Iditarod News (2011)
In Photos: The Iditarod 2011 Awards Banquet
photos by David Dodman
Read MoreThe Iditarod 2011 Red Lantern: Ellen Halverson
photos and text by David Dodman Iditarod 2011 has officially concluded! The last-place finisher, or Red Lantern, arrived into Nome on Sunday morning. The Red Lantern of Iditarod 2011 was Wasilla, Alaska’s Ellen Halverson, who passed under the Burled Arch at 10:45am Sunday. Halverson is the first musher in Iditarod history to win the Red Lantern…
Read MoreCelebrating Alaska’s Native Cultures – and John Baker – in Song
text and photos by David Dodman On Tuesday morning, Nome’s Front Street seemed to be overflowing, joyfully, with Alaskan traditions. Not only did Tuesday see the finish of Iditarod’s first Inupiaq champion – musher John Baker, from the northwestern city of Kotzebue – but it also saw a new record time for the race, a…
Read MoreBAKER WINS
text by David Dodman The state of Alaska is about to have a very good day. John Baker has just won Iditarod 39. The Kotzebue musher, an Alaska Native with strong roots both in rural Alaska and in the Iditarod itself, has just crossed the finish line in Nome with 10 dogs. Congratulations to John…
Read MoreIn Anvik, It’s Seared Tuna, Wasabi, and Ginger: for Breakfast
photo and audio by Laureli Kinneen; text by David Dodman The Iditarod Sled Dog Race offers a wide array of extraordinary experiences. Gourmet dining isn’t usually among them, with one exception: the first musher to arrive into the Anvik checkpoint – the first stopover on the Yukon River – receives a lavish five-course meal, provided…
Read MoreGerry Willomitzer Scratches
text by David Dodman; photo by Ben Matheson The number of scratches in Iditarod 39 now stands at six, with the departure of veteran musher Gerry Willomitzer from the race late Wednesday morning. According to Iditarod’s official Eye on the Trail, Willomitzer scratched in McGrath at 11am Wednesday with 12 dogs in his team. The…
Read MoreStorey Scratches
text by David Dodman; photo by Ben Matheson Rookie musher Bob Storey has scratched from Iditarod 2011. The Auckland, New Zealand musher exited the race this morning at the Rainy Pass checkpoint, according to the Anchorage Daily News’ Iditarod Live: The Sled Blog. (As of 11:07am, Iditarod’s official Eye on the Trail blog has yet…
Read MoreJessica Hendricks Scratches
by David Dodman Veteran musher Jessica Hendricks has scratched. The Two Rivers, Alaska musher has run four Iditarods – including this one. She exited the 2011 race in the Nikolai checkpoint at 9:25pm Tuesday with only 8 dogs: by far the smallest sled dog team then in the race. (Mushers must have at least 6…
Read MoreThree Teams Scratch: Owens, DeNure, Gebhardt
by David Dodman Tuesday saw the first three scratches in Iditarod 2011; all three are race veterans. The first scratch likely came as sad news to many in Nome. According to Iditarod’s official Eye on the Trail blog, Nome-raised Melissa Owens withdrew from the race at 2am Tuesday morning in the Rainy Pass checkpoint. Eye says that…
Read MoreIn Nikolai, a Healthy Dose of Medicine, Before the Race
photo by Ben Matheson; audio by Laureli Kinneen; text by David Dodman The 41 volunteer veterinarians of the Iditarod fulfill a crucial role: making sure the dogs of The Last Great Race are healthy and fit for the trail. In Nikolai this Sunday, long before a single sled dog or musher arrived, one volunteer vet…
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