Hi Boys and Girls,

Good evening everyone.  What a day it’s been.  Five more mushers have scratched.  A couple due to injuries while going down the Dalzell Gorge. Check the scratched section below for the latest information.  You may be surprised at who’s there.

Here is tonight’s update:

DATE:  March 4, 2014

TIME:  14:23

LEADERS:

1.Sony Lindner

2.Hugh Neff

3.Ally Zirkle

4.Nicolas Petit

5.Aaron Burmeister

WHERE ARE THE MUSHERS: The first 5 mushers have left Nikolai, 16 mushers are in Nikolai, 27 mushers have left Rohn, 9 mushers are in Rohn, the last 4 mushers have left Rainy Pass.

RED LANTERN POSITION: Ellen Halverson who has left Rainy Pass.

WEATHER:   The weather in Rainy Pass and Rohn is 27 degrees and snowing.  There is a severe weather alert for this area of the trail for a prolonged duration of snow. The weather in Nikolai is 16 degrees with light snow.

SCRATCHED:

DeeDee Jonrowe scratched in Rohn because she was “beat up physically” in the Dalzell Gorge.

Mike Santos scratched in Rohn for personal reasons.

Gus Guenther scratched in Rohn due to an injured ankle.

Linwood Fiedler scratched in Rohn citing “physical injury” while driving the Dalzell Gorge

Jim Lanier scratched in Rainy Pass due to an injured leg.

I’m sending husky hugs to all of these mushers and their teams.

QUESTION OF THE DAY:  Today’s update was done at 14:23 in Alaska.  In New Hampshire where I live it was 18:23.  How can that be? 

Answer tomorrow.

Answer to this morning’s question: What is the Dalzell Gorge?

The Dalzell Gorge is a part of the trail from Rainy Pass to Rohn. It is one of the toughest sections of the Iditarod trail.  It is a very steep, 200 foot, narrow trail that goes downhill to to Dalzell Creek.  If conditions are good it’s a very scenic ride.  If conditions are not good, ie very little snow like this year, it can be a mushers worst nightmare.

I hope you are enjoying the race.  How is your musher doing?  Keep checking back for more updates. 

Until tomorrow morning,

Gypsy