It’s a moment the Iditarod Nation has been waiting for – the unveiling of Burled Arch III. The unveiling came at about 17:30 Thursday afternoon with race fans lining the chute area to get their first glimpse of the arch that will stand many years into the future.
Each of the previous arches lasted about 25 years. The original arch was created by Red “Fox” Olson who after finishing the race in 1974 was underwhelmed by the red kool-aid used to make the official finish line. Red and the Fairbanks Lions Club spent 500 hours shaping the spruce log and routing the Inscription on it. The arch was shipped to Nome by Wein Air Alaska however there was a shipping fee and it wouldn’t be unloaded until the fee was collected. Howard Farley, Iditarod’s Nome organizer, put the word and soon $1,300 was raised to cover shipping. Arch I was first used in 1975. The first musher to cross under the arch was Emmitt Peters of Ruby. The arch cracked into five pieces as it was being transported to its summer resting place in 1999. After it was pieced back together, the arch was hung in the Nome Recreation Center.
In the spring of 1999, Jim Skogstand donated a burled spruce tree from his property to the Iditarod for arch II. The 28 foot log was carved and lettered by Bob Kuiper and was ready for the 2000 race. The first musher to pass under the new arch was Doug Swingley for his third Iditarod victory. This arch had more than 50 burls of all shapes and sizes. After the letters were routed, they were painted and the entire arch was coated with commercial grade log oil. It was transported to Nome by Northern Air Cargo at no charge. In 2013, the arch was given a face lift and lasted through the 2024 race. Like arch I, as it was set in its summer resting spot, it collapsed into a pile of decayed wood.
The City of Nome and Iditarod invited Iditarod Veteran Ramey Smyth who constructs log home to create arch III. Ramey and his family were honored to take on the project as the Smyths have been a part of Iditarod since his mother, Lolly Medley, finished the race as the second woman ever to cross the finish line in 1974 in the pre-arch era. Since that time the Smyth’s including, mother Lolly, father Bud Smyth, brother Cim, Ramey and his wife Becca Moore have been a part of 51 Iditarod runs.
Norther Air Cargo delivered this arch to Nome just last week. The arch is a true masterpiece and will welcome mushers for many years to come. Iditarod CEO Rob Urbach, Race Director Mark Nordman, Nome Mayor John Handeland and Nome musher and Iditarod Board Member Mike Owens were all present for the unveiling. What remains yet to be seen is who will be the first musher to cross under burled arch III.
Jessie Holmes arrived in White Mountain at 08:39 on Thursday. He departed for the 77 mile run to Nome at 16:54. If all goes well for Jessie as he navigates the Topkok Hills and infamous blow hole as well as the coast he’ll likely arrive around 02:00 on Friday. While in White Mountain Jessie talked about his overall race strategy with Insider, Shawn Underwood saying it’s all about doing what’s right for the dogs. Holmes said the longest run he made was just 8 hours with a couple of 7.5 hour runs. All his other runs were 6 hours followed by a 5 hour rest which kept the length of the runs at a distance the dogs expected. After the wind on Norton Sound, Holmes camped early at Koyuk for 5.5 hours and again at Elim only 50 miles up the trail for another 4 hours. Banking those rests really gave him plenty of power for the climb up Little McKinley on the way to White Mountain. It looks like Jessie is in the driver’s seat but as he told Underwood, “I’m not counting any chickens until the eggs hatch.”
Matt Hall arrived in White Mountain at 11:53. He’ll be eligible to depart at 20:53. Hall said in talking to Insider that by the time he reached Elim he had stopped chasing Jessie as he knew he couldn’t catch him. Elim seemed like a good time to give back to the dogs with another rest break. There was a buffer on both sides – I couldn’t catch Jessie and I had a lead on Paige. This is a no stress run, a beautiful run with my dogs. The rest is going to help Hall with getting over Little McKinley. When asked if the race felt long, Hall laughed and said, “It was long but the temperatures were really nice and it wasn’t quite so hard on the human body.
Paige Drobny arrived in White Mountain at 14:46 and will be eligible to depart at 00:46 Friday morning. As of now, Insider hasn’t posted an interview from White Mountain with Drobny. However yesterday at Koyuk after the long run from Shaktoolik Paige said she really needed to give her dogs a good rest. The fifty mile run between Shaktoolik and Koyuk was into a head wind she estimated at 20 to 30 miles and hour. Paige described her dogs looking back at her, a sign they were losing confidence in their CEO. We need this rest in Koyuk to rebuild their confidence. Seeing Insider video of her team coming into White Mountain, the dogs looked spirited and smooth.
