Iditarod winners are...

[NorthernFocus]

In one of the closest ever finishes, Dallas Seavey pulled ahead of Aliy Zirkle to win the 975 mile race by two minutes. Aliy led for nearly half the race and after nearly nine days on the trail came up two minutes short. This was her fourth time to finish in second place. There are still over forty teams on the course, some as far as 300 miles from the finish. The Australian team is in 41st place still 225 mi out and the Jamaican team is two places back in 43rd.

Here's the winning team, Dallas Seavey et al, ten days ago at the ceremonial start. He started with 16 and finished with seven dogs. They are allowed to leave dogs at check points by choice or may be required to do so based on inspection by veterinarians. If a dog gets injured and can't run they ride to the next checkpoint in the sled.





And Aliy and company. She finished with 10 of her starting 16 dogs.



Trevor, a veterinarian/photographer could do double duty next year...

[travis4567]

Great shots Dan.

[IzzieK]

Thanks for the update...Aliy and company? I thought it was a baby at the back of the packed dogs...

[Shadowman]

Nice.

[bnnrcn]

Very nice Dan

[Manfred M]

Nice shots Dan. The lighting looks interesting.

[tbob]

Trevor, a veterinarian/photographer could do double duty next year...

Once I retire it would definitely be on the list. Would have to check into the licencing (to see if you have to be accredited in Alaska). I know the Yukon Quest is always looking for more volunteers.

[Brownbear]

It's always a pleasure to view images of the beautiful place you live in. All nice, but I especially love the first image for the gorgeous light and story (excitement of the race), and also because the lead dog is looking right at us.

[FrankMi]

I had a chance to meet Libby Riddles. In 1985 she was the first female to win the Iditarod. She come onboard our Alaskan Cruise to put on a presentation about what it took to race with a dog sled team. A very fascinating character with an even more fascinating background.

[Mike Buckley]

Really interesting, Dan! Thanks for sharing!

[Downrigger]

Thanks for these - have always been a fan. A lot is done now to be sure the dogs get a fair deal/stay healthy. Wish it got more coverage "down here".

[NorthernFocus]

Glad you guys enjoyed the photos. Obviously Iditarod is the biggest sporting event in AK. It doesn't compare nowadays with the way it used to be. The mushers don't have to camp out in the bush along the way any more. There are over a dozen checkpoints new where they can stop for a few minutes rest, feed the dogs, fix gear, etc. They're required to make one 24 hour stop and one 8 hour stop at whichever checkpoint they choose to do so. The " Iditarod Airforce" is a whole fleet of private planes/pilots that provide the logistics to get all of the necessary people in/out of the remote villages where the checkpoints are set up. They also fly out any dogs that the mushers have to leave at the checkpoints due to injury etc.

There have been quite a few females who have won in recent years. Many of the people that get involved in mushing nowadays are highly educated, professional people who love dogs and get hooked on the sport. There's not enough prize money involved to justify it, that's for sure. Most of the mushers involved have some level of sponsorship from local businesses, dog food companies, etc. Most of them have kennels of anywhere from 30 to 100 dogs in order to field a team of 16 for the race. That's a lot of kibble needed every day.

[IzzieK]

Very interesting info, Dan...

[dje]

Good shots Dan, very interesting.

The Australian team is in 41st place still 225 mi out ..

I think we should stick to cricket

Dave