Alaska Ping
Posted on 02/22/2017 9:51:14 AM PST by Qiviut
I have not seen an Iron Dog 2017 Thread so I am posting one with links to 'coverage' articles (will post in comments as I find them) which are really great for keeping up with what is going on. The articles have some very good photos and also video so be sure and check them out!
If you are on Facebook, the articles are being posted on "Alaska Life" & the link is: https://www.facebook.com/TheAlaskaLife/ Note: I follow Alaska Life all year, just because the photos of the Alaska scenery are so beautiful!
The Iron Dog official website is: http://www.irondog.org/
You can explore around the site yourself, but here are some direct links:
2017 Teams with pics & bio: http://www.irondog.org/race-tracking/pro-class-2017/?view=teams
2017 Stats: (Teams by position ... who is in first, & where they are in the race, etc.) http://www.irondog.org/race-tracking/pro-class-2017/ Note: if you click on an individual team, you will see their individual times in/out of checkpoints.
GPS Tracking: (a map of the course with each team member's location) http://www.irondog.org/gps-tracking/
2017 Checkpoints: (map showing checkpoint locations) http://www.irondog.org/race-tracking/pro-class-2017/?view=checkpoints
Pro Class Rules - some interesting reading (IMO, but then I'm an Iron Dog addict) .... safety gear required, rules for doing mechanical work, how many layover hours must be taken & where. Note: In the Rules, Section 9 is CHECKPOINT AND LAYOVER OPERATIONS & for actual checkpoints north/south that will be section 9.15
For TODD PALIN fans, yes he is running the Iron Dog this year so he must be doing well after his bad crash. Initially, he was signed up on the Iron Dog site with his partner being Dakota Myer, his son-in-law (Bristol's husband). That was changed (I don't know the back story) & his partner for this race is Eric Quam. They are Team 20.
PS - I do not have a 'ping' list for Iron Dog - if you do and/or know other FReepers who are interested in the Iron Dog Race, please let them know about the thread.
Iron Dog – Day 1 – Leaving it all on the Trail
More at the link including some good pictures & video:
https://www.thealaskalife.com/blog/iron-dog-race-2017-coverage-day-1/
Excerpt:
Overcast, flat light, and snow gently falling from the sky met the racers as they lined up on the Iron Dog starting line amidst thumping bass, a growing crowd, and the smell of two stroke exhaust in the air. The Iron Dog restart is always a popular event, and even if you weren’t watching the racers, there is so much going on around the venue that ends up being quite the spectacle. Helicopters sounding their arrival or departure with humongous plumes of freshly fallen snow bursting into the air, Alaskan bush planes flying in formation, drones capturing crowd footage, powered parachutes looping and twisting overhead, and the start of an ice-oval race nearby with studded rubber catapulting another set of racers on dirt bikes and four wheelers around an ice track.
A bit of fresh snow on the first several miles of the trail are likely making those in the middle of the pack grateful for the front-runners as they will be packing down the trail toward Skwentna, which offers a new prize this year. First team to Skwentna gets a $5,000 payout. In years prior, Tyler Aklestad and Tyson Johnson made the 90 mile jaunt from Big Lake to Skwentna in 60 minutes flat. You know that teams have their eye on that cash as they leave the starting chute. The trail from Skwentna to Puntilla is bound to be ‘whooped out’ by now, meaning the trail looks similar to a motocross track with what is commonly referred to as the washboard section, but these are much deeper. They got 2 feet of snow in the last few days and the trail was not broken as of yesterday. The front teams are plowing through deep snow but leaving a whooped out trail in their wake.
Iron Dog Race – Day 2 – Pushing Toward the Coast
More at the link including some good pictures & video of crash:
https://www.thealaskalife.com/blog/iron-dog-race-2017-coverage-day-2/
Excerpt:
The evening of Day 1 found riders in the Iron Dog race stopping earlier than planned, some even backtracking on the trail, and a few teams also facing a forced scratch after insurmountable equipment damages very early on. It is unclear why, but we saw several racers make the decision to hole up in Rohn, far from the normal first layover checkpoint of McGrath. Palin/Quam, Morgan/Olds, Conlon/Fulsom, to name just a few have declared layover here, which could be a sign of early damage to the sleds from the blistering pace this trail is allowing this year.
Team 6 Schachle/George, our fastest team to Skwentna, were able to get back up to competitive racing speed. Whatever slowed them down between Puntilla Lake and Rohn must have been sorted out through either minimal damage, talented wrenching, or even a bit of both. Team 6 was on-pace for moving across the Farewell Burn area as fast as their counterparts.
The Rohn checkpoint offers very little in the way of support for teams needing any sort of significant equipment repairs. We heard that Team 22 Steiner/Strobel declared layover at this modest checkpoint to address a damaged cooler on one of their Arctic Cat sleds caused by a wayward stud. Without the availability of a welder to tack up the hole in the aluminum part, Team 22 may be looking at alternative means of plugging the hole, such as quick-seal compounds.
2017 Iron Dog Race – Coverage Day 3 – Battling Towards Nome
More at the link including some good pictures & video:
https://www.thealaskalife.com/blog/2017-iron-dog-race-coverage-day-3/
Excerpt:
Battling was the theme on the trail last night in the 2017 Iron Dog race and today the theme will continue as teams charge up the Western coast of Alaska toward Nome. Riders battled extreme cold, rough trail conditions, frostbite, additional equipment issues, a few spills and wrecks on the trail, and just generally a tough day on the 2017 Iron Dog Race trail.
To catch up on last night race happenings, we had many teams including most of the front runners race all the way up the Yukon river to Kaltag, while some racers opted to stop in Galena Some teams stopped in Galena an hour shy of Kaltag for their 8 hour break. There isn’t much in Kaltag, but it has become a popular layover spot in recent years so I’m sure they can handle up to 10 teams staying the night there, comfortably. It’s safe to say that most of the teams will likely stay in the homes of local villagers they have connections with or have met in years past.
2017 Nome Garage: Teams Arrive: Part 1 (video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JutXIdKWZy0&feature=youtu.be
Rocket Men
By craigmedred on February 21, 2017
https://craigmedred.news/2017/02/21/rocket-men/
How fast can you go cross-country in frozen Alaska today?
Pretty damn fast.
Todd Minnick and Nick Olstad, a pair of 30-somethings from Wasilla, averaged a traveling speed of 52 mph for 1,000 miles from Big Lake to Nome to lead the Iron Dog snowmobile race into the City of the Golden Sands on Tuesday.
The near double-nickel speed of the short-lived “national maximum speed law” appears to be a record for the world’s longest, toughest and coldest snowmobile race.
More at the link ..............
2017 Stats: (Teams by position ... who is in first, & where they are in the race, etc.)
Note: if you click on an individual team, you will see their individual times in/out of checkpoints.
GPS Tracking: (a map of the course with team locations) 2017 Checkpoints: (map showing checkpoint locations)
2017 Iron Dog Nome Garage: Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CLajnPToS8
2017 Iron Dog Nome Garage: Part 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX0Npb24eu4
Ping to the Todd Palin Is a Hunk! list.
Thudd!
Team Palin sports #20 this year and was in the 13th spot entering Nome.
Thank you for starting this thread. I’m too caught up in the exigencies of life this year to do much more than follow the race. But I was sad not see someone else keep up with the race.
To Sarah's Ping List.
Sarah and the family were with Todd as they set out this year. After the accident last year I was under the assumption that Todd would sit this race out, just this once.
NOPE!
Can't keep any of them down :)
Alaska Ping
I expected the same, KC. I guess he is a true IRON DOG!
THUDD!
I feel bad for even doubting he would go back out there. They are so blessed :)
I echo everything Jemian said.
Thank You so much for posting this thread.
I have been following it on facebook but I should have posted a live thread here on F.R.
Thank You, You Rock!
You’re welcome! :-)
2017 Iron Dog Race — Day Four Coverage — The Alaska Life
More at the link including video & the stats of the top 10 teams into Nome:
https://www.thealaskalife.com/blog/2017-iron-dog-race-day-four-coverage-the-alaska-life/
The boys of the Iron Dog are enjoying a much deserved break in Nome before heading back towards the finish line in the Golden City on the Tanana River.It is hard to overstate how tough these racers really are. Most recreational riders know what they feel like after putting 300-400 miles on their sleds over a weekend. The Iron Doggers have just covered 1100 miles in 21+ hours. And in absolutely brutal conditions. It has been -30° to -50° ever since the teams crossed the Alaska Range back in Rohn. This wind chill chart pegs out at -117° at 45 MPH…and these guys have been cruising at 80-90MPH for long durations at -50°. So who knows what the real wind chill number would be.
[Wind Chill Table in article]
So a 40 hour or so break to treat the frost bite, take a long hot shower, inspect their sleds and do any necessary wrenching is a welcome respite from the trail.
Great Link Qiviut. Thank You for the update. :)
Going to watch the Fur and Flesh dog (Iditarod) starts in Anchorage and Fairbanks in about 10 days. Always fun.
Thanks for the ping.
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