Sled

by Megan Baldino Saturday, March 1, 2008 ANCHORAGE, Alaska - For the first time ever at the ceremonial start of the Iditarod a couple got married. Kirsten Burmeister and Petty Officer 1st Class Pat Norbert tied the knot just before the race got started. Burmeister is from a big mushing family. Her two brothers and dad have all run the race. Her dad is the president of the board as well. Kirsten said Saturday's nuptials seemed just right. "There's a lot of history in my family and Iditarod," Burmeister said.

by Mike Ross Wednesday, March 4, 2009 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Some rescued huskies are giving Fur Rondy fans a big thrill. For a small donation, you can ride a real a dog sled, pulled by dogs saved by a non-profit group called "All American Husky Rescue. " Greg Fritz started the effort nine years ago to save husky mix-breed dogs from shelters in Palmer and Anchorage. He says the sled rides help him promote responsible pet ownership, as well as giving Alaskans a fun time.

by Kevin Wells Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2008 BIG LAKE, Alaska -- The 2008 Iditarod will have a lot of symmetry for the Buser family. While 4-time champion Martin Buser is preparing for his 25th running, his son, Rohn, is getting ready for his first. He has a lifetime's worth of experience watching the Last Great Race. Next week, 18-year-old Rohn Buser, named after an Iditarod checkpoint, will once again pass through Rohn, Alaska. This time it will be on the back of his own dog sled.

Salcha sled dog star Arleigh Reynolds is in the lead after one day of action in the 2011 Fur Rendezvous World Championship Sled Dog Race.  Reynolds and his team sprinted around the 25 mile track in 1:31:45, edging five time champion and winner of the last four consecutive Rondy races Blayne Streeper by eight seconds.  Egil Ellis, who has four Fur Rendezvous crowns to his credit, is a full minute and twenty-two seconds back of Reynolds in third.  With temperatures in the 30’s as the first teams hit the trail, it was not ideal conditions for fast times.

by Kevin Wells Thursday, March 12, 2009 TAKOTNA, Alaska -- One of the Iditarod's most promising young mushers is out of the race. Bjornar Andersen , the 31-year-old representing team Norway, scratched Thursday in Takotna . Andersen says he injured himself between Rohn and Nikolai when he fell off his sled, got dragged by his team, and slammed his upper body into a rock. He fought through the pain and elected to take his layover in Takotna, hoping his health would get better, but his condition did not improve.

by Channel 2 News staff Thursday, February 25, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The field has left Nome in the world's longest snowmachine race. The duo of Tyler Huntington and Chris Olds have a lead of nearly three hours over Steven Spence and Doug Dixon at Unalakleet. The top 11 teams are laying over there; the rest of the Top 5 are: Helwig and Quam, just three minutes behind No. 2; Wilkes and Cherrier and Miller and Miller, all in within about a half-hour of Spence and Dixon.

by Kevin Wells Wednesday, March 17, 2010 NOME, Alaska -- The winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race crossed the finish line Tuesday, but for many the race is not quite over. Lance Mackey may have won The Last Great Race, but several mushers within the Top 10 can hold their heads high after some of the best finishes of their careers. Mackey and Hans Gatt are not the only mushers to thrive in consecutive 1,000-mile races. One month after finishing fifth in the Yukon Quest, Ken Anderson equaled his Iditarod-high in fourth.

(3:08 p.m.) Team 8 - Aklestad/Johnson has returned to Puntilla to work on a sled. -------------------------------------- (2:49) Team 7 - Davis/Davis is in and out of Puntilla --------------------------------------- (2:43) Just got the call from Puntilla - Aklestad/Johnson out of Puntilla at 2:24. GPS tracker has them back up and moving again too. McKenna/VanMeter came through Puntilla at 2:12. Palin/Quam came through at 2:20. --------------------------------------- (2:40 p.m.)

An Iditarod musher is fighting to save the life of one of his sled dogs, after it attacked and seriously injured a 2-year-old girl Friday. The incident happened at Apex Kennels, the Big Lake dog yard belonging to musher Jake Berkowitz. According to Alaska State Troopers, the dog attacked the toddler, Elin Shuck, until the girl's mother was able to pull it away. Shuck was taken to Providence Hospital for treatment of injuries to her neck and jugular vein. On Thursday, the Shuck family's attorney declined to comment on the incident.

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.

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.

The Fur Rondy sled dog races will still happen, despite concerns over a lack of snow , according to the Alaska Sled Dog and Racing Association. Officials have monitored the trail conditions and made the decision shortly before 5:30 p.m. Sunday. The races are scheduled to take place the first three days of the ten day festival. Fur Rondy begins February 22nd and runs through March 3rd. Registration for Fur Rondy events is available on their website . This is a developing story.

Bethel is getting ready for the annual running of the Kuskokwim 300 sled dog race. The race starts Friday afternoon, and has attracted 28 mushers. Most are from Alaska, but there's one each from Russia and Norway. Among those in this year's field are defending champion Rohn Buser and eight-time champion Jeff King. The winner is expected in sometime Sunday.  

Ken Chezik of Fife Lake, Michigan, claimed his first ever Fur Rondy sled dog race title Sunday morning. The race consists of three 25 mile sprints over a three day period, with the winner determined by their combined times.  Chezik posted the fastest times on day 1 & 2, giving him a 1:42 lead going into the final day. Chezik finished day 3 with a 92:30 time, the second fastest of the day and enough to secure him the title. Chezik's combined total was 4:30:50.  Second place was Kevin Cook with 4:33:18, and Egil Ellis in third with 4:35:24

Monday's snow day may have kept kids home from school in Anchorage, but it didn't keep everyone indoors. Sledding hills started filling up around noon with children eager to enjoy the several inches that fell early in the morning. “They're super excited about it,” said Arlynn Voigt, who spent the day out at the Service High School hill with her son Jordan and his friends. She called in sick from work to watch over them. “It's a nice break,” she said. The Anchorage School District initially thought kids should go to school Monday.

After a whole lot of slipping and sliding, Channel 2's Ashton Goodell says these are the five most popular sledding hills in Anchorage:   1.      OCEANVIEW PARK: Reef Pl. & Oceanview Dr. 2.      KINCAID PARK: West end of Raspberry Rd. (north side of Outdoor Center) 3.      SERVICE HIGH SCHOOL: Abbot Rd. before Birch Road. (east side of the school) 4.      RUSSIAN JACK PARK: Lidia Selkregg Ln. & Debarr Rd. (next to chalet) 5.      ARCTIC VALLEY: Arctic Valley Rd. (turn at the pull off about 2/3 up the mountain.

Bean’s Café Empty Bowl Project Saturday, March 12, 11a.m. to 2 p.m. Egan Center Choose your own one-of-a-kind pottery bowl made by a local artist, then choose your soup, have some cornbread and sit back to enjoy and be entertained. The bowl is yours to keep. Tickets are just $20, and roceeds go to Bean’s Café to help feed the hungry and homeless. For more information, visit BeansCafe.org. Iditazoo Saturday, March 12, noon to 4 p.m. Anchorage Zoo (on O’Malley Road)