Nome— March 10— 10:45pm—Turmoil on the Trail—Aliy passes King before Safety In a development that’s pure sports, we are receiving word from the trail that Aliy Zirkle has passed Jeff King. A call to our live broadcast center at City Hall, Nome, gave a brief description of howling winds that have stopped Jeff King a …
March 10 11:43am wht mtn—Front FOUR will break RECORD Jeff King, first into White Mountain and the leader of our race, is on the ice with his team of huskies. The front four dogs of his team are still in their “cave” under Jeff’s open sleeping bag. He is scheduled to depart at 3PM after …
March 10 Sht Mtn 7:02Am King leads pack, widens lead, 77 miles from Nome! Jeff King, the 4x Iditarod champ, cruised into White Mountain at 7:02 am. Those ardent fans with the Insider Tracker followed King through the night from Koyuk to Elim, watched him take a 1.5 hour break and then portage to Golovin …
March 10 Wht Mtn. 6:40 Am King leads to White Mountain Jeff King, according to the great tracker tool at the Insider, has gradually increased his lead through the night over Aliy Zirkle and is on the Golovin Bay ice heading to our location in White Mountain. The trail on the ice is flat, featureless, …
March 9 White Mountain—10PM—leaders in at 6:00AM??? For the first time I see the creation of a checkpoint. I arrive on a commercial flight from Koyuk to White Mountain with Andy Anderson, Race Judge, and a select group of veteran volunteers. On arrival at White Mountain, a village built on a gentle hillside next to …
March 9 Koyuk—2:07PM—Aliy and King in Koyuk at 2:07PM Koyuk is a warm, friendly village set on a hillside on the north side of Norton Sound. The noon sun shines directly on the village, the clear ice on roads like a mirror. The Koyukuk are great, known for exuberance and interest in the race. They …
March 9 1PM —Koyuk—Zirkle leads, King gradually gains Our plane departed UNK about noon in warm weather for destination Koyuk. I debated putting on my big parka, thinking it would be much colder when we arrived Koyuk. We would follow the trail as it wound overland over the Blueberry Hills, then fall off a high …
UNK-9am–Zirkle and KIng to Koyuk
Unk—9am—The race to the front We are in a desultory lull here at the UNK checkpoint waiting for incoming mushers. So, in the checkpoint we have a discussion with the Norwegian snowmachiners resting here, checkpoint officials, a few interested fans from Unalakleet, my colleagues from team Insider and attempt to evaluate the race. Take it …
March 8 UNK—11pm—Seavey and Sorlie into Unk, intend to engage front pack FLASH, the 2x champ Robert Sorlie and 2013 Champ Mitch Seavey have arrived Unalakleet holding hands at matched speeds. Their arrival deserves a footnote. As readers may recall, Jeff King asked about the location of Mitch Seavey just before he departed Unalakleet. “Where …
March 8 unk—9pm—Aliy departs UNK on ice and dirt trail to Shaktoolik Aliy Zirkle, our new race leader, departs Unalakleet at about 8:48pm. The sky is clear and a half moon hangs in the sky. Yet, it seems very dark, especially as wind has picked up. Always on the coast you have this sensation that …
