Hi Boys and Girls,

Good evening.  4 teams have completed their 24 hour mandatory rest.  Do you know who they are?  During the next day, most teams will take and complete their 24 hour rest. Things will be a little quiet and there won’t be a lot of moment tonight. One more team has scratched bringing the total to 12. 

This evenings update:

DATE:  March 5, 2014

TIME:  12:50

LEADERS:

1.Sonny Lindner

2.Aaron Burmeister

3.Paul Gebhardt

4.Jeff King

5.John Baker

WHERE ARE THE MUSHERS:  The top 5 teams have all left Ophir. The next 3 teams are in Ophir.  One team has left Tokotna, 19 teams are in Tokotna,  1 team has left McGrath, 12 teams are in McGrath, 2 teams have left Nikolai, 8 teams are in Nikolai, The last 6 teams have left Rohn.

RED LANTERN POSITION:  Ralph Johannessen who has left Rohn.

WEATHER:   The weather along the trail from Nikolai to Ophir is 11 degrees and mostly cloudy  .

SCRATCHED:  Ellen Halverson scratched in Rohn due to a severely damaged sled and out of an abundance of caution due to the experiences of the teams ahead of her.

WITHDRAWN:

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What is the mandatory 24 hour rest and where does it have to be taken?

Answer tomorrow.

Answer to last night’s question: What is the difference between scratching from the race and being withdrawn from the race?

A musher can make a decision to scratch from the race for a variety of reasons.  They make the decision.  

This is straight from the rules :” Withdrawal is a process that must be imposed by a three-judge panel, either by a majority or unanimous vote, and which has the effect of involuntarily eliminating the musher and team from the race but which does not imply any deliberate misconduct or violation. The team and musher must leave the trail and will be assisted by the ITC.”

Well that’s it for tonight.  I’m off to get a good nights rest.  See you early in the morning!

Gypsy