Flash—A report from Eagle Island

bummer, but wade mars is still smiling after turning around his team and returning to anvik to get forgottens set of dog bowls. he remembered right when he was lighting up a celebratory cigar after getting lined out on the yukon. Maybe he should put the cigar on top of his gear next time.

white october, Jim Lanier’s single leader is carrying responsibility for entire team

mike williams sr into anvik. He stopped to repair broken sled as rivets supporting his seat had snapped.

jim lanier, driving a team of primarily white dogs. White October is leader of the team

lynwood fiedler, veteran of the Iditarod, placed second behind Swingley in the hey days of his career. He is taking a relaxed tour this year.

8:45 AM , just received a call from Jim Gallea in Eagle Island by personal sat phone.  Jim is acting as race judge, coordinator, camp boss, and facilitator as he and one Vet are trying to handle the front pack into Eagle Island.

The Iditarod air force has been hampered by weather and just barely supplied the Eagle Island checkpoint in time to meet the front pack led by Martin Buser.

As background, consider that Eagle Island is just a place mid way at mile 559 between Grayling village at mile 505 and Kaltag at 624.  The only infrastructure is a tent camp and also a personal cabin on the island.

Jim is a musher and great student of the mushing game.  He has the cred to be a 5 star witness to the race.  I pumped him for impressions and hope I have correctly interpreted his observations.

Martin Buser arrived at the Eagle Island checkpoint and took a necessary 5 hour rest.  He naturally would not be inclined to take an extended rest because that would allow the following pack to take a deep breath, and he doesn’t want to give them a window.  Nevertheless, the stress of being in front of the pack is sapping the team and it was obvious to Jim that the following pack is slowly closing.

Jim noted that Joar, our Norwegian competitor, was particularly animated, alert, and aware, and that his team looked noticeably strong.  Aliy looked good, but was also under some duress in her position just behind Buser.   Mitch Seavey was patiently waiting in the shadows, marshaling strength, to play his own move.

As for Berkowitz, who is particularly impressive in the stats, Jim reported that Jake was hammered by a cold or the flu.  Jake admitted that his own personal status was going to be a factor and was hoping he could power through the malaise and keep the team moving.

Jim’s weather report

Jim reported rain all yesterday afternoon and last night.  “We were walking around the checkpoint and sinking to our thighs in wet snow. “  It’s a good reason, by itself, for Buser and team to be subdued and tired in Eagle.

Early this morning the wind started to blow and temperatures dropped below freezing.   “We can now walk around on top of the crust, so the trail is probably not bad for Martin’s 65 mile run to Kaltag.”

Final Thoughts

Martin is under attack but still leading the pack.  Martin has done this drill many times, so he is an expert at leveraging a position to the front.  I can imagine that he is trying to stay relaxed despite having the job of breaking trail for the pack.  He knows that various mushers are cutting rest to attack, and others, like Jeff King resting  in Eagle, are preparing to hammer him with  faster runs.   He has to consider all these attacks with equanimity and keep his own run consistent and logical.  I can imagine he will be judging his team and taking good rests, but not a minute longer.   He wants to close all windows to his competitors.

Aliy Zirkle is also in an interesting position.  She wants to reel in Buser, but at the same deciding if Buser is really the competiton.  Maybe Jeff King, four hours behind, or Berkowitz or Joar, for example, are the real threats.  She doesn’t want to make a move on Buser and then find that she squandered team strength and allowed the following pack to attack her position.

I took another snapshot of the pack, and note that Aliy is now just twelve miles behind Buser.  As the reader will recall, m y snapshot in the last update showed her 17 miles behind race leader martin Buser.

More observations

In reviewing this report from Jim Gallea, race Judge Warren Palfrey in Anvik told me that Joar, our Norwegian competitor, has was having great success feeding his team in the anvik checkpoint.  It didnt surprise him that Joar was in the front in the mix.  Note in the standings how mushers are positioning themselves, trying to balance the strength of the teams with the reality of their position.  Already we are seeing lots of movement to the front and reminded again that the front of the pack can dramatically morph in a short period of time.

As insight, recall that Dallas Seavey was hours behind the front in a similar position in 2012, then appeared in the lead at Unalakleet.  The biggest illusion is to look merely at position on the map.  For every mile travelled, the fan must also consider the rest that must accompany each mile.

Therefore, the fact that aliy has closed on Buser from 20 to 12 not only means she gained twelve miles, she also gained on Buser in terms of rest.  Because he took longer to cover the same distance, his team will probably require more recovery time.  The math is very intuitive.