As the first musher to White Mountain, Joar Leifseth Ulsom, wins the inaugural Northrim Bank Achieve More Award. Joar arrived in White Mountain at 07:52 with 12 dogs in harness. Jed Ballard, Chief Financial Officer of Northrim Bank, presented the award to Ulsom, which included a $2,500 check and a one-of-a-kind print by Anchorage artist …
For the three leading teams that departed Shaktoolik during the wee hours of the morning, the run to Koyuk has been a challenge. Leading the pack was Nic Petit but Joar Leifseth Ulsom overtook him. Taking a wrong turn on the run to Koyuk, Petit lost the trail. Joar passed him by and arrived in …
There is a distance of roughly 300 miles from leader to red lantern in Iditarod XLVI. The Back of the Pack has departed Anvik to run north and slightly east on the Yukon River. The front of the pack, having departed Shaktoolik, is on Norton Sound heading pretty much north to the village of Koyuk. …
In Kaltag, the Yukon River takes a sweeping turn away from the Iditarod trail and mushers enter a new phase of the race. From here they continue overland through the Kaltag Portage, an 82-mile corridor through the Whaleback mountains that leads to the Bering Sea Coast. As mushers approach Unalakleet, the dense mountains that …
The checkpoint was filled with spectators as the mushers came off the Kaltag Trail. Nic Petit, shared the checkpoint briefly with Joar Leifseth Ulsom and Mitch Seavey. After a 5.5 hour rest, Petit headed to Shaktoolik. Joar Rested just an hour and forty-two minutes and followed Nic. Mitch rested just over three hours before leaving …
Ten hours and fifty-seven minutes after departing Kaltag, Nic Petit brought thirteen dogs into Unalakleet. He was welcomed by a crowd of Gold Coast residents. It was plenty warm and as the clouds thinned, it felt balmy. Some of the children were in shirt sleeves as they scampered up and down the berms plowed up …
The Back of the Pack is making steady progress to the Yukon River. Iditarod has once again returned to ghost town status. The last time it was populated was in 2013 when Iditarod followed the southern route to Nome. Back in its day, Iditarod was a town of 10,000 and the heart of the Iditarod …
Kaltag is an inland village that sits on the edge of the Yukon River. It’s history lies in gold, trading and hardship. Athabascans had hunting and fishing camps in the area near where the village of Kaltag is now located. They traded with the Inupiat coastal residents. In turn the Inupiat traded with the Russians. …
Flying from Iditarod to Kaltag, Bruce Lee sits behind me, scanning the land for animal tracks. After spending many winters subsisting off the Kobuk River, Bruce is always on the lookout for food roaming the land. If he should ever be stranded somewhere, it’s good to know where a meal might be walking around. …
As the first team to Kaltag, Nicolas Petit received the Bristol Bay Corporation First Fish Award. Petit arrived in Kaltag at 19:45 behind 14 spirited dogs. Insider Commentator Bruce Lee called the team energized and in fantastic shape, even one of the best he’s ever seen at this point of the race. Petit parked and …
