WE are getting ready for the live finish in Nome. Our crew in Nome has turned Nome city hall into a production center. Hopefully you can catch it and see our call on the winner. Anyone with the available tools at the Insider has probably concluded that Mitch held off Aliys challenge, but we have …
7PM Nome Seavey guards lead One can only conclude that everyone in Nome is turning on the GPS tracker and CRASHING the bandwidth at my hotel room directly across from the Iditarod finish. I have to be lucky to even get this article to the Iditarod website. In a twist of fate, I bump into …
3:41 PM Nome waits for champ
3:41PM Nome Bruce Lee, your analyst at the Insider, and I flew over the trail about 2:30 (approximate) to see Mitch SeaVEY still in the lead on the uphill grunt up Topkok Hill . It appeared to us that she had closed the gap to Seavey. Immediately on landing and getting to the Nugget …
1:56PM Update White Mtn
A pod of planes on the river are unloading supplies, so we have another 5 minutes before loading. “it’s hot out there today in the sun,” says a fan in the checkpoint, a fact that cant be ignore in covering our front runners. With a clear sky, the sun is intense at 2PM. We can …
13:11 PM Seavey and Aliy to Nome
13:11PM Seavey and Aliy to Nome Here’s what I saw on the ice with departures of front runners Mitch Seavey and Aliy Zirkle. The two are basically in a dead heat with Aliy definitely having the momentum— as her team demonstrated more strength last night. Mitch was determined, brought his dogs to the line and …
11Am Activity in the Front, Zirkle and Mitch prepare for blast off A nerve impulse goes to Mitch and Aliy’s primitive area of the brain, who I imagine have been in a very deep sleep, when the checker gives a “wake up call.” By force of will, they are to their feet. I see Aliy …
Joar maintains presence in top Ten
9:37AM Joar the Norwegian maintains presence in top Ten Joar Ulsom arrived with ten dogs into the White Mountain Checkpoint. On the board, that puts him in 6th place. 4th place Dallas Seavey, having arrived at 8:09AM (three hours behind Aliy and his Dad Mitch), was in the checkpoint when I looked out the window …
8am King up to checkpoint for nap
8 AM King up to Checkpoint Aliy and Mitch are catching a nap in the checkpoint, just as Jeff King, who arrived on the river with 11 dogs in harness, appears in the checkpoint. He mirrors Zirkle and Seavey, knowing by rote from previous years that he can dry gear in the furnace room. I …
6:38AM, Scene in the White Mountain checkpoint Jeff King, running number third to the front, has not arrived at White Mountain. Aliy, done with her chores, entered the checkpoint at 6:38AM, obviously jacked about gaining time on Mitch on the run from Elim to this checkpoint, quickly distributed wet clothes in the furnace room. Ten …
Mitch 1st to White Mountain at 05:11 AM Mitch Seavey arrived White Mountain at 05:11AM with lead dog Tanner in command of the trail. Mitch was subdued after what must have been another exhausting night on the trail. After a discussion about how to park the ten dogs on the river ice so he would …
