Update from Kaltag

Hello Race Fans. A quick update from the Kaltag Checkpoint. We are up and running. There is a lot of snow. I came over from Unalakleet on snowmachine. From Old Woman Cabin ( 42 miles from Kaltag ) onwards the snow is getting real deep. From Tripod Flats Cabin ( 26 from Kaltag ) the snow is crazy deep. Needless to say I spend some time digging out a snowmachine. The weather has not been helpful for flying, luckily this morning things are cleared up. The Kaltag community is really rallying to help setting up. Lots of trips back and forth from the airstrip. Straw is being set out for the mushers.There is a constant steam of home cooked meals, smoked salmon and baked goodies in the community hall. Iditarod is getting a very warm welcome here in Kaltag!

Trail conditions for the Mushers coming up from Eagle Island are challenging. Deep snow, plenty of overflow. Conditions for that are unfortunately ideal. It is above freezing. The Yukon River Valley has seen above average temperatures with above average precipitation. That means thin ice which has to carry a lot of snow weight. That pushes the ice down, and water up. The Top 4 mushers, Joar, Pete, Jessie and Nicolas are currently braving that stretch with about 35 miles to go. At their current speed that likely takes 5+ more hours. With Jessie having skipped Eagle Island, she is bound to pull over for a campout soon. Nicolas Petit has been playing the ghost game, with not stopping in the Checkpoints and rather camping outside. He went past Iditarod and last night past Eagle Island. That keeps the other mushers guessing. And Nicolas can pack up and go, once the other teams pass from behind. It also takes the burden of trail breaking away. With him resting for 8hrs in Grayling after already resting for 4 hrs in Anvik, he gave most of his hard earned lead up. But being a lone leader, in these type of conditions, would not have been beneficial neither. Time will tell if he is going to stop in Kaltag. He has a sled shipped out to here, so if he is planning to switch to that, he would need to stop long enough for that.

For a while it looked like Nicolas Petit was able to run away with the race. Once again mother nature has put a monkeywrench in. The race is wide open right now. Joar Leifseth Ulsom and Nicolas Petit battling neck on neck. Peter Kaiser is right up there with them, but he has yet to take his 8 hour layover. That will put him behind, once leaving Kaltag. Neither Joar nor Nicolas is going to rest near that long. Likely Peter will be close on par with Jessie Royer. She is in a excellent position and still driving 13 dogs. Mitch Seavey is only 16 miles behind the lead pack. That is still well within striking distance with 400 miles to go.

The trail from Kaltag so to Unk has some open water at 10 Mile Creek, which is easily crossable. Further towards Unk, about 20 miles before town, the trail normally crosses Cheroski Creek. That crossing has fast moving open water, about hip deep. A no go. A new trail has been established onto the Unalakleet River. It is well marked and ads about 3 miles. Although conditions are challenging, I remember much worse in 2005, my rookie year. It had been raining pretty much since Anvik and when coming into Unalakleet the River was wide open. I was traveling with Mike Williams Sr and we both went for a swim. Luckily it is not as warm this year. Once the mushers pass Old Woman cabin, the snow is getting musher lower, as it blows a lot there. Unalakleet, the town where the east wind blows. The trail breakers are en route to Unalakleet as we speak. Their machines should lay down a nice track.