It’s nothing new for mother nature to impact the Iditarod with below normal snowfall and above normal temperatures. Back in 2003, the year Robert Sorlie claimed victory, the race start was moved north to Fairbanks. With about 2/3 of the distance following rivers, the route was referred to as the Idita-river run. In 2015 when Dallas Seavey won and in 2017 when Mitch Seavey won, the race again moved to Fairbanks but upon reaching Galena headed north to Huslia then back down to the Yukon to Kaltag thus eliminating many river miles.
Zachariah Hughes of the Anchorage Daily News used three common adjectives in his post banquet story – The Longest, Smallest, Flattest Iditarod yet Ready to Go. With those three words, he described the 53rd Iditarod to a tee. I’d be in favor of adding “new” and “shortest” to his list of descriptors.
Now in 2025, the race has a completely new route starting in Fairbanks running to the Yukon River and heading south all the way to Anvik and Shageluk before looping back to Kaltag, out to the coast and on to Nome. It’s the longest Iditarod race route ever, 1128 miles and with roughly two/thirds of the miles being river miles it will be the longest, flattest and because the Yukon is a mile wide in some places, it likely will be the longest, flattest and widest Iditarod route ever. Let’s not forget the ever present Yukon River wind and how it will impact those Yukon miles.
The enthusiasm of spectators, mushers, dogs and Iditariders was evident during the shortest, ceremonial run in Iditarod history, a distance of 1.6 miles. With such a short distance, teams were limited to just eight dogs. The trailgaters that gather along the usual 11 mile ceremonial route were terribly disappointed with the shortened route as were the canine athletes.
2025 isn’t the first ceremonial start that’s been shortened due to dismal snow conditions. Snow was very scarce back in 2016 . That year the Ceremonial route was just 3 miles long. To help out, the City of Fairbanks sent snow south to Anchorage via the Alaska Railroad. Seven side dump railroad cars were loaded with snow and towed to Anchorage. As it turned out, the Fairbanks snow wasn’t used as Anchorage scraped together enough to cover the 3-mile trail.
This year’s race has 33 contestants, the same as the 2023 race. Both years are one short of the first race in 1973 when 34 mushers headed to Nome. Thinking about the small field of thirty-three mushers, there are some real advantages. The smaller number means less congestion at the early checkpoints. It’s quieter in the checkpoints, more room to spread out and teams can get quality rest. There’s less competition for the preferred camping sports along the trail. And here’s a huge one – less wear on the trail. Being one of thirty-three teams compared to one of 72 (2017) or one of 96 (2008), will have its advantages.
In days gone by it was very interesting to follow the mushers who chose to run both 1,000 mile races, the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest. Take for instance when Lance Mackey was a mushing machine who won 4 Quests and 4 Iditarods, winning both two years in a row. A few years back, the Yukon Quest split into two races, the 550 mile Yukon Quest Alaska which begins in Fairbanks and finishes in Tok then there’s the 450 mile Yukon Quest which begins and ends near Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory.
2025 Iditarod contestants had some very impressive finishes in the two Quest races. Jeff Deeter claimed Quest Alaska 550 gold and Michelle Phillips captured the Yukon Quest 450 crown. Congratulations to Jeff and Michelle. They were not the only Iditarod contestants with top ten performances. Placing 3rd in the 550 Quest Alaska was Lauro Eklund. Keaton Loebrich followed Eklund to the finish in 6th place. In the Yukon Quest 450, Mille Porsild earned 4th and Connor McMahon followed in 6th. Deeter, Phillips and Porsild are seasoned Iditarod veterans with an eye on a top finish in 2025. Eklund returns for his second Iditarod while Loebrich and McMahon will rookies in 2025.
Perhaps the most uniquely attired musher, dogs and Iditarider in the Ceremonial start of 2025 was the Squid Acres bunch directed by Paige Drobny. Lead dogs and handlers sported leis. Handlers, Paige and the tag sled driver wore tropical shirts while her Iditarider carried a pineapple. Was it because it was 40 degrees and sunny in Anchorage for the Ceremonial Start so it felt very tropical or was it because the Iditarider’s family owns a pineapple plantation in Costa Rica? Seems like either would be reason enough to pull out the flowered shirts and enjoy the beautiful day.
It’s not too late to select your top ten, rookie of the Year and Red Lantern musher list. Following the action through the lens of the Insider crew and through GPS tracker is the next best thing to being on the trail and you don’t have to dress for the cold and wear big heavy boots. Mushers take to the newest version of the Iditarod trail on Monday March 3rd from Fairbanks. As we await the race, enjoy some of Dave Poyzer’s awesome photos from the Ceremonial start.
