Good luck, Cynthia!
Posted on 02/14/2020 9:52:29 AM PST by Qiviut
The Iron Dog 2020 Race (Pro Class) begins Sunday, February 16th at 11:00 AM AK time. The Recreation Class started yesterday, Thursday the 13th, so they are already on the trail.
The Iron Dog is the World’s Longest, Toughest Snowmobile Race and covers more than 2,400 miles as it traverses the Alaskan backcountry.
NEW COURSE FOR 2020: Starting in Fairbanks, racers speed down the Yukon River and cut overland toward the Bering Sea coast, then make a roughly 375-mile loop through Kotzebue, before reaching the halfway point in Nome. Racers then turn their sleds south, where the route follows the Historic Iditarod Trail, to finish in Big Lake. Participants cover some of Alaska’s most remote and rugged terrain while confronting harsh winter conditions. This is a team race, consisting of two persons, and two snowmachines (track driven and ski steered). Participants pass through some 28 communities during the race, gathering momentum and spectators as they go.
Note re: Todd Palin … he's not racing this year.
TO FOLLOW THE RACE:
On the left hand side of this web page, you have options for:
Leaderboard
Teams
Checkpoints
GPS Tracking
Please note, there are two classes – Rec Class & the Pro Class. You will likely want to be following the Pro Class as they are the ones truly racing.
FOLLOW ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
There are two FB threads: a regular FB page & the Iron Dog Group (public)
Iron Dog Race Group - Facebook
INFORMATION LINKS:
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Page 16 & 17: - Required Participant Protective Equipment & Survival Equipment (interesting to see what they have to wear/carry – it's a good bit of gear!)
Page 20 - Race Course
Page 21 – Checkpoints to “halfway” in Nome
Page 22 – Checkpoints from Nome to Finish (now at Big Lake)
Page 23 – Required Holdovers – Northbound
Page 24 – Required Holdovers – Southbound
There’s still snow in Alaska? But Greta said ...
Ping - decided to post it today instead of tomorrow - Rec Class already on the course with some interesting happenings (getting stuck in chest-deep snow, for at least one sled)!
Yup, got snow ... can’t believe a thing Greta says (but what else is new with the Climate Change Cult)!! It’s cold, too - last I saw, below zero by a few degrees along the coast (UNK) & colder inland.
There was a horrible wreck last year - lots of stressed Iron Doggers until the reports came in that Todd Minnick was “ok”, but had a very serious leg injury. Good to hear he will be back out there this year:
Minnick returns to Iron Dog after serious leg injury
https://www.ktuu.com/content/sports/Minnick-returns-to-Iron-Dog-after-devaststain-567785251.html
During the 2019 race, Minnick crashed into Team No. 8’s Tyler Aklestad just outside of the McGrath checkpoint. The incident forced him to scratch from the race after he sustained a laundry list of injuries to his leg, including tearing multiple ligaments, dislocating his patella, and fracturing a tibia.
“They said it was a one-in-ten-year injury,” said Minnick, referring to his doctor’s reaction.
Good story on the changes in the race for 2020:
New Route, Layovers, and Racers Set Stage for 2020 Iron Dog
Some key points from the article:
Executive director for the Iron Dog, John Woodbury, says this year’s new 400-mile loop through Buckland, Kotzebue, and several Northwest Arctic Borough communities, will add an extra challenge for all racers. Claude Wilson of Kotzebue, an Iron Dog board member, told KOTZ radio the northern communities are looking forward to seeing all of the pro-class racers in their area.
Young or old, Iron dog winners or not, all 58 racers within the 29 pro-class teams will be spending more time out on the trail rather than resting in checkpoints during this year’s race.
To adjust for this new format, Woodbury says the Iron Dog has added an optional feature called a “wildcard layover”.
Besides the new rules and race route instituted ahead of this year’s race, there will also be a slight last-minute change. According to Woodbury, racers will finish the 2,400-mile trail in Big Lake, Alaska instead of Willow, due to the trail conditions in the area.
The pro-class teams registered to run the 2020 Iron Dog are scheduled to depart Fairbanks at 11am on Sunday. Weather conditions for the start include patchy freezing fog in the morning along with temperatures around five degrees below zero.
Where is Greta screaming about burning fossil fuels in her precious Arctic? LOL
I don’t think Greta would get a very “warm” welcome among the fossil fuel burners way up north!
she needs to have her face slapped clean off her skull as my mother RIP would have said.
Good luck, Cynthia!
Thanks for the link. THAT is a well done website!
Just saw a video on the FB Iron Dog GROUP of a team coming in to Galena with the note: “Team 71 Galena -35 below” . I believe that is the windchill temp ... and then you are ‘at speed’ on your snowmobile. Woo hoo & OUCH/dangerous.
That team was running medium-height windshields & the comments on the post were that they were probably wishing they had higher windshields. Someone ‘in the know’ said they’d talked about it, but overall liked the shorter ones; however, they WERE wearing 5 layers.
Interior is very cold. Kaltag, next stop after Galena, is -5 with a windchill of -23. There was a windchill advisory with these details:
...WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON AKST SATURDAY...
* WHAT...Very cold wind chills expected. Expect wind chills as cold as 55 below zero.
* WHERE...Lower Koyukuk and Middle Yukon Valleys.
* WHEN...Now to noon Saturday.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The cold wind chills will cause frostbite in as little as 10 minutes to exposed skin.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A Wind Chill Advisory means that cold air and sustained wind
speeds of 15 mph or more will create low wind chills. Frost bite and hypothermia can occur if precautions are not taken.
The changes they made to the race should make it quite interesting this year :)
Thank YOU for pinging folks - I don’t have a list.
Doggone it ... I’m already following GPS/comments like crazy & it’s just the Rec Class!! Lots of deep snow & no trail from Kaltag to Unalakleet. A “local” who knows the area is leading 2 teams, but it’s slow going since they’re having to break trail. My news feed from the FB Group is blowing up with posts - it’s great!
Thanks for the info!
Unless he withdrew, Todd Palin is on the list of participants. Team #17
I should have read further down. You mention Todd being in the race.
I met Sarah in Big Lake one year. I’m in Kotzebue this year but I don’t think she’s traveling with Todd anymore unless they fixed their marriage.
See my post #6
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3816519/posts?page=6#6
Again, apologies ... someone said he wasn’t in this year & I didn’t do my ‘homework’.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Latest post off the Iron Dog Group:
And they [Rec class] are off the layover clock in Unalakleet. Todays destination is Kotzebue Alaska First Iron Dog riders to ever go to Kotz
I love it that they are going to these other communities & including them in the excitement. PLEASE post some 'first hand' info when the folks come through!
Haven't heard anything on the Palin marriage situation ... I was wondering how many FR "fans" Todd would still have after the divorce announcement. Anyway, happy safe trails to ALL of them - the wind chills looked terrible yesterday with the wind advisory through noon today.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.