Iditarod Traditions

The Story of the Widow’s Lamp

During the days of Alaska sled dog freighting and mail carrying, dog drivers relied on a series of roadhouses between their village destinations. Since these mushers ventured out in most all kinds of weather, for safety reasons they found the idea that pilots rely on, known today as the flight plan. Word was relayed ahead that a musher and team were on the trail, and a kerosene lamp was lit and hung outside the roadhouse. It not only helped the dog driver find his destination at night, but more importantly, it signified that a team or teams were somewhere out on the trail. The lamp was not extinguished until the musher safely reached his destination.

In keeping with that tradition, the Iditarod Trail Committee will light a “Widow’s Lamp” at 10:00 a.m., on the first Sunday in March, in Nome at the trail’s end. This lamp, which will be attached to the Burled Arch, our official finish line, will remain lit as long as there are mushers on the trail competing in the race. When the last musher crosses the finish line, officials will extinguish the “Widow’s Lamp” signifying the official end of the Iditarod for that year.

All too often, public and media think of the race as being over when the winner crosses the finish line, yet there are still teams on the trail. We hope you will find this often overlooked part of the race worthy of your attention. There are many very good stories about these other mushers on the trail.

History of the Red Lantern

Often the “Red Lantern” is confused with the “Widow’s Lamp.” They are not the same. An article several years ago in Alaska magazine states that the first red lantern was awarded in the 1953 Fur Rendezvous Race. According to Alaska,

“Awarding a red lantern for the last place finisher in a sled dog race has become an Alaskan tradition. It started as a joke and has become a symbol of stick-to-itiveness in the mushing world.”

Red Lantern Winners

Year	Musher	Days	Hours	Mins	Secs
1973	John Schultz	32	5	19	1
1974	Red Olson	29	6	36	19
1975	Steve Fee	29	8	37	13
1976	Dennis Corrington	26	8	42	51
1977	Vasily Zamitkyn	22	9	6	6
1978	Andrew Foxie	22	3	29	44
1979	Gene Leonard	24	9	2	22
1980	Barbara Moore	24	9	25	45
1981	Jim Strong	18	6	30	30
1982	Ralph Bradley	26	13	59	59
1983	Scott Cameron	21	4	36	41
1984	Bill Mackey	19	9	43	33
1985	Monique Bene	22	3	45	45
1986	Mike Peterson	20	13	42	21
1987	Rhodi Karella	19	9	1	1
1988	Lesley Monk	19	13	22	55
1989	Bob Hoyte	17	11	19	19
1990	Steve Haver	21	10	26	26
1991	Brian O'Donoghue	22	5	55	55
1992	Vern Cherneski	19	13	5	2
1993	Lloyd Gilbertson	18	4	19	19
1994	Mark Chapoton	16	16	17	35
1995	Ben Jacobson	17	6	2	5
1996	Andy Sterns	15	23	48	22
1997	Ken Chase	15	9	7	44
1998	Brad Pozarnsky	14	5	42	4
1999	Jeremy Gebauer	15	3	18	44
2000	Fedor Konyjkhov	15	5	44	44
2001	Karen Ramstead	14	23	53	16
Fastest Red Lantern Time
2002	David Straub	14	5	38	12
2003	Russell Bybee	15	5	30	53
2004	Perry Solmonson	15	2	50	36
2005	Phil Morgan	15	6	2	57