Iron Dog 2017 Thread

The second half of the world’s longest toughest snowmobile race will begin Thursday February 23, 2017. As departure times are verified this page will be updated.

http://www.irondog.org/nome-departure-times/

Team 20 - Palin/Quam leaving 13th at 11:19:57 (race leader Team 8 Aklestad/Johnson leaving at 08:00:00)

Forecast for Nome Alaska this morning as the Iron Dog racers set off from Nome ..... the guys carry safety gear in the event they break down & have to “hunker down”, but hope all are safe racing today & make it to the checkpoint(s).

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Blizzard Warning
AKZ213-240300-
/O.EXT.PAFG.BZ.W.0006.000000T0000Z-170224T0300Z/
St Lawrence Island and Bering Strait Coast-
Including Gambell, Savoonga, Brevig Mission, Teller, Wales,
and Diomede
452 AM AKST Thu Feb 23 2017

...BLIZZARD WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM AKST THIS EVENING...

* SNOW...5 to 10 inches.

* BLOWING SNOW...reducing visibility to less than one quarter
mile.

* WINDS...northeast to east 30 to 40 mph gusting near 60 mph.

* WIND CHILL VALUES...around 55 below.

* TIMING...Blizzard conditions continue through early this evening
and will tonight as winds and snow diminish.

* IMPACTS...Visibility will be very poor and snow will
accumulate into drifts. Whiteout conditions should be
expected. Travel and outdoor activities will be difficult.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Blizzard Warning means severe winter weather conditions in
blowing snow with strong winds and very poor visibilities are
occurring or expected.

The first team is off from Nome at 12 p.m. EST ..... in a blizzard (see earlier post for conditions - awful!), headed for the White Mountain checkpoint. I’m watching the teams on GPS & I’m actually feeling somewhat nervous for them.

When is everyone estimated to be gone from Nome?

Last one will be out at 12:38 Alaska time (first one out was at 8 AK time). That would be 4:38 EST time, I think.

Here’s the list of departure times out of Nome:
http://www.irondog.org/nome-departure-times/

Great.

Thank You again for the link Qiviut :)

I had to leave this afternoon & just got back to the GPS. Looks like Palin/Quam are having major problems ..... they barely got out of Nome ... still showing like 58 miles (out of almost 72) to go to get to the first check point at White Mountain. Looks like the majority of racers are between White Mountain & Koyuk with a few having headed on for Unalakleet.

The two team leaders are already through Unalakleet and headed for Kaltag. The racers have to take their first Southbound Layover Region #1 (10 Hours)in Koyuk or Unalakleet or Kaltag so the leaders* are going for the “max” today!

*Leaders are Team 8 Aklestad/Johnson & 41 Davis/Simmons. They’re just smoking the course right now & within 15 minutes of each other when they came through Unalakleet.

Thanks for the update.

Sarah's take on Todd in Nome http://www.sarahpalin.com/love-iron-dog-brotherhood/

Todd & Eric are “pinging” in Nome on the GPS so they made it back ok. White Mountain is gas only & Koyuk, which is a layover, is another 94 miles beyond that. They really didn’t have much choice but to go back to Nome.

2017 Iron Dog Race –Day 5 Coverage

More at the link, including updates on some of the teams having crashes/mechanical issues:
https://www.thealaskalife.com/blog/2017-iron-dog-race-day-5-coverage/

Unlike NASCAR where the driver simply drives and the pit crew takes care of the maintenance, Iron Doggers have to be skilled at both disciplines. When the race began in the mid 1980’s snowmachines were very undependable and needed constant wrenching and creative improvising. John Faeo, a 7 time Iron Dog Champ, was extremely talented mechanic who seemed to have a solution to address most issues that arose out in the middle of nowhere. Technological advances on the sleds over the past 30+ years have been remarkable, with efficient and reliable fuel injected engines needing very little attention. While it is safe to say that skills at wrenching is not as crucial as it used to be it is still a important factor in this toughest, longest, grueling 2000 mile affair.

Iron Dog race teams are leaving Nome in a different order from which they arrived due to times being adjusted for “on the clock” repairs and maintenance. The average time most teams spent on repairs was about 10 minutes which reflects on the remarkable reliability of these sleds from all 3 manufacturers.

The longest time needed was 29:11 by team #14 of Boylan and Leslie. Team #8 of Tyler and Tyson spent the least amount of time of all the teams, as they only needed 2:26 to prepare their Skidoos for the next 1000 mile leg. Todd and Nick of team #16 arrived first in Nome but are headed out 1.5 minutes behind team #8 since they spent 18:37 minutes tending to their Polaris’s. Cory Davis and Ryan Simons only needed to 4:36 minutes to tinker with their Cats, so the top 3 teams are leaving closer together than when they arrived.

Some speculate that the longer work time by Team #16 was a part of their strategy as a major storm has moved onto the Bering Sea Coast. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for heavy snow and local blizzard conditions reducing visibility to less than one half mile or less. Racers can also expect winds gusting to 50mph which makes finding the trail next to impossible. It could be that team #16 decided to let someone else lead the way out into conditions quite similar to navigating in a bottle of milk.

It is going to be very interesting to see how this race unfolds with this arctic storm throwing a monkey wrench into the best laid plans. Team #8 will leave Nome at 8:00 this morning and head east towards White Mountain. Race rules require a 10 hour layover in either Koyuk, Unalakleet or Kaltag.

More .... see link.

Just in case anyone didn't have the tracker: http://www.irondog.org/gps-tracking/

Iron Dog ebsite is down - here’s the gps backup:

http://trackleaders.com/irondog17

Lol, I was just checking it and it wasn't responding.

Prefect timing with the backup link :)

If you clicked 'earlier' on the link for Day 5 coverage (post 30), I think they only had Update #2 on there. Update #3 has been added which has some info regarding what happened to Todd Palin.

** Update #3**

The Team #8 of Aklestad/Johnson on their Skidoos has arrived back onto the Yukon River exactly 14 minutes in front of Davis/Simons riding Arctic Cats so this is shaping up to be a good race out front. Both teams are taking a 10 hour layover in Kaltag.

So much has changed today. The flat white light and blowing snow has definitely made for some very poor visibility resulted in quite a few nasty ‘get offs’ (aka ‘crashes’). Lots of teams scratching today. Heard Palin has suspension trouble and is back in Nome. Palin was intending to bring parts to repair Olstad’s sled since the weather is preventing planes from flying to Koyuk. But he had his own troubles and ended up back in Nome. But it sounds like between the resourcefulness on the Iron Dog family and the village folks they found the parts needed for Team #16 and they are on the trail currently checked out of Shaktoolik.

This video by Harley Huntington of Nick Olstad coming in to Koyuk is pretty self explanatory of their slow times. He rode that machine for over 60 miles like that!

(see link for video)

2017 Iron Dog — Day 6 coverage

https://www.thealaskalife.com/blog/2017-iron-dog-day-6-coverage/

It is now 85° warmer on the Yukon River than it was earlier this week when the teams were headed towards Nome. I am sure the guys are not missing the -50° but of course +35° comes with its own challenges.

With 342 river miles left before the finish line in Fairbanks the racers will encounter a trail of sticky snow and more than likely sections of what is called ‘jumble ice’. While large sections of the rivers can freeze smoothly there are also many stretches were the teams will have to deal huge chucks of protruding ice along with open leads of water. (see picture at the link)

What is also a ever present danger while running rivers is that you can be scooting along 80 to 90 MPH and suddenly there is an ice ridge or the ever present piece of driftwood hiding under a coat of snow ready to take out the suspensions of the sleds.

The top teams are now taking a 10 hour layover in Galena before running 172 miles up the mighty Yukon to Tanana. The teams will be held at this village of 250 people until Saturday morning before being released to ensure a daylight finish in Fairbanks. From Tanana the course leaves the Yukon and runs up the Tanana River past Manley Hot Springs and Nenana. Eventually they arrive at North Pole and take the Chena River to the finish line.

See link for more ..........

Thanks. I followed this far, but it will finish while I’m asleep. I always find this race exciting.

Don’t miss the exciting finish of the Iron Dog in downtown Fairbanks.

Saturday, February 25, 2017: Pro Class Finish

**The first teams to arrive at the finish per the above schedule will be around 12 noon, AK time. That would be 4:00 in the afternoon Eastern Standard Time.

Thanks. I followed this far, but it will finish while I’m asleep. I always find this race exciting.

*********************************************************

The teams will be arriving in Fairbanks between 12 and 5 Alaska time .... this is between 4 and 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time if that helps you any.

Two teams have been way ahead of the pack & were running within 15 minutes of each other - looked like it would be a very close race into Fairbanks. This morning, I see one of those two teams has scratched in the “hold” location, Tanana (Aklestad/Johnson). Wow, must be terribly disappointing to make it that far & have to scratch. Now, the #1 team (Davis/Simons) is 2 hours & about 14 minutes ahead of the next team (Gueco/VanMeter). If anyone can catch #1, it would be Chad Gueco & Dusty VanMeter - Dusty has won the Iron Dog 4 times.

Since Todd Palin is out of the race, I’m rooting for the “SonsofThunder” team who will be exactly one minute behind Gueco/VanMeter out of Tanana - brothers Klinton & Kris VanWingerden. One thing IS for sure .... this race is SO fickle with the mechanics on the sleds and the rough conditions, anything could happen!

CONTROVERSY ERUPTS!!!!

I saw where Aklestad/Johnson were "scratched" at Tanana - figured it was a mechanical issue, but that close to the finish, I was surprised they wouldn't try their best to "wrench" their way back into the race. When I went back to their individual page, I saw they were DISQUALIFIED!!!

In looking for the details, I saw this 'explanation' by an angry fan on the Iron Dog FB page (people are REALLY steamed about the marshall's decision to DQ these two):

"Team 8 were just DQ'd from Iron Dog over a BS reason. While they were fueling up, some locals decided to help by pushing down on the backs of their machines (this allows you to get more gas in the tank) and someone happened to snap and post a picture of this. The Iron Dog idiot race marshals have decided that this was a rule violation and disqualified them from the race with 300 miles to go and in first place by an 1 hour and 22 minutes. Team 8 did not ask these people for their assistance.

This decision is beyond BS as there is ample video and picture evidence of many other teams doing this exact thing while fueling up with no penalties or DQs happening to them.

Looking at the race rules, this is what they say about refueling:
13.2. Racers will be permitted to receive outside help for fuel and engine oil ONLY between the checkpoints of Ruby and Tanana.
13.2.1. NO OTHER ASSISTANCE OF ANY KIND INCLUDING PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH THE PIT CREW WILL BE PERMITTED.
13.2.2. Participants will be personally responsible for ALL aspects of these operations including the actions of their pit crew, costs, removal of ALL trash and containers, pollution control and cleanup (IF REQUIRED), safety, and all liabilities.
13.2.3. PARTICIPANTS WILL BE DISQUALIFIED IF ANY PART OF THIS FUELING PROCEDURE IS NEGLECTED.

Some of the FB commenters seemed to think Team 41 (now in 1st) would also receive a 'penalty' (& that Team 8 should have gotten the same, not a DQ), but looking at their individual time sheet, I don't see any adjustments for a penalty. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out - lots of upset, unhappy race fans & I'm sure Aklestad/Johnson, having made it that far, are more than a little upset.

2017 Iron Dog — Day 7 Coverage (discussion of Team 8 DQ)

Picture that lead to DQ at the link:
https://www.thealaskalife.com/blog/2017-iron-dog-day-7-coverage/

Checking into Tanana, Team 8 of Tyson Johnson and Tyler Aklestad boasted an incredible 1 hour and 14 minute lead over their pursuers, Team 41. With just shy of 300 miles of very fast river running to complete, a back-to-back win for both the racers and SkiDoo appeared to be a lock. Johnson and Aklestad had put together pretty much a flawless run and short of anything out of the ordinary happening, the $65,000 payout along with other prizes looked to be theirs. Well, something out of the ordinary has happened, shaking up this race like we’ve never seen before.

We first heard rumblings of a penalty and/or disqualification for Team 8 just past 11:30pm yesterday and before 1am, Iron Dog has made it official that Tyler Aklestad and Tyson Johnson have been disqualified from the 2017 Iron Dog race. On the Iron Dog Marshals Facebook page, it was stated:

“The Iron Dog requires racers to receive fuel only in designated checkpoints with very specific rules and procedures. We make one exception for the trail section between Ruby and Tanana because it is the longest distance between checkpoints. It can be difficult for teams to carry enough fuel even with auxiliary tanks under certain trail conditions to make that distance. The rules were written so teams could stage fuel and oil between Ruby and Tanana, but otherwise not allowed to receive any other assistance.

This rule was discussed at length in the drivers meeting before the race. The Lead Marshal read aloud Rule 13.2.1 to all the racers and reiterated that no physical contact with the snowmachines was allowed when fueling in this area by anyone other than the racers, which applies to all other locations with the exception of Nome.

The Marshals found evidence that Team 8 received outside assistance. The crew providing fuel between Ruby and Tanana made physical contact with the racer’s snowmobiles. Rule 13.2.1 is one of the only penalties that is explicitly specified within the rules. The Marshals have determined that Team 8 violated Rule 13.2.1 and 13.2.2. The penalty for those violations is disqualification as specified in Rule 13.2.3.

The Marshals have disqualified Team 8 for violating Rule 13.2.”

It was discussed that the photo snapped below likely forced the disqualification of Team 8: see link!

Online discussion and even reviews of the SkiDoo tank design mention the necessity to ‘burp’ the air out of the tank, which allows the last remaining 1/2 to 1 full gallon of fuel to be put in the snowmachine. This is what is happening in the above photo. Due to SkiDoo potentially losing a back-to-back win in the longest, toughest snowmobile race on the planet, I wouldn’t doubt that this could warrant a redesign from the BRP engineers.

Here’s where it gets hairy……

The rules state:

13.2.1. NO OTHER ASSISTANCE OF ANY KIND INCLUDING PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH THE PIT CREW WILL BE PERMITTED.
and
13.2.3. PARTICIPANTS WILL BE DISQUALIFIED IF ANY PART OF THIS FUELING PROCEDURE IS NEGLECTED.

Because the rules state that no outside assistance can be given, this has resulted in scores of video clips and photos of numerous other teams having other individuals come into ‘Physical Contact’ with the racers equipment. Does this mean standing on the running board means DQ? Does this mean that when someone held a piece of bungee cord while Team 2 installed a side panel mean DQ? Does this mean that unscrewing the cap on an oil jug and handing it to a racer means DQ?

There have been questions like “How does the Iron Dog define the ‘Pit Crew’?” and “Was the person who touched the sled invited?”

I believe, and this is just me, that this is where the ‘nature of the rule’ comes into play. In other instances, it could certainly be argued that any physical touch would and could shave time off of a fueling stop, but the perception (please read perception again) of how it looked when Team 8 was refueling is that they were blatantly getting assistance from two other individuals in speeding up the time it took to completely fill up the sleds with fuel. The rule begins with ‘NO OTHER ASSISTANCE OF ANY KIND’…regardless of how the words ‘Pit Crew’ are defined. The real question might be ‘What defines assistance?’.

Could those two locals in the photo have known that the SkiDoo sleds need to be burped? Absolutely! Could they have been unwarranted help while the racers were unaware of this? Sure, that could be true. Could they have turned around, noticed this was happening and immediately instructed them to stop? Without a doubt. I just can’t get past the fact that how the photo looks is what forced the decision. It ‘looks‘ orchestrated. I’m not saying it was, but I’m saying the perception is bad, and was bad enough to have the Iron Dog Marshals make that call. One thing to also consider is that the Marshals have more information on the topic, have talked to everyone in question, have deliberated over this, and ultimately have made this decision.

There has been a literal storm of emotions online about this decision, and there will be more of this as the day breaks and the news spreads that this has happened. Would it be so seemingly egregious if it had been another team that isn’t the ‘all stars’ at the moment? I’m not sure, but having the leaders, the reigning champions, and the team that everyone ‘knew’ was going to win (I spoke with a racer on day 3 that, when asked, said ‘Tyson and Tyler will win for sure’), get disqualified is certainly grounds for driving emotions, anger, and confusion. Emotions aside, and yes, I would’ve loved to see TnT race to Fairbanks in a back-to-back win, I think it was what could have been the ‘blatant nature’ of the photo above that had to force the decision to be made. If all goes well on the river in the morning, Team 41 should easily clinch the victory in this race. Will it be a hollow win? It very well could be. If anything it will probably feel as if there is an asterisk on their victory.

Nobody, including the people involved in this decision made this without extreme difficulty, knowing that there is so much on the line.