured, leaving her out of the race. She won the next three years.

I don't know if her husband still operates the kennel, but the boat tour out of Fairbanks used to stop there. It was a great operation.

i don't remember if the moose was sick or not. susan was in the lead. it was on the first or second day of the race. she had a team of 18 or 20 dogs which puts your leaders around 70 feet in front of leader. she came up over a rise her leaders were out of sight. when she got to the top the moose was in the middle of her team stomping her dogs. the next musher to come up was dewey halverson. he fortunately had a .44 pistol and was able to put the moose down. as sparker said 1 dead and 5 injured.

this isn't really unusual. in the winter moose take the path of least resistance. which means they will walk on a good trail instead of post holing through deep snow. i know people who have been out on their snow machines and had a moose on the trail which attacked the machine. when i was running dogs and saw a moose on or even near the trail i would wait for it to move off or get by as quick as i could. x-c skiers in anchorage have the same problem on the local ski trails. they see moose everyday at the kincaid, and hilltop trails.

[DiscGo]

The Fairbanks riverboat still does stop there (people still only get off at the Athabascan Village but) they stop and hear about the dogs, and a different female musher takes the dogs around being pulled on a 4-wheeler.


The year Susan's team was attacked by a Moose, she lost 2 dogs and several others were injured. That year Susan did not win, but that was the first year a woman won the race (I forget her name). Between that woman winning and Susan dominating the sport for the following years it spawned the expression "Alaska: Where Men are Men and Women win the Iditarod".


I think I am having Alaska withdrawals. It is really hard knowing that I will not be going back this year.

[denaliguide]

The Fairbanks riverboat still does stop there (people still only get off at the Athabascan Village but) they stop and hear about the dogs, and a different female musher takes the dogs around being pulled on a 4-wheeler.


The year Susan's team was attacked by a Moose, she lost 2 dogs and several others were injured. That year Susan did not win, but that was the first year a woman won the race (I forget her name). Between that woman winning and Susan dominating the sport for the following years it spawned the expression "Alaska: Where Men are Men and Women win the Iditarod".


I think I am having Alaska withdrawals. It is really hard knowing that I will not be going back this year.

libby riddles was her name. she took a huge risk at the end of the race. there was a huge (huge being an understatement) storm on the coast that had all the teams pinned down. she went out into the storm and pushed her way through for the lead and the win.

[DiscGo]

I had heard something to that effect. I am sure she didn't think anything would actually happen to her, but it was still really brave to do it. I bet she has no regrets on that one.



It is too bad that the race can't be started in Wasilla every year (for consistency). The 1059 mile race that varies in length every year, just seems weird. Not that I scoff at it, I get it. And just to qualify to run in the Iditarod, you have to be tougher than me.

[denaliguide]

the anchoorage start is purely ceremonial. makes great tv. they only go 15 miles to eagle river and then put the dogs in the truck for the drive to wasilla.

the main reason for the difference in mileage is that there are two different routes. one northern and the other southern. i could describe them here but instead just check the link.

http://www.iditarod.com/learn/iditarodtrail.html



the iditarod race commerates the nome serum run. in 1925 a diptheria epidemic was running through nome. serum was relayed to nome by dogsled teams from the town of nenana down the tanana and yukon rivers to the village of kaltag, across to the coast to unalakleet and on to nome. twenty teams relayed the medicine 674 miles in 27.5 hours

[DiscGo]

I am familiar with the different routes, but there have been a few years (I believe last year included) where there wasn't enough snow to start in Wasilla. The Anchorage "start" doesn't (or shouldn't) count at all. But some years there isn't enough snow, (In 2003 they started the race in Fairbanks).

[sparker1]

denaliguide, do you know if it is true that Susan Butcher took a dog team to the summit of Mt McKinley?

[DiscGo]

That is true.


http://www.nps.gov/dena/upload/Climbing%20History%20Timeline.pdf

[sparker1]

Thanks for the link, Discgo. Lots of interesting info.

[denaliguide]

great link discgo. couldnt't believe how many of my friends names are on that list. i worked as lead guide on 23 expeditions and saw some of those first descents first hand. notably adrians descents of the messner and orient express. scott wollums (most ascents) is a good friend, darryl miller is the head denali ranger, vern tejas (successful winter solo), and others. neat to take a quick trip down memory lane.

[DiscGo]

I worked with a guy in Talkeetna who was the youngest to assend. One of my best friends has been trying to convince me for a couple of years to go. I did not have good enough gear until recently, and now I have a son so I don't expect to be doing it any time too soon :D.

[DiscGo]

couldnt't believe how many of my friends names are on that list.

That is awesome!!! Most of my friends are interesting to most people, but nothing so cool.

[denaliguide]

I worked with a guy in Talkeetna who was the youngest to assend. One of my best friends has been trying to convince me for a couple of years to go. I did not have good enough gear until recently, and now I have a son so I don't expect to be doing it any time too soon :D.

are you talking about taras?

[DiscGo]

are you talking about taras?

I don't remember his name. We worked with the same tourists but not at the time (if that makes senes :D). I don't remember his name.

[denaliguide]

just watching a iditarod 2008 special on VS. supposedly next sun 3/23 @ 4 pm PT it will air again. apparently again later tonight @ 10 pm as well.

one other note about lance mackey. last year (2007) when he won the iditarod he also won the yukon quest which is another 1000 mile race (from fairbanks to whitehorse) that finished just a week or so before the start of the iditarod with the same team of dogs. that's 2000 miles plus of racing in a month. aboslutely incredible.