Sunday, March 3, 2002
Too many spectators on course can create havoc
Associated Press
WASILLA, Alaska -- Sixty-four mushers and more than a
thousand dogs headed out under a cloudless blue sky Sunday for the
30th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
Linwood Fiedler of Willow, the runner-up last year, took the early
lead, arriving at the Yentna checkpoint at 5:01 p.m. Alaska time
and leaving five minutes later. DeeDee Jonrowe, also of Willow,
took a 25-minute break and was second out of the checkpoint 42
minutes after Fiedler.
Jon Little of Kasilof, the third musher to start the race and
the first into Yentna, took a longer rest. A total of 11 mushers
made it to the first checkpoint before 6 p.m.
With the festivities of the ceremonial start behind them, the
mushers brought a focused intensity to the real start, which took
place 45 miles north of Anchorage.
Charlie Boulding of Manley, who drew the top starting position,
checked and double checked all the gear in his sled bag as he
waited for the 1,100-mile race to Nome to begin. Boulding said
that, with temperatures in the low teens and rising, he was pleased
to be heading out first.
"I always like to get out of here early because of the heat. My
dogs aren't used to that," said Boulding, a fisherman and trapper
who lives on the Tanana River in Interior Alaska. "If you're
leaving way in the back you're leaving in the heat of the day."
Boulding said he would rest his dogs as the day grew warmer.
While the dogs prefer colder temperatures, race fans enjoyed the
sunshine and watched from lawn chairs as the teams headed out at
two-minute intervals on a trail that winds through wooded hills of
spruce and birch.
More fans were waiting farther down the trail, traveling to the
Yentna River on snowmobile and having Alaska-style tailgate parties
as the mushers pass by.
The presence of so many snowmobiles on the trail can be a
problem. Last year a musher was forced to scratch just 25 miles
into the race after a snowmobile collided with his team, injuring
two of his lead dogs.
"There are going to be several hundred people out there on
snowmachines," Boulding said. "When it gets dark, then it gets
dangerous."
Defending champion Doug Swingley of Lincoln, Mont., agreed that
snowmobiles could make the first hundred miles of trail tricky.
"It's a lot of people. A lot of snowmachines. You've got to pay
attention," Swinley said. "You've got to put some lead dogs up
there who will pay attention."
Norwegian musher Harald Tunheim was at the starting line despite
a badly sprained right ankle that forced him to watch the ceremonial start Saturday on television, while one of his handlers ran his
team.
Tunheim injured himself while approaching the podium to accept
his bib number at the prerace banquet Thursday night. Despite a
doctor's orders to stay off the foot for at least three days, he
was determined to start the race.
"I'll be taking it step by step. I have a good truck in front
of me," Tunheim said, referring to his 16 dogs.
Tunheim tried not to put too much weight on his right foot as he
packed his sled bag and performed last-minute chores.
A small seat that folds out from the back of his sled will help
give him a break from standing and allow him to rest the ankle.
Tunheim said the injury might make it difficult to keep his
balance, because going over bumps in the trail can require shifting
weight from one foot to another while standing on the back of the
sled. In addition, he usually uses his right foot to push the sled
up hills, and he uses it to brake.
"If I'm going fast it's because I can't brake," he said with a
laugh.
The teams will be traveling up frozen rivers before heading into
the Alaska Range. They will reach the highest elevation of the
trail -- 3,160 feet -- at Rainy Pass, about 200 miles into the race,
by late Monday.
