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2006 Iditarod

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The ceremonial start of the 34th annual Iditarod dog sled race across the U.S. state of Alaska began in Anchorage on March 4, 2006. A large crowd watched as 83 teams of 12 dogs left the starting chute at the corner of Fourth and D Streets, and followed the 11 mi (18 km) route through the urban center. The mushers were accompanied on the sled by "Idita-riders", the high bidders in a pre-race auction. After the leisurely start, the teams were driven north by truck to the smaller town of Willow where the start of the competitive race, or "restart", began the next day as larger teams of 16 dogs started leaving the Community Center at 2 PM, two minutes apart.[1]

The winning musher is expected to arrive in Nome on March 14, after covering 1,049+ miles (1,600+ km) of wilderness. The race ran over the Alaska Range, where an avalanche claimed the life of Richard Strick Jr. in mid-February, into the former Gold Rush country of the Alaska Interior, past Athabaskan villages. Since 2006 is an even numbered year, the race follows the northern route from Ophir, past the halfway point at Cripple, before rejoining the main route at Kaltag, on the the Yukon River. From Kaltag the race swings west to the Norton Sound, on coast of the Bering Sea. The leaders are currently heading up the coast, through Inuit towns and villages, along the homestretch to Nome.

As of March 14, three-time winner Jeff King is in the lead at White Mountain, with only 2 checkpoints to go. He has been in the lead for the past eight checkpoints, since the Yukon River, and won the First to the Gold Coast Award for reaching the coast first, at the Inuit town of Unalakleet. Four-time winner Doug Swingley was in the lead across much of the Interior, picking up the Spirit of Alaska Award for reaching McGrath, and the Halfway Award for reaching Cripple. Paul Gebhardt pulled ahead briefly at Ruby to win the First to the Yukon Award.

Three dogs have died, which is slightly more than the average.

Note: All times are Alaska Standard Time/AKST (UTC-9).

Competitors

There are 83 mushers entered to race. The 51 Alaskans include four-time champion and speed-record holder Martin Buser, three-time winner Jeff King, 2004 winner Mitch Seavey, and the only five-time champion Rick Swenson, including a few Native Alaskans like Ramy Brooks, John Baker, and Ed Iten. There are 23 mushers as well from the lower 48 states, including four-time champion Doug Swingley.

Internationally, Canada is represented by three-time Yukon Quest winner Hans Gatt, Karen Ramstead, the owner of the only all-Siberian Husky team in the race, Sebastian Schnuelle, and rookie Warren Palfrey. Norway has three mushers in the race this year, the 2005 rookie of the year, Bjørnar Andersen, and newcomers Tore Albrigtsen and Tove Sørensen (2005 champion Robert Sørlie is not racing this year). Fabrizio Lovati of Italy and Ben Valks of the Netherlands bring the European total to 5 mushers.

Celebrity mushers include Gary Paulsen, who ran his rookie race in 1983, scratched in 1985, withdrew prior to the race in 2005, and returned for another try in 2006 before scratchingin Skwetna. Legally blind musher Rachael Scdoris of Bend, Oregon, will also be attempting the Iditarod for the second time, after scratching in Eagle Island last year. Her visual interpreter this year is Tim Osmar.

According to Iditarod reporter Little, the field is just as competitive as it was during the 2005 Iditarod, making it very hard to pick a winner. Former champions Buser, King, Swingley, and Seavey are all strong candidates to win. Of that elite crowd, King won the Kobuk 440 last year and the Kusko this year; while five-time winner Swenson, who scratched for the first time last year and has raced a long distance race since is probably out of the running. The last of the likely winners is Bjørnar Andersen. As this year's representative of Team Norway, he inherited half of Robert Sørlie's winning 2005 team of dogs, and even without them Andersen's 4th place finish in 2004 was the best finish by a rookie since the race first started in the 1970s.[1]

Other racers who are expected to finish well are Lance Mackey, who just won the 1,000 mi (1,600 km) Yukon Quest, three-time runner up DeeDee Jonrowe, 2005's 2nd place finisher Ed Iten, two-time runner up Ramy Brooks, perennial top-10er John Baker. A third tier of capable racers include winner of the 2005 Klondike 300 Cim Smyth (who also recorded the fastest time from Safety to Nome in 2005, despite only having 5 dogs left), Jessie Royner, winner of the 2005 Sheep Mountain 150 Ken Andersen, Aaron Burmeister, 2nd place finisher in the 2005 Klondike 300 Matt Hayashida, Melanie Gould, Paul Gebhardt, and former Yukon Quest winner Aliy Zirkle. A win by either Aliy Zirkle or Lance Mackey would place them in the elite company of mushers to have won both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod — in Lance's case, in the same year, an historical first. Hans Gatt is normally a contender, but this year he is running a team of young, inexperienced dogs.[1]

Likely rookies of the year are Warren Palfrey of Yellowknife, Canada or Tore Albrigtsen and Tove Sorensen from Norway.[1]

March 4: Ceremonial start in Anchorage

Ceremonial start at Anchorage: The mushers departed Anchorage on March 4.

Eagle River: After the mushers arrive at Eagle River, the dogs are transported by vehicle to the restart location. Normally this is at Wasilla, the headquarters of the Iditarod Trail Committee, and the race continues from there to the next checkpoint at Knik, before reaching Yentna Station. this year the restart was pushed back to Willow, and continued on directly to Yentna, skipping Wasilla and Knik entirely.

March 5: Restart at Willow

Restart at Willow: The mushers departed Willow two minutes apart, in Bib order. The first musher (Loni Townsend, Bib 2) left on March 5 at 2:00 PM AKST, and the last (Paul Gebhardt, Bib 83) left 2 hr 44 min later at 4:44 PM.[2]

Yentna: Four-time winner Doug Swingley departed Yentna in first place, on March 5 at 5:35 PM. The remainder of the top 5 were Bryan Bearss (at 5:42 PM), Jim Lanier (5:47 PM), Lori Townsend (5:48 PM), and Jessie Royer (5:51 PM). The top 10 departed within 35 min (by 6:10 PM), and the top 20 within 1 hr 2 min (by 6:37 PM).[2]

Skwentna: Bryan Bearss departed Skwentna in first place, on March 5 at 9:19 PM. The remainder of the top 5 were Ramy Brooks (at 9:46 PM), Melanie Gould (9:50 PM), Ramey Smyth (10:19 PM), and three-time winner Jeff King (10:21 PM). The top 10 departed within 2 hr 24 min (by 11:43 PM), and the top 20 within 4 hr 54 min (by March 6, at 2:13 PM).[2]

Gary Paulsen, the author of several popular books on the Iditarod, became the first musher to scratch from the race on March 6 at 1:08 AM, at Skwentna. This was his second failed race in a row after a 20 year absence.

March 6

Finger Lake: John Baker departed Finger Lake in first place, on March 6 at 9:15 AM. The remainder of the top 5 were fellow Native Alaskan Ramy Brooks (at 9:31 AM), Doug Swingley (9:32 AM), Jeff King (9:53 AM), and Melanie Gould (10:00 AM). The top 10 departed within 1 hr 9 min (by 10:24 AM), and the top 20 within 2 hr 55 min (by 12:10 PM).[2]

Rainy Pass: Ramey Smyth departed Rainy Pass in first place, on March 6 at 2:46 PM. The remainder of the top 5 were Jessica Hendricks (at 6:18 PM, 3 hr 32 min later), Lance Mackey (6:19 PM), the Norwegian Bjørnar Andersen (6:38 PM), and Paul Gebhardt (6:40 PM). The top 10 departed within 4 hr 42 min (by 7:28 PM), and the top 20 within 5 hr 44 min (by 8:30 PM). [2]

Rohn: Doug Swingley departed Rohn in first place, on March 6 at 10:45 PM. The remainder of the top 5 were Jeff King (at 11:23 PM), Ramy Brooks (11:59 PM), Aliy Zirkle (March 7 at 00:11 AM), and 2004 winner Mitch Seavey (00:15 AM). The top 10 departed within 2 hr 46 min (by March 7 at 1:31 AM), and the top 20 within 6 hr 5 min (by March 7 at 4:50 AM).[2]

March 7: First Alaska Native villages

Nikolai: Doug Swingley departed Nikolai in first place, on March 7 at 7:09 PM. The remainder of the top 5 were Jeff King (at 7:15 PM), Aliy Zirkle (7:45 PM), Ed Iten (8:46 PM), and Mitch Seavey (8:55 PM). The top 10 departed within 2 hr 16 min (by 9:25 PM), and the top 20 within 4 hr 53 min (by March 8 at 00:02 AM).[2]

March 8

McGrath: Doug Swingley departed McGrath in first place, on March 8 at 00:18 AM. The remainder of the top 5 were Jeff King (at 00:47 AM), Aliy Zirkle (2:21 AM), three-time runner up DeeDee Jonrowe (3:33 AM), and John Baker (5:13 AM). The top 10 departed within 6 hr 2 min (by 6:20 AM), and the top 20 within 9 hr 14 min (by 9:32 AM).[2]

Takotna: Doug Swingley departed Takotna in first place, on March 8 at 8:19 AM. The remainder of the top 5 were Jason Barron, Mitch Seavey, John Barron (all three departed at 11:00 AM), and Ed Iten (11:08 AM). The top 10 departed within 5 hr 28 min (by 1:47 PM), and the top 20 within 20 hr 29 min (by March 9 at 4:48 AM).[2]

Ophir: Doug Swingley departed Ophir in first place, on March 8 at 11:01 AM. The remainder of the top 5 were DeeDee Jonrowe (at 4:55 PM), Cim Smyth (4:58 PM), John Baker (5:26 PM), and Paul Gebhardt (6:35 PM). The top 10 departed within 19 hr 46 min (by March 9 at 6:46 AM), and the top 20 within 28 hr 00 min (by March 9 at 3:01 PM).[2]

March 9: Halfway

Cripple: Paul Gebhardt departed Cripple in first place, on March 9 at 1:48 PM. The remainder of the top 5 were Jeff King (at 10:45 PM, 6 hr 57 min later), Aliy Zirkle (11:43 PM), Doug Swingley (March 10 at 3:05 AM), and Aaron Butmeister (March 10 at 4:34 AM). The top 10 departed within 17 hr 52 min (March 10 at 7:40 AM), and the top 20 within 19 hr 13 min (by March 10 at 10:01 AM).[2]

March 10

Ruby: Paul Gebardt departed Ruby in first place, on March 10 at 8:34 AM. The remainder of the top 5 were Jeff King (at 4:01 PM), Doug Swingley (7:45 PM), DeeDee Jonrowe (9:09 PM), and Aliy Zirkle (11:00 PM). The top 10 departed within 16 hr 22 min (by March 11 at 00:56 AM), and the top 20 within 20 hr 38 min (by March 11 at 5:12 AM).[2]

March 11

Galena: Jeff King departed Galena in first place, on March 11 at 3:28 AM. The remainder of the top 5 were Doug Swingley (at 7:52 AM), Mitch Seavey (8:00 AM), Ed Iten (8:17 AM), and Jason Barron (also 8:17 AM). The top 10 departed within 8 hr 10 min (by 11:38 AM), and the top 20 within 14 hr 5 min (by 5:33 PM).[2]

Nulato: Jeff King departed Nulato in first place again, on March 11 at 1:06 PM. The remainder of the top 5 were Doug Swingley (at 1:27 PM), DeeDee Jonrowe (3:27 PM), Lance Mackey (7:58 PM), and Paul Gebhardt (8:42 PM). The top 10 departed within 8 hr 26 min (by 9:32 PM), and the top 20 within 16 hr 52 min (by March 12, at 5:58 AM).[2]

March 12: The Norton Sound

Kaltag: Jeff King departed Kaltag in first place for the third straight checkpoint, on March 12 at 00:21 AM. The remainder of the top 5 were Doug Swingley (at 00:57 AM), DeeDee Jonrowe (3:30 AM), Aliy Zirkle (3:37 AM), and Hugh Neff (4:10 AM). The top 10 departed within 9 hr 9 min (by 9:30 AM), and the top 20 within 15 hr 49 min (by 4:10 PM).[2]

Unalakleet: Jeff King departed Unalakleet in first place again, on March 12 at 12:26 PM. The remainder of the top 5 were Doug Swingley (at 12:48 PM), DeeDee Jonrowe (5:47 PM), Bjørnar Andersen (9:38 PM), and John Baker (10:55 PM).[2]

March 13

Shaktoolik: Jeff King departed Shaktoolik in first place, on March 13 at 5:22 AM.[2]

Koyuk: Jeff King was the first to arrive at Koyuk on March 13 at 11:24 AM.

Golivin:

Elim:

March 14

White Mountain: Jeff King was the first to arrive at White Mountain on March 14 at 6:34 AM.

Upcoming checkpoints

Safety:

Nome:

Scratches

A number of mushers "scratched", or withdrew from the race:

  • Gary Paulsen was in 62nd place when he scratched on March 6 at 5:30 AM in Skwentna for "personal reasons"[3]
  • Lori Townsend was in 44th place when she scratched on March 6 at 9:40 PM in Rainy Pass due to a possible rib injury.[4]
  • Sandy McKee was in 78th place when she scratched on March 7 at 8:00 PM in Rainy Pass.[5]
  • Rookie Sue Morgan from Richmond, Utah was in 78th place when she scratched on March 8 at 8:00 AM in Rainy Pass due to a possible cracked rib.[6]
  • Rich Larson of Sand Coulee, Montana was in 69th place when he scratched on March 10 at 11:15 AM in McGrath due to "based on lack of leaders in his team"[8]
  • Richard Hum of Talkeetna, Alaska scratched on March 10 at 11:20 AM in McGrath "because his team was young".[9]
  • Jim Warren of Linwood, Michigan scratched on March 10 at 12:07 PM in Takotna "based on well being of his remaining young team".[10]
  • Matt Hayashida of Willow, Alaska scratched on March 11 at 7:45 AM in Cripple "based on the well being of his dog team".[11]
  • Veteran Iditarod competitor John Barron of Helmsville, Montana scratched on March 11 at 3:00 PM in Galena "because his team was sick".[12]
  • Dave Tresino scratched on March 11 at 4:30 PM due to "lack of leaders".[13]

Awards

Doug Swingley won the PENAIR Spirit of Alaska Award on March 8 at 00:12 AM for being the first to reach McGrath, on the bank of the Kuskokwim River. He was awarded a "spirit mask" by artist Orville Lind and USD $500 in credit to cover travel or freight shipments at the checkpoint by PENAIR's Chief Operating Officer, Danny Seybert.[14]

Doug Swingley also won the CGI Dorothy Page Halfway Award on March 9 at 00:09 AM for being the first to reach Cripple, which is officially designated as the halfway point on even years when the northern route is run. He was awarded USD $3,000 in gold nuggets at the checkpoint by CGI Logisitics' Rick Westbrook.[15]

Paul Gebardt won the Millennium Alaskan Hotel's First to the Yukon Award on March 10 at 12:05 AM for being the first to reach Ruby, on the bank of the Yukon River. He was awarded USD $3,500 in one-dollar bills at the checkpoint and had a gourmet seven-course meal prepared on a camp stove by Millennium Alaskan Hotel's Executive Chec Stephen England and Food and Beverage Director Brooke McGrath. The "Yukon Fox" Emmitt Peters, 1975 winner of the Iditarod and Ruby native, participated.[16]

Jeff King won the Wells Fargo Gold Coast Award on March 12 at 12:26 PM for being the first to reach Unalakleet, an Inuit community on the Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. He was awarded the Gold Coast trophy and USD $2,500 in gold at the checkpoint by Wells Fargo' Community Banking President for Nome and Kotzebue, Jennifer Imus.[17]

The awards will be presented again to the winners during the Awards Banquet at the Nome Recreation Center on March 19.[15]

Canine fatalities

More than 1,000 dogs compete in the Iditarod every year, and an average or one or two die every year. A necropsy by a board certified veterinary pathologist is conducted after every fatality to determine the cause of death.

  • Yellowknife, a 4 year old male from Noah Burmeister's team, died on March 9 at 6:00 AM. Yellowknife was initially dropped at Rohn on March 7, and provided medical care in Anchorage.[18] The preliminary necroposy indicated pneumonia as the cause of death, and further tests are being performed.[19]
  • Bear, a 3 year old male from David Sawatzsky's team, died on March 11 between Cripple and Ruby.[20] No The gross necroposy found no abnormalities, but additional tests are pending.[21]
  • Cupid, a 4 year old female from Jim Lanier's team, died on March 12 between Galena and Nulato.[22] The gross necropsy found regurgitation and aspiration were the likely cause of death, and secondarily gastric ulcers. Additional tests are pending.[23]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Little, March 4, 2006 (2). Cite error: The named reference "Cabela's01" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Checkpoint summary, 2006. From respective summary.
  3. ^ St. George, March 6, 2006, Paulsen.
  4. ^ St. George, March 6, 2006, Townsend.
  5. ^ St. George, March 7, 2006.
  6. ^ St. George, March 8, 2006, Morgan.
  7. ^ St. George, March 10, 2006, Adkins.
  8. ^ St. George, March 10, 2006, Larson.
  9. ^ St. George, March 10, 2006, Hum.
  10. ^ St. George, March 10, 2006, Warren.
  11. ^ St. George, March 11, 2006, Hayashida.
  12. ^ St. George, March 11, 2006, Barron.
  13. ^ St. George, March 11, 2006, Tresino.
  14. ^ St. George, March 8, 2006, Swingley.
  15. ^ a b St. George, March 9, 2006.
  16. ^ Gephart first to reach Ruby, 2006.
  17. ^ St. George, March 12, 2006.
  18. ^ Nordman, March 9 (1).
  19. ^ Nordman, March 9 (2).
  20. ^ Nordman, March 11.
  21. ^ Nordman, March 13 (1).
  22. ^ Nordman, March 12.
  23. ^ Nordman, March 13 (2).

References

  • Gephardt first to reach Ruby: Receives "Millennium Alaskan Hotel First to the Yukon Award". (March 10, 2006). Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved on March 12, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
  • Little, Jon. (March 4, 2006). A no-brainer for Iditarod fantasy leaguers: Andersen is the team to beat. Retrieved from Cabela's Iditarod 2006 Race Coverage on March 13, 2006. [1]
    • —. (March 4, 2006). Sun shines as teams launch into Iditarod 34. Retrieved from Cabela's Iditarod 2006 Race Coverage on March 13, 2006. [2]
  • Nordman, Mark. (March 9, 2006). Iditarod XXXIV advisory. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved on March 12, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
    • —. (March 9, 2006). Iditarod XXXIV advisory. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved on March 12, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
    • —. (March 11, 2006). Iditarod XXXIV advistory. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved on March 12, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
    • —. (March 12, 2006). Iditarod XXXIV advisory. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved March 13, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
    • —. (March 13, 2006). Iditarod XXXIV advisory. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved March 13, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
    • —. (March 13, 2006). Iditarod XXXIV advisory. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved March 13, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
  • St. George, Chas. (March 6, 2006). Paulsen scratches in Skwentna. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved on March 12, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
    • —. (March 6, 2006). Townsend scratches in Skwentna. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved on March 12, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
    • —. (March 7, 2006). McKee scratches in Skwentna. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved on March 12, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
    • —. (March 8, 2006). Morgan scratches in Rainy Pass. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved on March 12, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
    • —. (March 8, 2006). Swingley wins PENAIR Spirit of Alaska Award. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved on March 12, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
    • —. (March 9, 2006). Swingley is first to reach Cripple and a pot of gold nuggets. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved on March 12, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
    • —. (March 10, 2006). Adkins scratches in Takotna. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved on March 12, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
    • —. (March 10, 2006). Hum scratches in McGrath. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved on March 12, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
    • —. (March 10, 2006). Larson scratches in McGrath. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved on March 12, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
    • —. (March 10, 2006). Warren scratches in Takotna Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved on March 12, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
    • —. (March 11, 2006). Barron scratches in Galena. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved on March 12, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
    • —. (March 11, 2006). Hayashida scratches in Cripple Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved on March 12, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
    • —. (March 11, 2006). Tresino scratches in Cripple. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved on March 12, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).
    • —. (March 12, 2006). First to Unalakleet. Tresino scratches in Cripple. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Anchorage, Alaska. Retrieved on March 13, 2006 from Official Site of the Iditarod, For Press (pdf of press release).

Musher home pages

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