mountaincuse
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Doesn't look like fun there
OT- 2013 Iditarod
- Thread starter CuseTroop
- Start date
CuseTroop
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They break a trail to a point. It's pretty much the same trail they run a snow machine race on, but I'm sure that's blown over by now. They have a trail breaker, Idk if its a guy on a snow machine, or a guy with a dog team. The trail is marked with tripods, but teams use GPS to get around. Rudy is the only one that isn't using a GPS this year. Even tho he hasn't ran in 27 years, he still has it all in his head. Same thing on our Yukon river boat trip. Brought a GPS, never used it. Guy is amazing
kuethstheman
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This is like totally frickin' awesome. I can't believe people actually do this!
Go Rudy!Keep the faith!
After listening to our CEO talk about what it was like to see the start and some later action, watching the Iditarod in person is now on my bucket list!
Go Rudy!Keep the faith!
After listening to our CEO talk about what it was like to see the start and some later action, watching the Iditarod in person is now on my bucket list!
CuseTroop
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You make it up here, you always have a place to stay
kuethstheman
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Awesome!
CuseTroop
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Sorry I havent kept you guys in the loop this weekend. It was kind of a crazy weekend, that involved snow machines and a search and rescue lol. Rudy has passed 5 check points since he was in Iditarod Friday. He caught the twins, and is now an hour and a half ahead of them. He did his 8 hour lay over in Anvik. I was hoping he would call from there, but he didnt. I'll call his son later today to get the scoop. I havent looked at any articles, or compared any times yet. I'm still out of it from the trip. give me a few hours.
cto
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When is the race expected to end?
CuseTroop
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Might have to turn the volume up a bit. I recorded this with my phone from the computer. Iditarod.com makes you pay to watch their videos. Depending how busy I am today, I might go back and record a few other interviews they had with him, and a couple cool videos of the race and other mushers.
CuseTroop
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We are expecting the winner to cross sometime late tonight. We picked a great year to start following the race, as its looking like we are in for one heck of a finish. Mitch Seavey (10 dogs) pulled into White Mountain at 5:11 this morning. Aliy Zirkle (10 dogs) was just 13 minutes behind him! (She won the Yukon Quest a few years ago, and her husband won it this year, making them the only married couple to win the race). There is a mandatory 8 hour layover at white mountain. This really helps the dogs out, the mushers are going to run them hard for the last 60 miles or so, and the 8 hours gives those pups a good rest. It will be interesting to see if they both leave White Mountain on time, every minute is going to count with these two.
Rudy is about 260 miles from the finish line I believe, down to 9 dogs, but as he says in the interview, 9 good dogs. I figure he will pull into Nome around Thursday!! We messed around with the idea of chartering a plane to Nome to be there when he pulls in, but to many people couldnt get off work to make it possible.
I have some emails to answer, and a little work to do. I'll be back in a bit, hopefully with some neat pictures.
Rudy is about 260 miles from the finish line I believe, down to 9 dogs, but as he says in the interview, 9 good dogs. I figure he will pull into Nome around Thursday!! We messed around with the idea of chartering a plane to Nome to be there when he pulls in, but to many people couldnt get off work to make it possible.
I have some emails to answer, and a little work to do. I'll be back in a bit, hopefully with some neat pictures.
CuseTroop
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Here is a little video explaining the 7 course meal that the winner of the "first musher to the yukon" award. Lance Mackey won it this year. I like when they explain if the first musher has another musher on his tail, he might not have time to eat... Tell you what, after a week on the trail, i dont care who is behind me, I'm eating that meal haha. Lance had enough time to eat, as he took his 8 hour layover in Anvik
CuseTroop
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"Veteran Iditarod musher Rudy Demoski, Sr. (Bib# 39) of Wasilla, Alaska scratched at Unalakleet at 10:20. Demoski made the decision to scratch out of concern for his team. He had 9 dogs in his team."
Well, he made it 700 miles.. Alot of people didnt think he would make it near that far. Just glad he's safe, and I hope he had a good time.
Well, he made it 700 miles.. Alot of people didnt think he would make it near that far. Just glad he's safe, and I hope he had a good time.
CuseFaninVT
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Reading that was like a punch in the gut. Sorry to hear he scratched. Can't believe how invested I got in that. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to hear his stories as told by you!
CuseTroop
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Yea, it deff was a punch in the gut. I was refreshing the Iditarod page trying to see if he had left yet. The twins had left around 8am my time, rudy should have been right behind them. Page loaded, and there it was. Ugh he was so close.
You cant run with less then 7 dogs.. Rudy had 9 and must have been worried about a few more. That interview I posted tho, he sounded pretty happy with the 9 dogs he had. Idk. Hopefully they will fly him back to the start, and he will give me a call.
CuseTroop
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The leaders are off! Aliy is in chase mode, i dont think its IF she will pass Mitch, but WHEN. and, can she hang on? Its 10 hours to Nome, One checkpoint in between. Dogs are going to have to be fed maybe twice. Its gonna be a good one folks
CuseTroop
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From Joe Runyan:
Here’s what I saw on the ice with departures of front runners Mitch Seavey and Aliy Zirkle. The two are basically in a dead heat with Aliy definitely having the momentum— as her team demonstrated more strength last night. Mitch was determined, brought his dogs to the line and waited for race Judge Thomas Tett to let him go at 1:11PM.
Mitch’s dogs started out uneventfully with his super leader Tanner in single lead, but they were tentative. Like a freight train, the process is gradual as the dogs gradually warm up and reach full speed.
14 minutes later Aliy, who by nature demonstrates more emotions than Mitch, was howling to her dogs at the start position. This greatly amused the crowd of onlookers. Her huskies responded with a howl and to subjectively thinking bystanders, looked more animated than Mitch and his team. Aliys dogs were all in white windbreaker blankets, though the sun was brilliant and temperatures probably around 20F.
As Mitch and team almost disappeared, a small barely discernible dot on the bend of Fish River, Aliy was allowed to pull the hook. Her dogs trotted of smartly—a word that should give you the idea they were feeling well after 8hours of rest and dinner. To bystanders, particularly her big group of fans, she and team appeared to have more strength out of the chute.
From my view—just my opinion—Aliy’s faster run into White Mountain last night, and the general appearance of her team, indicates she has the momentum. In hindsight, it appeared she fell behind on the Yukon, but her decision to rest her dogs when the rest of the pack was moving forward, might have been a key move by her. The mantra is “never exceed the parameters “ of performance. Work you and your team too hard, and the irony of it is you won’t have the zip for the next run. The art of winning with the fastest speed is running the fine line of work effort and the ability to recover.
Here’s what I saw on the ice with departures of front runners Mitch Seavey and Aliy Zirkle. The two are basically in a dead heat with Aliy definitely having the momentum— as her team demonstrated more strength last night. Mitch was determined, brought his dogs to the line and waited for race Judge Thomas Tett to let him go at 1:11PM.
Mitch’s dogs started out uneventfully with his super leader Tanner in single lead, but they were tentative. Like a freight train, the process is gradual as the dogs gradually warm up and reach full speed.
14 minutes later Aliy, who by nature demonstrates more emotions than Mitch, was howling to her dogs at the start position. This greatly amused the crowd of onlookers. Her huskies responded with a howl and to subjectively thinking bystanders, looked more animated than Mitch and his team. Aliys dogs were all in white windbreaker blankets, though the sun was brilliant and temperatures probably around 20F.
As Mitch and team almost disappeared, a small barely discernible dot on the bend of Fish River, Aliy was allowed to pull the hook. Her dogs trotted of smartly—a word that should give you the idea they were feeling well after 8hours of rest and dinner. To bystanders, particularly her big group of fans, she and team appeared to have more strength out of the chute.
From my view—just my opinion—Aliy’s faster run into White Mountain last night, and the general appearance of her team, indicates she has the momentum. In hindsight, it appeared she fell behind on the Yukon, but her decision to rest her dogs when the rest of the pack was moving forward, might have been a key move by her. The mantra is “never exceed the parameters “ of performance. Work you and your team too hard, and the irony of it is you won’t have the zip for the next run. The art of winning with the fastest speed is running the fine line of work effort and the ability to recover.
CuseTroop
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More from Joe Runyan:
With a clear sky, the sun is intense at 2PM. We can imagine Mitch and Aliy paring down the layers as they labor up the long climb on Topkok. Dallas Seavey, who is a musher that runs, told me that running and standing on the runners with one leg and skating with the other never replaces a dog in the team but “I can see on the gps that you might get an extra .2 miles an hour (two tenths).”
Since the run is going to be about 10 hours, the strategy has to be slow and steady wins the race. With a dog team its definitely easier to catch the one if front, then leave somebody behind, given the dogs natural inclination to follow a scent trail. I figure that Mitch knows aliy will probably catch her so he’s not going to be doing much talking to his dogs. RAther, he just wants to ease them into the run. If Aliy catches a ride behind him, he still controls the front and he has a really hard headed leader in Tanner.
Aliy, on the other hand wants to draft off of Seavey as soon as possible. She could tag him all the way to Nome but the danger is she might not be able to pass him in “no man’s zone” outside of Nome. i dont know exactly how they have it set up this year, so i am going to have to research the no man’s zone as soon as I land in Nome.
Before that critical couple of miles before Nome, however, Aliy can approach seavey and request the trail. SEavey, by sled dog convention etiquette and the rules, must relinquish the trail to the overcoming team. I she does that, Seavey coulod draft off of her. I’ll bet aliy wants to pass, and hope she can pull away from him.
More, as we view the teams from the air in ten minutes.
With a clear sky, the sun is intense at 2PM. We can imagine Mitch and Aliy paring down the layers as they labor up the long climb on Topkok. Dallas Seavey, who is a musher that runs, told me that running and standing on the runners with one leg and skating with the other never replaces a dog in the team but “I can see on the gps that you might get an extra .2 miles an hour (two tenths).”
Since the run is going to be about 10 hours, the strategy has to be slow and steady wins the race. With a dog team its definitely easier to catch the one if front, then leave somebody behind, given the dogs natural inclination to follow a scent trail. I figure that Mitch knows aliy will probably catch her so he’s not going to be doing much talking to his dogs. RAther, he just wants to ease them into the run. If Aliy catches a ride behind him, he still controls the front and he has a really hard headed leader in Tanner.
Aliy, on the other hand wants to draft off of Seavey as soon as possible. She could tag him all the way to Nome but the danger is she might not be able to pass him in “no man’s zone” outside of Nome. i dont know exactly how they have it set up this year, so i am going to have to research the no man’s zone as soon as I land in Nome.
Before that critical couple of miles before Nome, however, Aliy can approach seavey and request the trail. SEavey, by sled dog convention etiquette and the rules, must relinquish the trail to the overcoming team. I she does that, Seavey coulod draft off of her. I’ll bet aliy wants to pass, and hope she can pull away from him.
More, as we view the teams from the air in ten minutes.
CuseTroop
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1 Mitch Seavey
Bib 36 IN TO Nome
AT 03-12 22:39
2 Aliy Zirkle
Bib 27 IN TO Nome
AT 03-12 23:03
3 Jeff King
Bib 18 IN TO Nome
AT 03-13 00:21
4 Dallas Seavey
Bib 19 IN TO Nome
AT 03-13 01:20
5 Ray Redington Jr
Bib 52 IN TO Nome
AT 03-13 02:04
There is your top five finishers. Aliy just didnt have the juice to make up those 16 minutes.
It was a hell of a week and a half. I learned so much about this race, and will follow it every year now. Hope you guys enjoyed the posts, I'll see if I can find some more pictures today. Whenever I meet up with Rudy (there is a huge party in Nome, I'm sure he is partaking) I'll post some of his stories, I'm sure he has some great ones.
Alright, We have a game to win, LGO!
Bib 36 IN TO Nome
AT 03-12 22:39
2 Aliy Zirkle
Bib 27 IN TO Nome
AT 03-12 23:03
3 Jeff King
Bib 18 IN TO Nome
AT 03-13 00:21
4 Dallas Seavey
Bib 19 IN TO Nome
AT 03-13 01:20
5 Ray Redington Jr
Bib 52 IN TO Nome
AT 03-13 02:04
There is your top five finishers. Aliy just didnt have the juice to make up those 16 minutes.
It was a hell of a week and a half. I learned so much about this race, and will follow it every year now. Hope you guys enjoyed the posts, I'll see if I can find some more pictures today. Whenever I meet up with Rudy (there is a huge party in Nome, I'm sure he is partaking) I'll post some of his stories, I'm sure he has some great ones.
Alright, We have a game to win, LGO!
kuethstheman
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Thanks Troop! Loved following the race through your eyes!
CuseTroop
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FROM: Mark Nordman, Race Marshal
A five-year old male named Dorado from the team of Fairbanks musher Paige Drobny (bib#14) died early this morning in Unalakleet from an incident caused by high winds and drifting snow. An otherwise healthy dog, Durado was dropped in Unalakleet on Monday, March 11, and was waiting to be transported back to Anchorage. Unfortunately, sustained high winds in the area have made it difficult for us to move dropped dogs as quickly as usual.
A necropsy will be conducted to attempt to determine the cause of Durado’s death.
A five-year old male named Dorado from the team of Fairbanks musher Paige Drobny (bib#14) died early this morning in Unalakleet from an incident caused by high winds and drifting snow. An otherwise healthy dog, Durado was dropped in Unalakleet on Monday, March 11, and was waiting to be transported back to Anchorage. Unfortunately, sustained high winds in the area have made it difficult for us to move dropped dogs as quickly as usual.
A necropsy will be conducted to attempt to determine the cause of Durado’s death.
kuethstheman
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Shame
CuseTroop
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I know we have some sort of basketball tourny going on, but I wanted to post this update:
Rudy called me Friday night! couple things. Said he was pulling out of the checkpoint, and the vets came to do one more check of his dogs. They pulled his leader from him, and were worried about another dog. Rudy said he didnt want to push them if the vets said they were hurting, and scratched. He was pretty bummed out. I could tell when we first started talking that he was a little embarrassed. I told him how proud everyone was of him, and all the support he had not just from this board, but my facebook, and news papers all over the country. That cheered him up a little bit. I asked him how many times on the trail did he think "What was I thinking", he said not once, said he had a blast the whole way until he scratched. He said he got to Nome, had 2 beers and slept for 30 hours lol.
BIG NEWS- suprised the hell out of me, but he is running the race again next year but "is going to start training a alot sooner then I did this year"!!! Last year was crazy last minute, He decided to run around July, but didnt start training until November. It took a while to get money around, sponserships, all that stuff. It costs alot of money to run the race, It will be nice to have more time to put it together this year, and easier to get sponsers now that he got his name out this year.
Alright, Back to basketball!!
Rudy called me Friday night! couple things. Said he was pulling out of the checkpoint, and the vets came to do one more check of his dogs. They pulled his leader from him, and were worried about another dog. Rudy said he didnt want to push them if the vets said they were hurting, and scratched. He was pretty bummed out. I could tell when we first started talking that he was a little embarrassed. I told him how proud everyone was of him, and all the support he had not just from this board, but my facebook, and news papers all over the country. That cheered him up a little bit. I asked him how many times on the trail did he think "What was I thinking", he said not once, said he had a blast the whole way until he scratched. He said he got to Nome, had 2 beers and slept for 30 hours lol.
BIG NEWS- suprised the hell out of me, but he is running the race again next year but "is going to start training a alot sooner then I did this year"!!! Last year was crazy last minute, He decided to run around July, but didnt start training until November. It took a while to get money around, sponserships, all that stuff. It costs alot of money to run the race, It will be nice to have more time to put it together this year, and easier to get sponsers now that he got his name out this year.
Alright, Back to basketball!!
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