March 8, 2008

• Iditarod Day “8″

  Ninety-five teams started leaving the chute in Willow at one- or two-minute intervals at 2 PM Sunday, so sometime this afternoon they will all have been on the trail for a week.  Six mushers have scratched, and one, Kim Franklin, was withdrawn by officials for inability to keep up a reasonable pace.  Deborah Bicknell, in last (89th) position, has now been in Takotna for about 27 hours, and could be the next one withdrawn if she doesn’t get a move on. [Update:  Deborah Bicknell left Takotna at 7:47 AM, last of this year's teams to complete the 24 hour layover.]

  Only seven of the front 25 have not completed both mandatory rests as of 7:53 AM Saturday.

  The first dog death of this year’s Iditarod occurred at 1:20 AM today.  Zaster, a 7 year old male from John Stetson’s team, had been dropped at Ophir at 2 AM Friday, and flown to Anchorage where he was being treated for apparent pneumonia symptoms.   A necropsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.

  Defending Champion Lance Mackey and his team of fourteen dogs were first into the Yukon River checkpoint of Ruby yesterday morning about 7:30.  For being first to the Yukon, Mackey received a six-course sit-down meal prepared by a chef flown out from Anchorage and served on real china, plus $5,000 cash.  He said, “I’m still unsure what to do with this money. I’ve considered buying a sit-down sled. My feet are so beat up. I’m leaning over the handlebars doing everything I can to take the pressure off my feet.” (adn.com)

  Eight hours later, still in first position and first to have completed both the mandatory 24 hour layover and the mandatory 8 hour rest on the Yukon, he was back on the trail (below, leaving Ruby, photo from ADN).

  

  Jeff King was two and a half hours behind Lance Mackey into Ruby (photo below), two and a half hours behind him leaving Ruby, two hours behind him into Galena around midnight today, and five hours and nine minutes behind Lance leaving Galena this morning with his entire team of sixteen dogs, whom he described as tired but healthy.

  

  Jeff wants very much to make this his fifth Iditarod championship.  He has been issuing verbal challenges to Lance and bantering with him since the musher meeting last month when they drew starting positions.  In Ruby, Jeff asked Lance in passing, “Worried yet?”  Later, Lance walked up to him and said, “I can’t worry, Jeff.”

  

  In Galena this morning are Paul Gebhardt with 13 dogs, Ed Iten with 16,  Kjetil Backen and 14, Mitch Seavey (shown above entering Ruby Friday) with 11, and Hans Gatt with 12 dogs.  Gebhardt and Iten are apparently taking their mandatory 8 hour rests there, and the others have already completed theirs.

  All photos in this entry are from ADN or the Fairbanks News-Miner.

  

  Above, Kjetil Backen of Team Norway smiles at a sign placed at the approach to Ruby by a fan of his countrywoman Sigrid Ekran, who was Rookie of the Year in 2007.  Ekran is now in fourteenth position out of Ruby with 13 dogs, two positions behind DeeDee Jonrowe with 14 and one position ahead of Martin Buser with 14.

  William Kleedehn and Rohn Buser are currently the front-running rookies.  Both left Ruby this morning.  Kleedehn pulled out of Ruby in 20th position with twelve dogs, 36 minutes ahead of Rohn Buser in 22nd position with eleven dogs.  Rohn has completed both of his mandatory rests, and Kleedehn still has to do his 8 hour layover on the Yukon, so in actuality, Rohn Buser is about seven and a half hours ahead of Kleedehn.

  Since today is International Women’s Day, I’ll tell you how some of the other women in the Iditarod are doing currently.

  Liz Parrish left Takotna in 88th position with all sixteen of her starting team, an hour and a half ahead of Deborah Bicknell.  Rookie Sue Morgan is in Ophir in 80th position with 13 dogs.  Rookie Anne Capistrant is out of Ophir in 78th with 13.  Sue Allen is a couple of minutes ahead of her with fourteen of the Buser’s puppies that she’s training this year.

  Heather Siirtola is out of Ophir in 75th position with 10 dogs.  Rachael Scdoris is out of Ophir in 73rd with 13 dogs.  Laura Daugerau in 68th, is out of Ophir with 14.  Karen Ramstead is in Cripple with 14 dogs, in 58th position.  Rookie Zoya Denure is out of Cripple in 67th with 14 dogs.  Kelley Griffin is in 54th out of Cripple with 14 dogs.  Rookie Jennifer Freking, in 51st position, running this year’s Iditarod with her husband Blake (in 52nd with 11 dogs) is out of Cripple with 14.

  Cindy Gallea dropped a dog in Cripple and is now down to 12, in 40th position.  Rookie Molly Yazwinsky left Cripple an hour and forty minutes ahead of her, with 13 dogs.  Rookie Melissa Owens, a former Junior Iditarod champion and the youngest musher ever to enter the Iditarod, is in Ruby in 29th position with eleven dogs.  Silvia Willis is out of Ruby with fourteen in 25th.  Aliy Zirkle, a former Yukon Quest champion, is in 23rd position.  She dropped a dog in Ruby and is down to 12.

  Jessie Royer dropped a dog in Ruby leaving with 13 after midnight in eleventh position, forty-five minutes ahead of DeeDee Jonrowe.  If I missed any women here, it was an inadvertent omission.

  

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