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Iditarod Facts, Data, History
Following our Teacher on the Trail’s theme of the Iditarod Air Force, this month’s lesson prompt, based on the book “The First Ten Years”, is for pages 114 – 115, 117 – 118. “The History of the Early Iditarod Air Force” by Rob Stapleton. The comparison text is “Iditarod Air Force: lifeblood of the race” …
Welcome back to a new school year! The 2022 race is the 50th running of the Iditarod. The anthology, Iditarod: The First Ten Years, was compiled to preserve the stories of those who launched The Last Great Race. The goal of the Old Iditarod Gang was to have this book for classrooms to use as …
Sleds are an essential piece of equipment in the Iditarod. Typically, 50-80 sleds start the race and even more are shipped down the trail for use later in the race. Sleds have evolved since the first race in 1973, and mushers often build their sleds themselves. The sleds first used in Iditarod were long freight …
There is quite a history behind the Burled Arch. When the first musher reached Nome during the first Iditarod, there was no specific marker to show the end of the race. As legend has it, someone ran out into the street when the first musher was arriving and drizzled a package of Kool-Aid across the …
Hi Boys and Girls, What an exciting day. 4th Avenue is full of snow, the dog trucks will be arriving soon and setting up for the day, the iditariders are beyond excited for the opportunity to ride in their favorite mushers sled and fans are waking up and looking forward to an exciting ceremonial start …
The population along the Kaltag to Unalakleet portage trail exploded over night. Looking at the Ionearth tracker, that area of the trail held the largest concentration of dog teams compared to anywhere else on the trail. As the mushers made the coast today, we heard one common comment – it was cold. Iditarod veteran, Ed …
In 1977 Bob Chlupach attempted and completed his rookie Iditarod. In total he’s completed ten Iditarods over four decades. The 2012 race makes for running an Iditarod in each of five decades. After graduating with a degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology from Iowa State University, Chlupach took a fisheries job in Juneau. Once he …