Iditarod

An Iditarod Air Force plane crashed Tuesday afternoon during a takeoff from the race's checkpoint in the town of Iditarod, with Alaska State Troopers reporting that both the pilot and her passenger were uninjured. According to a Wednesday AST dispatch, Aniak-based Alaska Wildlife Troopers landing in Iditarod at about 3:45 p.m. Tuesday noticed a Cessna 185 on its back near a ski strip at the race checkpoint. Troopers learned that the IAF plane's pilot, 57-year-old Chugiak woman Diane Moroney, had left the scene of the crash before they arrived.

Iditarod XXXVIII Musher Listing

The majority of the Iditarod teams are out of Rohn on Tuesday morning and approaching Nikolai with musher Aliy Zirkle leading the pack. Zirkle was the first out of Rohn around 7:26 p.m. on Monday evening. As of 9 a.m. Tuesday, GPS tracking showed last year's champ John Baker trailing in second place, followed by four-time champ Lance Mackey in the top three. Hugh Neff and Ray Redington Jr. round off the top five leaderboard. There are sixty-six teams competing in this year's race from Anchorage to Nome and it covers over 975 miles.

Lance Mackey joins elite company of repeat Iditarod champions by Channel 2 News staff Wednesday, March 12, 2008 NOME, Alaska -- Lance Mackey has pulled a feat some thought impossible even two days ago. He has defied the odds and pushed his dog team more than 1,000 miles to win the 36th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race after winning the 1,000-mile-plus Yukon Quest race. And it's the second year in a row he's won both races back-to-back.

Thousands of people flocked to downtown Anchorage on Saturday, to watch the ceremonial start of the Iditarod. While it is a major event for Alaskans, it also draws international attention. Iditarod officials say that there is usually about 5,000 people who watch the ceremonial start in Anchorage (though they estimate there were more than that this year) and about a third of them are from out of the country. Glen and Alison George made the trip to Alaska from Nelson, New Zealand to watch the Iditarod.

by The Associated Press Friday, March 20, 2009 NOME, Alaska -- Mushers are straggling into Nome in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race . As of Friday, 25 mushers had crossed the finish line, two days after Lance Mackey won this third consecutive title. There are still 30 mushers on the trail. Twelve others have either scratched or been withdrawn from the 1,100-mile race , which started March 8 in Willow. Four dogs died in this year's race, the latest on Thursday when a 5-year-old male named Maynard in the team of Canadian musher Warren Palfrey died about an hour outside of Nome.

by The Associated Press Tuesday, March 10, 2009 FINGER LAKE, Alaska -- The first musher has scratched from this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Race officials say 62-yar-old Bob Hickel of Anchorage scratched Tuesday morning at the Finger Lake checkpoint. Officials say he made the determination in the best interest of his team. He had 16 dogs on the team when he scratched this morning.

by Channel 2 News staff Tuesday, March 2, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- In a poll conducted by Channel 2 News, respondents were asked if the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race should continue to hold a ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage. Here is the official question and results of the 454 people who voted. Should the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race continue to hold a ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage? Yes 79 % No  21 % All polls conducted by Channel 2 News and KTUU.

by Channel 2 News staff Thursday, March 11, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Rookie Justin Savidis lost one of his dogs, Whitey, between Nikolai and McGrath in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race . Savidis continued on to McGrath where he alerted race officials on Wednesday. The 3-year-old male has been sighted a number of times. Savidis is taking his 24-hour layover in McGrath in hopes Whitey will be returned. Iditarod rules prohibit mushers from advancing without the same team that left the previous checkpoint.

Animal activists have welcomed reforms made by the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, in the aftermath of a dropped dog death, and have issued an apology to the musher it accused of leaving the dropped dog unattended. On March 11, Fairbanks-based musher Paige Dronby dropped Dorado, a five-year-old male, at the Unalakleet checkpoint. Dorado and other dogs at the checkpoint were under supervision but a snowstorm caused Dorado to be covered by snow. It was determined that the dog died of asphyxiation.

The Iditarod Trail Committee released the results of its investigation Tuesday into the death of a sled dog named Dorado, promising changes after it suffocated under snow at the Unalakleet checkpoint Friday morning. According to a statement from Iditarod spokesperson Erin McLarnon, the race's system for returning dropped dogs to Anchorage involves collecting them at regional hubs like Unalakleet, then flying them to Anchorage. In Dorado's case, the dog was dropped Mar. 11 in Unalakleet by musher Paige Drobny.

The Iditarod Trail Committee says it wants to put dogs on flights back to Anchorage within 24 hours of being dropped from the race. The ITC says avoiding another dog death during the Iditarod is a top priority. “It's one of those things I never want to see happen again,” Race Marshal Mark Nordman said. “We're addressing conditions to make sure our system doesn't let this happen again.” Last week, Dorado, a five-year-old male from the team of Paige Drobny, died of “asphyxiation as the result of being buried by snow in severe wind conditions,” according to ITC. Nordman says several dogs in Unalakleet had been moved inside a hanger with straw, during the storm, others, like Dorado, were left outside in an area people thought was safe from the wind.

The Iditarod XLI Trail Sled Dog Race finished on Sunday, March 17 with the last remaining teams checking into Nome with rookie Christine Roalofs capturing the Red Lantern award. Mitch Seavey, this year's winner, pulled into the burled arch on Tuesday night, winning his second championship, in 9 days, 7 hours, 39 minutes, and 56 seconds. Roalofs, of Anchorage, checked into Safety Sunday morning. She made it to Nome in 13 days, 22 hours, 36 minutes, and 8 seconds, crossing the finish line at 1:36 p.m. Roalofs marks the 54th team to complete the nearly 1,000 mile journey from Willow to Nome.

Necropsy results of a dropped Iditarod sled dog found in snowdrift in Unalakleet show the dog died after being smothered by weather conditions. Dorado, a five-year-old male from the team of Paige Drobny, died of “asphyxiation as the result of being buried by snow in severe wind conditions,” according to Iditarod Race Marshal Mark Nordman. A board certified veterinary pathologist conducted the procedure. Histopathology studies, which examines tissue cells, will also be conducted to complete the necropsy.

With nearly all of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race's mushers across the finish line in Nome, officials are trying to understand how the race's first dog death since 2009 happened early Friday. According to race standings as of 5:30 p.m. Friday, only nine mushers of the 65 who left Wasilla at the race's restart are still on the trail. A total of 45 teams are in Nome, the latest arrival being Mike Williams Sr. at 3:35 p.m. Friday with nine dogs. Meanwhile, Iditarod officials say a cause hasn't been determined for the Unalakleet death Friday morning of Dorado, a dog dropped at the checkpoint Monday by musher Paige Drobny.

An Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race dog died in Unalakleet early Friday morning in what its race marshal called “an incident caused by high winds and drifting snow,” four days after it was dropped from a musher's team. In an email to Iditarod staff, Race Marshal Mark Nordman says Dorado was dropped from Fairbanks musher Paige Drobny's team. Drobny reached Nome at 9:15 a.m. Thursday, finishing in 34th place with 10 dogs on her team. “An otherwise healthy dog, (Dorado) was dropped in Unalakleet on Monday, March 11, and was waiting to be transported back to Anchorage,” Nordman wrote in an email to Iditarod staff.

More than two-thirds of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race's field has reached Nome as of Thursday night -- but one sled dog's 300-mile journey to safety is also drawing a healthy amount of attention. Race standings list Aaron Peck as the latest musher to arrive at the Burled Arch, claiming 41st place with a 5:09 p.m. arrival Thursday. An additional 13 mushers remain on the trail, with Bob Chlupach bringing up the rear after checking in to Shaktoolik at 5:25 p.m. Iditarod spokesperson Erin McLarnon says the race's happiest ending could be that of May, a sled dog with Jamaican musher Newton Marshall's team that got separated from his sled en route to Nikolai.

Mitch Seavey has captured another championship in the Iditarod XLI Trail Sled Dog Race , covering nearly 1,000 miles from Willow to the burled arch in Nome, after an intense showdown with last year's runner-up. The 53-year-old Seavey, of Seward, checked in first around 10:39 p.m. Tuesday, marking his second victory. Seavey and his 10 dogs crossed the finish line on Front Street ahead of contender Aliy Zirkle. The showdown began Tuesday within the last 77 miles at White Mountain where the race boiled down to under 15 minutes between Seavey and Zirkle, however that gap expanded at the last checkpoint in Safety.

Less than a day after Mitch Seavey won the 2013 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, nearly two dozen mushers have made it to Nome -- but there are still a few slots left to end the race in the money. Seavey's Tuesday night repeat of his 2004 victory won him a new pickup truck and $50,400 from the Iditarod's $600,000 prize pool, with the remainder being divided among runner-up Aliy Zirkle and the rest of the race's top 30 mushers. As of about 3:20 p.m. Wednesday, race standings show 22 mushers across the finish line, with four-time champions Jeff King, Martin Buser and Lance Mackey taking third, 17th and 19th place respectively.