2005 Iditarod Race Coverage--Ultimate Iditarod

Ultimate Iditarod's EXCLUSIVE 2005 Iditarod Coverage

Update 4--No Holds Barred As Mushers Cross Alaska Range
March 7--7:42 PM

Ultimate Iditarod's coverage of the 2005 Iditarod sponsored by:

By Ultimate Iditarod's Jim Gallea

News from the trail
We received a satellite phone call from Ultimate Iditarod's Dan Seavey, who is currently with race leader Robert Sorlie at the Rohn checkpoint.

Robert Sorlie and team are the first to safely navigate the Dazel Gorge in this year's Iditarod. He pulled in front of the single cabin that marks the Rohn checkpoint at 7:38PM (Alaska Time). The steep descent from Rainy Pass (elev. 3,500') follows Dalzel Creek as it flows out of the Alaska Mountain Range. The creek runs through Dalzel Gorge, a narrow, rocky passage known universally to Iditarod Mushers as "the Gorge." In the best of years, the Dalzel is a challenge. The trail zig zags back and forth over the creek in a "Super-G-style" slalom that would be the envy of any Scandanavian luge driver.

According to reports from Ultimate Iditarod's Dan Seavey, the massive snows that blanketed the Gorge were badly torn up by the Iron Dog Snowmobile Race that runs a couple weeks before the Iditarod. Apparently, the trail is very moguled and rough in many places, making the tight turns even more challenging and dangerous. The trail in the Gorge is littered with small boulders frozen into the ice. Zigging when you should be zagging can mean a hard collision for musher, sled, or both.

The approach to Rainy Pass

As an added bonus, the buffalo herds which normally live just west of the mountains have moved into the Gorge to take shelter from the deep and blowing snows covering much of Alaska's Interior. The buffalo pose two problems. First, there are enough obstacles in the Gorge to worry about without the fear of running into a buffalo. Second, the buffalo can put deep holes in the trail when they walk on it. This can mean difficult footing for the dogs. Needless to say, every musher will breathe a sigh of relief when he or she sees the lantern lights in the windows of the Rohn "Roadhouse."

Getting back to the race action, we hear from Dan Seavey that Robert Sorlie's team is running a bit slower than the rest of the frontrunners, but they look very good. Remember that some reporters noted the calm intensity exuded by both Sorlie and his team at the re-start yesterday in Willow. Could the team's pace merely be an energy-saving strategy, or is Robert's team already beginning to slow due to the heavy snows and fast pace of the race?

So far, Sorlie's race strategy has been a bold one. He ran a fairly long run from the re-start to Skwentna, then rested just over 4 1/2 hours before running straight to Rainy Pass earlier today. After a slighty shorter rest stop, Sorlie pressed on to be the first team into Rohn.

Sorlie was not the first team to leave Rainy Pass. In fact, Sorlie left Rainy Pass in fourth place, three hours behind Ramy Brooks, the first team to leave. However, Ultimate Iditarod's Dan Seavey is reporting to us that Ramy Brooks, Cim Smyth (2nd to leave Rainy Pass), Jesse Royer (3rd to leave Rainy Pass), and Paul Gebhardt (left Rainy Pass right behind Sorlie in 5th place) are all camped on the trail somewhere between the Rainy Pass and Rohn checkpoints.

From Dan's observations from the race trail, he is predicting that Rick Swenson and Martin Buser will be the next mushers into Rohn. Brooks, Smyth, Royer, and Gebhardt will all follow once they take an adequate rest on the trail.

Mitch Seavey
Defending Iditarod Champion Mitch Seavey arrived in Rainy Pass in the large pack of frontrunners. Mitch appears to be giving his team a bit of extra rest before tackling the final acsent to Rainy Pass itself. He should be departing Rainy Pass at any time. From a brief conversation at Rainy Pass, Dan Seavey reports that Mitch is in good spirits and doing well. He is, however, considering dropping DooDah, an important lead dog for the last several years. Remember, the rules allow mushers to "drop" dogs from their team and continue with fewer dogs. However, no replacements can be added, and the dropped dogs are immediately returned home, so they can't be added back into the team later. It's hard to send a trusted member of the team home from the trail, but it's usually the best decision for all parties involved.

What's next?
Early on in this year's race, we are seeing a number of different strategies emerging in the lead pack.

Robert Sorlie has run to Rohn in three runs broken up rests of at least four hours. In a style we have seen before, Sorlie is most likely also giving his dogs a few "mini" rest stops during his runs. That may account for some of Sorlie's slower trail times between a few of the checkpoints.

Compare Sorlie's three runs with what appears to be Martin's Buser's four runs to Rohn. Martin's trail times between Skwentna and Finger Lake and then Finger Lake and Rainy Pass both indicate that he stopped for a couple hour's rest on each run. Add to this a two-hour rest taken at Skwentna, and Martin's early race strategy appears to be one of shorter runs separated by shorter rests.

Along with Buser, Rick Swenson is expected in Rohn very soon. Like Sorlie, Swenson has will be arriving at Rohn in three runs. But Swenson's runs were more evenly timed than Sorlie's, and his team has gotten two good rest stops and is still moving well.

So how will the teams proceed? I am guessing that Sorlie will rest for a few hours in Rohn. He rested just under four hours in Rainy Pass after a long run to get there, so his dogs aren't as well rested as some of the teams following him. We all know how tough the Norwegian dogs and mushers are, but this, after all, the very beginning of a long race.

As for Martin Buser, his runs to this point in the race suggest that he will rest a few hours at Rohn and then head out across the Farewell Burn. Or, Buser could decide that it's time to switch his strategy to one with longer runs separated by longer rests. If this happens, he could stop in Rohn only long enough to get supplies and then run for a few more hours before stopping to rest in the Farewell Burn. This has been shown to be a good set-up for continued long runs to a 24-hour layover at either Takotna or Iditarod. Keep in mind that Martin Buser is running the Iditarod less than a week after part of his right middle finger was amputated following a table saw accident.

Rick Swenson will likely arrive into Rohn around the same time as Buser. I would guess that Rick will rest for about at least four if not five or six hours before leaving Rohn. I doubt he will simply pick up supplies and continue on. From Rohn, it's three good runs to Takotna, where many teams like to take their mandatory 24-hour layover because the 70 residents of Takotna put on a feast of enormous proportions. I personally know that Rick Swenson has a "soft spot" for the peanut butter pie at Takotna.

As a final note, there are a lot of mushers who are either resting at Rainy Pass, or on the trail between Rainy Pass and Rohn. Very few if any of these teams will rest at Rohn. Many of these teams are sitting in very good position with well rested teams. This will make it possible for teams to run some longer stretches in a push to their 24 hour layovers at a checkpoint of their choice.

More as we hear it from the trail!

--Jim Gallea