#Iditarod

[sergeifyodorov]

FUCKING HELLO?

- jessie holmes (current race leader as of now, 3:37 pm EST, first out of Rainy Pass) punched a moose in the face

- dallas seavey, previous 6x champion (currently in 3rd and in Rainy Pass checkpoint) killed the moose and, per rules, had to field dress it

- paige drobney (currently 4th, somewhere between Finger Lake and Rainy Pass) then later RAN OVER THE MOOSE WITH HER TEAM

#iditarod lb #iditarod

[snarkaeologist]

I follow sled dog racing because for two weeks a year you get time-delayed updates like "The front-runner had to punch a moose, no injuries reported" and then a little while later "Dallas Seavey had to kill the moose, but don't worry, we've dispatched state troopers to salvage the meat."

No other sport delivers storylines like this.

#iditarod #alaska #sled dogs

[akdogdriver]

More Dallas & his leaders in Nome

#iditarod #dallas seavey #dog mushing #the last great race #working dogs #sled dogs #alaska #iditarod 2024

[sea-salted-wolverine]

In honor of the moose/Iditarod rule 34 chaos post reaching 1000 notes and then Dallas Seavy winning the Iditarod here are all the unhinged stories and things I know about that race

They changed the rules and schedules so you can't do this anymore, but there was a subset of mushers who would race the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod back to back. That's a 1000-mile race followed by another 1000-mile race through some of the harshest terrain on earth in late winter. And the Yukon quest doesn't even finish where the Iditarod starts. To do this required putting dogs in a plane OR having another team of dogs waiting in anchorage and someone to deal with both teams of dogs.

The first woman to win the Iditarod was Libby Riddles in 1985.

Only to have her finish promptly blown out of the water by Susan Butcher who won the race in 86', 87', 88', and 90' while setting speed records the whole way.

Susan did race in 85' but she ran into a moose early and it killed two of her dogs and hurt the rest so she scratched. Dallas got lucky this year.

She was also the first person to mush a dog team up to the summit of Denali, the tallest mountain in North America. This is not what dog teams are intended to do, I don't know why she even wanted to, other than to prove it was possible. I don't think anyone has since.

The race now requires GPS trackers on all the racers and you would not believe the bitchfit everyone threw over those. Mushers can either hop between checkpoints or camp on the trail and it may surprise you to learn that these are the kind of people who have secret camp spots in the woods that they don't want anyone to know about. So now, everyone has acquiesced to the tracker requirement but you must have an account on the race website if you want to see them.

The race has 2 paths that alternate even and odd years with different checkpoints but every year includes a section of race that crosses the sea ice, approximately 50 miles from Shaktoolik to Koyuk. so forget landmarks. point the sled north and hope you're going the right way.

the race is in honor of the 1925 Serum Run and the diphtheria outbreak, but the trail itself is the old freight route which is almost twice the length. also, it's a freight route for hauling freight which means the the racers are going at more or less lightspeed as compared to the intended use.

the most effective way to avoid frostbite on your face is a fur hood and duct tape on your cheeks and nose. Cold-related injuries are rare but far from unheard of. The average number of toes and fingertips among mushers is lower than that of the general population.

The finish line is a massive burled arch in the middle of main street in Nome. There is not a lot going on in Nome at any given time and this time of year is the exception. Every racer who finishes the race gets the same reception, which is everyone in town crowding into the finish chute to cheer them on and the city fire siren going off. The last racer in gets the Red Lantern Award which means that they finished dead last but didn't scratch.

the 2020 race had started and was fully underway when the pandemic lockdowns came into place. as far as social distancing goes, you really can't do much better than being isolated 100 miles into the middle of frozen nowhere but the checkpoints are itty bitty villages with no medical infrastructure and the finish was reportedly terrifying because instead of a crowd to cheer at the burled arch, it was just the siren going off in a ghost town.

there is no way I can tell this story that doesn't sound like I'm making it up as I go. The sign says no sniveling and they fucking mean it.

no really, click that link. here's the YouTube vid (non-graphic, after-the-fact interviews)

#from the far north #wolverine warbles #iditarod #dog mushing #alaska

[ask-hetalia-alaska]

It's my favourite race of the year, Iditarod started yesterday!

#iditarod #alaska #annika speaks #non hetalia #oc speaks

[celticjade13]

Does everyone know what's happening in the Iditarod this year?

Quick refresher course: The Iditarod is a 1000-ish mile (1520 km according to Wikipedia) sled dog race held annually in Alaska. It's not abusive to the dogs, the dogs love to run. Most of the problem comes from getting the dogs to stop running.

Dallas Seavey is a 5-time winner, going for his record 6th win. A musher on the trail before him encountered a moose and punched it in the nose. (There is no more information than this.) Dallas encountered a moose (possibly the same moose) that injured a dog on his team. He was forced to shoot the moose.

Iditarod rules state that if a musher kills an edible big game animal, they have to gut it. No other mushers can pass while they're doing this and they're supposed to help gut the animal. The meat goes to the nearest town in Alaska to be eaten, so the moose is going to feed a lot of people.

The race officials, after picking up the dead moose, determined Dallas didn't do a good enough job gutting it and penalized him 2 hours. Everyone has a mandatory 24-hour rest period that they usually take right about now, and he has to wait an extra 2 hours before going back on the trail.

How does one go about gutting a moose? No idea! What makes a moose gutting job not good enough? Also no idea! Is this something Iditarod mushers learn before they go out on the course? Apparently not! But it makes for tons of fun for those of us following online. 😂

Also, most importantly, the dog that was injured was treated and is on her way back home.

#iditarod #moose

[darkwood-sleddog]

#dogblr #iditarod #transgender athletes #trans women in sports #short documentary #sled dogs #dog sledding #mushing #it's only 16 minutes take some time to watch! #Youtube

[guiltyidealist]

Togo (2019) gifs, courtesy of Movies in Short on YouTube

#guiltyedits #gifs #sled dogs #dogsledding #mushing #iditarod #alaska #diptheria #serum run #togo #togo 2019 #husky #malamute #seppala #stim stuff #my stim stuff #dogs #puppies #snow #winter #cold

[tonichelleak]

Iditarod 52 Rookie Connor McMahon at the ReStart in Willow, Alaska. Connor's race ended prematurely in the best interest of his dog team. Connor was known by fans as the happiest looking musher throughout his entire race and the hope is we'll see the musher try again soon. To view high quality photos, or purchase, click here.

For more see ReittersBlock.com

#iditarod #iditarod 52 #dog mushing #sled dogs #mushing #dog sports #dog photography #winter #winter sports #alaska #alaska sports #sled dog photog #sled dog photography #photography by antonia #connor mcmahon #yes I took these photos

[princess-unipeg]

Lone Moose Celebrating a Sled Dog

#my post #my posts #the great north #dogs #dog #iditarod

[sergeifyodorov]

More iditanews: Ryan Redington (last year's winner) fell asleep on his sled, fell off his sled, and the team carried on without him. Paige Drobny, the musher behind him, picked him up (asleep face down in the snow) and carried on to the next checkpoint, where his musherless dog team had shown up, having followed the trail

#iditarod #iditarod lb

[swampgh0stt]

This is everything

#iditarod #iditarod52 #food

[dailyhistoryposts]

On This Day In History

March 20th, 1985: Libby Riddles becomes the first woman to win the Iditarod, a 1,135 mile (1827 kilometer) sled dog race in Alaska, USA.

#history #women in sports #libby riddles #iditarod #dogblr

[akdogdriver]

Congrats Dallas Seavey & team

...despite receiving a two hour time penalty from race officials determined to keep him from breaking Rick Swenson's record, he still pulls off a record 6th win.

#iditarod #alaska #the last great race #dallas seavey #dog mushing #sled dogs #working dogs

[vegandude72]

#sled dogs #iditarod

[ask-hetalia-alaska]

We have a winner!! Congrats to Dallas Seavey's 6th Iditarod win! Dallas' time came in at 9d 2h 16m 8s. 4 others have finished, good luck to everyone still out on the ice.

#non hetalia #alaska #iditarod #annika speaks #dallas seavey