The history of the Iditarod trial dates back to the early days of the American gold rush when miners and fur trappers used the trail to reach the remote town of Nome on Alaska's frozen coast. Between the months of October and June, Nome is cut off from the rest of civilisation by the frozen wilderness of the Alaskan tundra and when a diphtheria broke out there in 1925, not even small bush planes could fly due to the extreme weather gripping the entire state. To resolve the situation at Nome, a relay team of 20 sled dog teams, known as mushers, were able to punch through the blizzard and deliver much needed medication to the town with no dog running more than 100 miles. Leonard Seppala and his lead dog, Togo, covered the worst of the route and carried the serum for 91 miles and are considered by modern day mushers to be the heroes of the relay. Five and a half days after the teams set out, the Norwegian Gunna Kaasen and his dog Balto arrived on Fort Street at 5.30 am to deliver the much needed diphtheria serum. Today, a statue honouring Balto the dog stands in New York's Central Park. This legendary relay became known as the Great Race of Mercy.
In the late 20th century, as technology provided more efficient modes of transport for those living in the remote reaches of Alaska, dog sleds gradually gave way to snowmobiles and mushing became a purely recreational pursuit. While endurance sled races have always been popular in Alaska, there was never anything quite like the Iditarod. Designed to honour the Great Race of Mercy, the first official event took place in 1973 as a way to test the worlds best mushers and dog teams. In the coming years the race quickly gained popularity and continued to grow into the phenomenon it is today. A community has grown up around the Iditarod and the mushers and their dogs are local celebrities, both praised in equal measure for their courage and spirit of perseverance.
One thing is certain about the route of the Iditarod: it cuts through some of the world's harshest terrain and puts the teams to the ultimate endurance test. A thousand miles of dense frozen forests, icy rivers, mountain passes and wide open Arctic tundra stand between the sleds and the finish line. A respectable time for finishing the event is around 10 days but mushers can be out for as many as forteen and while this race is tough for the mushers, it's the dogs who really push the boundaries of their abilities by driving hard for miles on end. But this, for the Siberian Huskies pulling the sleds, is what they were bred to do. The lead dog is always the smartest and fastest, setting the pace at the front, while the stronger and more obedient dogs take their place at the rear of the pack pulling the sled onwards. The relationship between a musher and his pack is a special one, the dogs eat and sleep well and are rested in rotation and, while they are driven hard, the pack's safety is the Musher's primary concern throughout the race. Despite this, over 140 Dogs have perished on the ice during the Iditarod since its inception, leading to animal rights organisations rightly calling into question the race conditions and mushers' treatment of their packs. In 1990 a previous winner, Jerry Riley was banned from participating in the event for life after he struck one of his dogs with a snowhook. Similarly, in 1996, one of Rick Swensons dogs died in an unwilling sacrifice after he mushed the pack through waist deep ice water. As a result of these incidents the standards of welfare for the dogs is something the race organisers are keen to ensure is upheld and stringent new rules and advances in equipment technology have enabled them to facilitate this.
The story of Whittemore and Adkins is just one example amongst hundreds. Every musher has their own story, each filled with peril and adversity. There is no easy ride here, they must all face the icy frontier alone but for their dogs. As the teams pull out of Anchorage, there is no certainty but this: not every sled will make it to Nome. This is a mental battle as much as it is physical, there can be no turning back, only victory or surrender. Pulling out of the race is what seasoned Mushers fear most, for them, giving up is just not an option. Like most races there's fortune and fame on the finish line, the winner can collect a prize worth almost $100,000. But they compete for something more than money, there is an unparalleled sense of achievement that comes with reaching Nome. To be furnished with the the title of a finisher is all most mushers need, but to reach the finish line first is the ultimate prize. Because this, this is the Iditarod: The last great race on earth.
For more information about the Iditarod you can visit the official website.
In the late 20th century, as technology provided more efficient modes of transport for those living in the remote reaches of Alaska, dog sleds gradually gave way to snowmobiles and mushing became a purely recreational pursuit. While endurance sled races have always been popular in Alaska, there was never anything quite like the Iditarod. Designed to honour the Great Race of Mercy, the first official event took place in 1973 as a way to test the worlds best mushers and dog teams. In the coming years the race quickly gained popularity and continued to grow into the phenomenon it is today. A community has grown up around the Iditarod and the mushers and their dogs are local celebrities, both praised in equal measure for their courage and spirit of perseverance.
One thing is certain about the route of the Iditarod: it cuts through some of the world's harshest terrain and puts the teams to the ultimate endurance test. A thousand miles of dense frozen forests, icy rivers, mountain passes and wide open Arctic tundra stand between the sleds and the finish line. A respectable time for finishing the event is around 10 days but mushers can be out for as many as forteen and while this race is tough for the mushers, it's the dogs who really push the boundaries of their abilities by driving hard for miles on end. But this, for the Siberian Huskies pulling the sleds, is what they were bred to do. The lead dog is always the smartest and fastest, setting the pace at the front, while the stronger and more obedient dogs take their place at the rear of the pack pulling the sled onwards. The relationship between a musher and his pack is a special one, the dogs eat and sleep well and are rested in rotation and, while they are driven hard, the pack's safety is the Musher's primary concern throughout the race. Despite this, over 140 Dogs have perished on the ice during the Iditarod since its inception, leading to animal rights organisations rightly calling into question the race conditions and mushers' treatment of their packs. In 1990 a previous winner, Jerry Riley was banned from participating in the event for life after he struck one of his dogs with a snowhook. Similarly, in 1996, one of Rick Swensons dogs died in an unwilling sacrifice after he mushed the pack through waist deep ice water. As a result of these incidents the standards of welfare for the dogs is something the race organisers are keen to ensure is upheld and stringent new rules and advances in equipment technology have enabled them to facilitate this.
For the mushers the Iditarod is a matter of life and death. During the 1991 race Gary Whittemore and Terry Adkins struggled to cross the frozen Norton Bay where the worst blizzard in decades pinned them to the ice sheet. There, stranded on thin ice, the pair and their dogs hunkered down against a blizzard that brought with it temperatures of almost -30 degrees C, a ferocious windchill cold enough to freeze exposed skin and 50knot winds that cut the the teams to ribbons. The local villagers considered the conditions too extreme to mount a rescue attempt and as day broke, the mushers made for the village of Koyuk 12 miles away. The wind continued to rip through the bay, screaming into the the dogs' faces and the musher's goggles became iced over and eventually. As a last resort, Whittemore was forced to remove them in order to continue driving the sled. As they pressed on, half blind and frost bitten with the wind against them, Whittemoore's hood began to fill with ice and snow, resulting in his eyes freezing shut. When the teams reached Koyuk, Whittemore removed his parka to reveal half his face was frostbitten, his eyes frozen and his torn skin pale and dead. He was forced to abandon his Iditarod attempt. His blizzard companion Adkins went on to complete the race gaining a top 20 position but if it had not been for his support and guidance in the face of adversity Whittemore would have been alone with his dogs on the desolate ice, blind and slowly freezing to death.
The story of Whittemore and Adkins is just one example amongst hundreds. Every musher has their own story, each filled with peril and adversity. There is no easy ride here, they must all face the icy frontier alone but for their dogs. As the teams pull out of Anchorage, there is no certainty but this: not every sled will make it to Nome. This is a mental battle as much as it is physical, there can be no turning back, only victory or surrender. Pulling out of the race is what seasoned Mushers fear most, for them, giving up is just not an option. Like most races there's fortune and fame on the finish line, the winner can collect a prize worth almost $100,000. But they compete for something more than money, there is an unparalleled sense of achievement that comes with reaching Nome. To be furnished with the the title of a finisher is all most mushers need, but to reach the finish line first is the ultimate prize. Because this, this is the Iditarod: The last great race on earth.
For more information about the Iditarod you can visit the official website.
Images: Loren Holmes/AP/Vincent Elkaim/Boreal Collective
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