Iditarod 35 looks to be fast and highly competitive, perhaps the most competitive race yet. On the other side of the Alaska Range, mushers will have to deal with areas blown free of snow, but the trail up to Rainy Pass is said to be the best ever. With nearly ideal temperatures, that’s where the leaders are now headed.
The race re-start took place yesterday afternoon (Sunday, 3/4) in Willow under brilliant sunshine. The competitors were cheerful and optimistic as they waited their turn among the 82 teams running the race this year. Pundits may think they have narrowed the chances of a first place finish down to a few mushers with multiple Iditarod wins on their resumes, but as Iditarod trail reporter Ellen Lockyer tells us, there’s plenty of dog drivers in this year’s race who are hungry for that winner’s trophy.
Three leading dog drivers who had a disappointing run last year are staying close to the front so far: Martin Buser, Aliy Zirkle and Ramy Brooks. But coming into Finger Lake ahead of all three this morning, at 3:30, was Lance Mackey, winner of the Yukon Quest several years running. Mackey finished the Iditarod 10th last year. Ramy Brooks and Aliy Zirkle arrived close to an hour behind him. Zirkle and Mackey had left Skwentna within four minutes of each other. It was Martin Buser who had the fastest time in to Finger Lake this morning. He was in five minutes after Brooks and Zirkle. Next in were Sebastian Schnulle, Zack Steer and Jim Lanier.