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138-479: The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race , more commonly known as The Iditarod ( / aɪ ˈ d ɪ t ə r ɒ d / ), is an annual long-distance sled dog race held in Alaska in early March. It travels from Anchorage to Nome . Mushers and a team of between 12 and 16 dogs, of which at least 5 must be on the towline at the finish line, cover the distance in 8–15 days or more. The Iditarod began in 1973 as an event to test

276-664: A Holikachuk phrase that means big river . Then, two years later, the Gwich'ins told the Hudson's Bay Company that their name for the river was Yukon and that the name meant white water river . White water river in fact corresponds to Gwich'in words that can be shortened to form Yukon . Because the Holikachuks had been trading regularly with both the Gwich’ins and the Yup'iks ,

414-474: A wildfire burned 360,000 acres (1,500 km) of spruce. The hazards resulting from wildfire force teams to move very slowly and can cause paw injuries. Clumps of sedge or grass which balloon out into a canopy 2 feet (610 mm) above the ground can support a deceptively thin crust of snow. Fallen timber is also a concern. Nikolai, an Athabaskan settlement on the banks of the Kuskokwim River,

552-599: A ceremonial start in Anchorage, Alaska on the morning of the first Saturday in March, with mushers running 32 km (20 mi) to Eagle River along the Alaskan Highway, giving spectators a chance to see the dogs and the mushers. The teams are then loaded onto trucks and driven 48 km (30 mi) to Wasilla for the official race start in the afternoon. The race ends when the last musher either drops out of

690-542: A class of dogs that includes both pedigree and non-pedigree dogs. Alaskan Malamutes are thought to be one of the first domesticated breeds of dogs, originating in the Kotzebue Sound region of Alaska. These dogs are known for their broad chests, thick coats, and tough feet. Speed has little to no value for these dogs - instead, the emphasis is on pulling strength. They are used in expedition and long adventure trips, and for hauling heavy loads. Alaskan Malamutes were

828-454: A cooperative effort of 70 First Nations and tribes in Alaska and Canada, has the goal of making the river and its tributaries safe to drink from again by supplementing and scrutinizing government data. The name Yukon , or ųųg han , is a contraction of the words in the Gwich'in phrase chųų gąįį han , which means white water river and refers to "the pale colour" of glacial runoff in

966-421: A double coat, with the outer coat keeping snow away from the body, and a waterproof inner coat for insulation. In warm weather, dogs may have problems regulating their body temperature and may overheat. Their tails serve to protect their nose and feet from freezing when the dog is curled up to sleep. They also have a unique arrangement of blood vessels in their legs to help protect against frostbite . Appetite

1104-471: A layer of ice (overflow) is a hazard. In 1975, Vaughan was hospitalized for frostbite after running through an overflow. In 1973, Terry Miller and his team were almost drawn into a hole in the river by the powerful current in an overflow but were rescued by Tom Mercer who came back to save them. About 45 miles (72 km) from Rohn, the path leaves the river and passes into the Farewell Burn. In 1976,

1242-461: A muddy hazard. The second checkpoint also occasionally changes because of weather; in 2005, the checkpoint was changed from Eagle River to Campbell Airstrip, 11 miles (18 km) away. In the 2016 race, due to lack of snow, the ceremonial start was 3 miles in Anchorage. After the dogs are shuttled to the third checkpoint, the race restarts the next day (Sunday) at 2:00 p.m. AST. Prior to 2004,

1380-420: A result of reduced sea ice (limiting their area of use), increasing use of snowmobiles, increasing dog food prices and disease among some local dog populations, the number has been gradually falling in decades and by 2016 there were 15,000 Greenland dogs. A number of projects have been initiated in an attempt of ensuring that Greenland's dog sledding culture, knowledge and use are not lost. The Sirius Patrol ,

1518-574: A resurgence of recreational mushing in the 1970s, and has continued to grow until it is now the largest sporting event in the state. The race was originally patterned after the All Alaska Sweepstakes races held early in the 20th century. The main route of the Iditarod trail extends 938 miles (1,510 km) from Seward in the south to Nome in the northwest, and was first surveyed by Walter Goodwin in 1908, and then cleared and marked by

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1656-451: A sharp turn and encountered a pregnant moose. The moose killed two dogs and seriously injured six more in the twenty minutes before Duane "Dewey" Halverson arrived and shot the moose. In 1982, Dick Mackey, Warner Vent, Jerry Austin, and their teams were driven into the forest by a charging moose. Otherwise, the route to Skwentna is easy, over flat lowlands, and well marked by stakes or tripods with reflectors or flags. Most mushers push through

1794-537: A sled dog standard and a hunting dog standard co-existed. The optimal maximum size for a sled dog is 20–25 kg (44–55 lb) based on thermo-regulation, and the ancient sled dogs were between 16 and 25 kg (35 and 55 lb). The same standard has been found in the remains of sled dogs from this region 2,000 years ago and in the modern Siberian Husky breed standard. Other dogs were more massive at 30 kg (66 lb) and appear to be dogs that had been crossed with wolves and used for polar bear hunting. At death,

1932-702: A sled dog. There are two genetically distinct varieties of the Alaskan husky: a sprinting group and a long-distance group. Alaskan Malamutes and Siberian Huskies contributed the most genetically to the long-distance group, while English Pointers and Salukis contributed the most to the sprinting group. Anatolian Shepherd Dogs contributed a strong work ethic to both varieties. There are many Alaskan huskies that are part Greyhound , which improves their speed. Alaskan Malamutes are large, strong freight dogs. They weigh between 36 and 54 kg (80 and 120 lb) and have round faces with soft features. Freight dogs are

2070-600: A special forces unit in the Danish military, enforces the sovereignty of the remote unpopulated northeast (essentially equalling the Northeast Greenland National Park ) and conduct long-range dog sled patrolling, which also record all sighted wildlife. The patrols averaged 14,876 km (9,244 mi) per year during 1978–1998. By 2011, the Greenland wolf had re-populated eastern Greenland from

2208-781: A very efficient gait, and "mushers strive for a well balanced dog team that matches all dogs for both size (approximately the same) and gait (the walking, trotting or running speeds of the dogs as well as the 'transition speed' where a dog will switch from one gait to another) so that the entire dog team moves in a similar fashion which increases overall team efficiency." They can run up to 45 km/h (28 mph). Because of this, sled dogs have very tough, webbed feet with closely spaced toes. Their webbed feet act as snow shoes. Sled dog breeds can typically be divided into further sub-types: A dog's fur depends on its use. Freight dogs should have dense, warm coats to hold heat in, and sprint dogs have short coats that let heat out. Most sled dogs have

2346-484: A very long history of using sled dogs and they are still widely used today. As of 2010, some 18,000 Greenland dogs were kept in western Greenland north of the Arctic Circle and in eastern Greenland (because of the effort of maintaining the purity of this culturally important breed, they are the only dogs allowed in these regions) and about half of these were in active use as sled dogs by hunters and fishers. As

2484-606: A vestige of fat. Each animal yielded very little, and the major part was fed to the surviving dogs, which ate the meat, skin and bones until nothing remained. The men also ate the dog's brains and livers. Unfortunately eating the liver of sled dogs produces the condition hypervitaminosis A because canines have a much higher tolerance for vitamin A than humans do. Mertz suffered a quick deterioration. He developed stomach pains and became incapacitated and incoherent. On 7 January 1913, Mertz died. Mawson continued alone, eventually making it back to camp alive. Roald Amundsen 's expedition

2622-414: A warming climate forced organizers to move the start 300 miles (480 km) north to Fairbanks . The mushers depart separated by the same intervals as their arrival at the second checkpoint. In 2015, the official restart had to again be moved north to Fairbanks due to unusually warm temperatures and lack of snow coverage on critical parts of the trail. The first 100 miles (160 km) from Willow through

2760-456: Is 22 miles (35 km). The last leg is crucial because the lead teams are often within a few hours of each other at this point. The closest race in Iditarod history was in 1978 when the winner and the runner-up were only one second apart. In 1991, the race had been decided by less than an hour seven times, and less than five minutes three times. Numerous races since then have been decided by less than an hour: for example, 2012, 2013, 2014 (in which

2898-640: Is a type of sled dog bred for sled dog racing , especially dryland sports like canicross and bikejoring . The Greyster is crossbred from the Greyhound and the German Shorthair Pointer . The Kamchatka Sled Dog (Russian: Камчатских ездовых собак, literally "Kamchatka riding dog") is a rare landrace of sled laika developed by the Itelmen and Koryak people of Kamchatka , Russia . There are currently efforts underway to revive

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3036-462: Is a big part of choosing sled dogs; picky dogs off trail may be pickier on the trail. They are fed high-fat diets, and on the trail may eat oily salmon or blubbery sea mammals . Sled dogs also must not be overly aggressive with other dogs. They also need a lot of exercise. The most commonly used dog in dog sled racing , the Alaskan husky is a mongrel bred specifically for its performance as

3174-512: Is accessible from the Yukon at Pitkas Point), and Mountain Village . After Mountain Village, the main Yukon channel frays into many channels, sprawling across the delta. There are a number of communities after the "head of passes," as the channel division is called locally: Nunum Iqua , Alakanuk , Emmonak , and Kotlik . Of those delta communities, Emmonak is the largest with roughly 760 people in

3312-533: Is also performed along the river in summer by barge , enabling heavy goods, oil, and vehicles to be transported to communities along the Yukon, Tanana, Innoko, and Koyukuk rivers. This service is performed by Ruby Marine and reaches Tanana on the Yukon River and Nenana on the Tanana River. Some of the upper slopes of this watershed (e.g. Nulato Hills ) are forested by Black Spruce . This locale near

3450-754: Is an ancient working dog breed that originated in the Arctic seashore of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic . In terms of functionality, Yakutian Laikas are a sled laika , being able to herd, hunt, and as well as haul freight. The Yakutian Laika is recognized by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) and the AKC's Foundation Stock Service . The Yakutian Laika is a medium size, strong and compact dog, with powerful muscles and thick double coat to handle bitter Arctic temperatures. They were

3588-496: Is capable of pulling between 45 and 80 kg (99 and 176 lb) per dog for distances between 24 and 113 km (15 and 70 mi). The Canadian Eskimo Dog was also used as a hunting dog, helping Inuit hunters to catch seals, muskoxen , and polar bears . On 1 May 2000, the Canadian territory of Nunavut officially adopted the "Canadian Inuit Dog" as the animal symbol of the territory. They are considered genetically to be

3726-462: Is now on the Iditarod's board of directors. Rookie mushers must pre-qualify by finishing an assortment of qualifying races first. Sled dog A sled dog is a dog trained and used to pull a land vehicle in harness , most commonly a sled over snow. Sled dogs have been used in the Arctic for at least 8,000 years and, along with watercraft, were the only transportation in Arctic areas until

3864-450: Is referred to as the " Red Lantern ". On the way to the arch, each musher passes down Front Street and down the fenced-off 50-yard (46 m) end stretch. The city's fire siren is sounded as each musher hits the 2-mile mark before the finish line. While the winner of the first race in 1973 completed the competition in just over 20 days, preparation of the trail in advance of the dog sled teams and improvements in dog training have dropped

4002-569: Is the first Native American village used as a checkpoint, and the arrival of the sled teams is one of the largest social events of the year. The route then follows the south fork of the Kuskokwim to the former mining town of McGrath. According to the 2010 census , it has a population of 401, making it the largest checkpoint in the Interior. McGrath is also notable for being the first site in Alaska to receive mail by aircraft (in 1924), heralding

4140-630: The Alaska Road Commission in 1911 and 1912. The entire network of branching paths covers a total of 2,450 miles (3,940 km). Except for the start in Anchorage, the modern race follows parts of the historic Iditarod trail. The trail is composed of two routes: a northern route, which is run on even-numbered years, and a southern route, which is run on odd-numbered years. Both follow the same trail 352 miles (566 km), from Anchorage to Ophir , where they diverge and then rejoin at Kaltag , 346 miles (557 km) from Nome. The race used

4278-543: The Alaskan Malamute and mongrels bred from imported huskies . The original Iditarod start had nothing to do with the serum run or the famous dog, Balto. Joe Redington Sr. had the original idea to race a portion of the Iditarod trail. Joe Redington Sr. (named the "Father of the Iditarod" by one of the local newspapers) asked his friends, Gleo Huyck and Tom Johnson (school teachers and dog mushers) to join him in creating this new endeavor. The three co-founders of

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4416-634: The Chilkoot Trail . Either way, Atlin Lake flows into Tagish Lake (via the Atlin River), as eventually does Lake Lindeman after flowing into Bennett Lake . Tagish Lake then flows into Marsh Lake (via the Tagish River). The Yukon River proper starts at the northern end of Marsh Lake, just south of Whitehorse . Some argue that the source of the Yukon River should really be Teslin Lake and

4554-492: The Environmental Protection Agency does not list the Yukon River among its impaired watersheds, and water-quality data from the U.S. Geological Survey shows relatively good levels of turbidity, metals, and dissolved oxygen. The Yukon and Mackenzie rivers have much higher suspended sediment concentrations than the great Siberian Arctic rivers. The Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council ,

4692-484: The Far Eastern Party , a three-man sledging team with Lieutenant B.E.S. Ninnis , to survey King George V Land , Antarctica. On 14 December 1912, Ninnis fell through a snow-covered crevasse along with most of the party's rations, and was never seen again. Their meagre provisions forced them to eat their remaining dogs on their 507 km (315 mi) return journey. Their meat was tough, stringy and without

4830-553: The Iditarod Trail and the Yukon Quest . Sled dogs are used in countries and regions such as Canada, Greenland , Siberia , Russia , Norway, Sweden, and Alaska . A 2017 study showed that 9,000 years ago, the domestic dog was present at what is now Zhokhov Island , northeastern Siberia, which at that time was connected to the mainland. The dogs were selectively bred as either sled dogs or hunting dogs, implying that

4968-664: The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty as part of a larger ban on foreign species in order to protect the antarctic ecosystem. Carsten Borchgrevink used Sámi sled dogs with Finnish handlers in Antarctica during his Southern Cross Expedition (1898–1900), but it was much colder than expected at Cape Adare . The dogs were used to working on snow, not on ice, in much milder temperatures. The dogs were also inadequately fed, and eventually all of

5106-503: The Samoyede people of Siberia, who used them to herd reindeer and hunt, in addition to hauling sleds. These dogs were so prized, and the people who owned them so dependent upon them for survival, that the dogs were allowed to sleep in the tents with their owners. Samoyeds weigh about 20 to 29 kg (45 to 65 lb) for males and 16 to 23 kg (35 to 50 lb) for females and stands from 480 to 600 mm (19 to 23.5 in) at

5244-549: The Seward Peninsula represents the near westernmost limit of the Black Spruce, Picea mariana , one of the most widespread conifers in northern North America. The river flows into several parklands and refuges including: Yukon at Pilot Station (121 miles upstream of mouth) minimum, average and maximum discharge: for statistical calculation The Yukon River is home to one of the longest salmon runs in

5382-467: The South Pole and competed in the only Olympic sled dog race , became lost for five days after leaving Rainy Pass and nearly died. The trail down Dalzell Gorge from the divide is regarded as the worst stretch of the trail. Steep and straight, it drops 1,000 feet (300 m) in elevation in just 5 miles (8.0 km), and there is little traction so the teams are hard to control. Mushers have to ride

5520-674: The Takhini River ) and Kluane Lake (into the Kluane and then White River). The river passes through the communities of Whitehorse , Carmacks , (just before the Five Finger Rapids ) and Dawson City in Yukon , and crossing Alaska into Eagle , Circle , Fort Yukon , Stevens Village , Rampart , Tanana , Ruby , Galena , Nulato , Grayling , Holy Cross , Russian Mission , Marshall , Pilot Station , St. Marys (which

5658-553: The Teslin River , which has a larger flow when it reaches the Yukon at Hootalinqua. The upper end of the Yukon River was originally known as the Lewes River until it was established that it actually was the Yukon. North of Whitehorse, the Yukon River widens into Lake Laberge , made famous by Robert W. Service 's " The Cremation of Sam McGee ". Other large lakes that are part of the Yukon River system include Kusawa Lake (into

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5796-468: The Veterans of Foreign Wars building, the mushers check in, unharness their teams, return them to their boxes, and drive 30 miles (48 km) of highway to the restart point. During the first two races in 1973 and 1974, the teams crossed the mudflats of Cook Inlet to Knik (the original restart location), but this was discontinued because the weather frequently hovers around freezing, turning it into

5934-411: The Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers, in 1908. The primary communication and transportation link to the rest of the world during the summer was the steamship, but between October and June the northern ports like Nome became icebound, and dog sleds delivered mail, firewood, mining equipment, gold ore, food, furs, and other needed supplies between the trading posts and settlements across the Interior and along

6072-491: The "Era of the Sled Dog". Sled dogs were used to deliver the mail in Alaska during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Alaskan Malamutes were the favored breed, with teams averaging eight to 10 dogs. Dogs were capable of delivering mail in conditions that would stop boats, trains, and horses. Each team hauled between 230 and 320 kg (500 and 700 lb) of mail. The mail was stored in waterproofed bags to protect it from

6210-416: The 2000 census. Emmonak's gravel airstrip is the regional hub for flights. Navigational obstacles on the Yukon River are the Five Finger Rapids and Rink Rapids downstream from Carmacks. Despite its length, there are only four vehicle-carrying bridges across the river, listed from upstream to downstream: A car ferry crosses the river at Dawson City in the summer; it is replaced by an ice bridge over

6348-516: The Alaska Department of Fish & Game's Division of Commercial Fisheries banned all fishing of Chinook and chum salmon, including for subsistence. Various organizations are involved to protect healthy salmon runs into the future. The Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association was formed in 1990 by a consensus of fishers representing the entire drainage in response to recent disaster years. Its organizational goals include giving voice to

6486-472: The Holikachuks were in a position to borrow the Gwich'in contraction and to conflate its meaning with the meaning of Kuig-pak [River-big], which is the Yup'ik name for the same river. For that reason, the documentary evidence suggests that the Holikachuks had borrowed the contraction Ųųg Han [White Water River] from Gwich'in, and erroneously assumed that this contraction had the same literal meaning as

6624-614: The Iditarod Trail were used by the Native Alaskan Inupiaq and Athabaskan peoples hundreds of years before the arrival of Russian fur traders in the 1800s, but the trail reached its peak between the late 1880s and the mid-1920s as miners arrived to dig coal and later gold, especially after the Alaska gold rushes at Nome in 1898, and at the "Inland Empire" along the Kuskokwim Mountains between

6762-615: The Interior and the Iñupiat settlements on the coast of the Bering Sea. The "Kaltag Portage" runs through a 1,000-foot (304.80 m) pass down to the Iñupiat town of Unalakleet , on the shore of the Bering Sea. In the early years of the Iditarod, the last stretch along the shores of the Norton Sound of the Bering Sea to Nome was a slow, easy trip. Now that the race is more competitive, the last stretch has become one last dash to

6900-634: The National Park in the northeast through following these dog-sled patrols over distances of up to 560 km (350 mi). In 2019, a study found that those dogs brought initially into the North American Arctic from northeastern Siberia were later replaced by dogs accompanying the Inuit during their expansion beginning 2,000 years ago. These Inuit dogs were more genetically diverse and more morphologically divergent when compared with

7038-789: The Norwegian Sled Dog Racing Association, the German Shorthair Pointer quickly emerged as the dog breed of choice. At the beginning of the 1970s, the "sled pointer" had emerged, a pointing dog who was bred exclusively for sledding and not hunting. During the 1970s, "Nome-style" sled racing, which mimicked the big sled dog teams running long distances and overnighting in subzero temperatures seen in North American-style races, started to attract interest in Scandinavia. In 1974,

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7176-562: The Sámi and Finnish cultures. In 1925, a massive diphtheria outbreak crippled Nome, Alaska . There was no serum in Nome to treat the people infected by the disease. There was serum in Nenana , but the town was more than 970 km (600 mi) away, and inaccessible except by dog sled. A dog sled relay was set up by the villages between Nenana and Nome, and 20 teams worked together to relay

7314-567: The Yukon River. The contraction is Ųųg Han , if the /ųų/ remains nasalized , or Yuk Han , if there is no vowel nasalization. In the 1840s, different tribes had different opinions as to the literal meaning of Yukon . In 1843, the Holikachuks had told the Russian-American Company that their name for the river was Yukkhana and that this name meant big river . However, Yukkhana does not literally correspond to

7452-476: The Yukon River. Ruby is another former gold-rush town which became an Athabaskan village. The southern route first passes through the ghost town of Iditarod, which is the alternate halfway mark, at 432 miles (695 km) from Anchorage, and 556 miles (895 km) from Nome (ITC, Southern ). From Iditarod the route goes through the three neighboring Athabaskan villages of Shageluk , Anvik , Grayling , and then on to Eagle Island, Alaska,. Ruby and Anvik are on

7590-557: The Yukon include set gillnets , drift nets , dip nets , and fish wheels . The preference of certain gear is largely dependent on the river's varied characteristics in different areas. Some parts of the river do not have eddies to make set-nets successful, whereas in other places the tributaries are small enough to make drifting impractical. Over the last 20 years salmon recruitment, the number of returning adults, has taken several shocks. The late 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s have been marked by radically reduced runs for various salmon species. In

7728-574: The Yukon less than a century earlier to increase the hauling capacity of their lighter sled dogs." Outside of Alaska, dog-drawn carts were used to haul peddler's wares in cities like New York . After World War II, skijor and pulka style dog sled racing gained rapidly in popularity in Norway and neighboring Scandinavian countries. These styles of racing required small, fast teams of 1-4 dogs who competed over short, hilly distances of 15–30 km (9.3–18.6 mi). Required to use purebred dogs by

7866-487: The best sled dog mushers and teams but evolved into today's highly competitive race. Teams often race through blizzards causing whiteout conditions, sub-zero temperatures and gale-force winds which can cause the wind chill to reach −100 °F (−73 °C). A ceremonial start occurs in the city of Anchorage and is followed by the official restart in Willow , a city 80 miles (129 km) north of Anchorage. The restart

8004-705: The border. The agreement is implemented through the Yukon River Panel, an international body of 12 members, equal-parts American and Canadian, that advises managers of Yukon River fisheries concerning restoration, conservation, and coordinated management. Tribal organizations such as the Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP), Council of Athabascan Tribal Governments (CATG), and Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) work to sustain Yukon River salmon to promote healthy people, cultures, and communities. The main river and tributaries are (sorted in order from

8142-449: The brake most of the way down and use a snow hook for traction. In 1988, rookie Peryll Kyzer fell through an ice bridge into a creek and spent the night wet. The route then follows Tatina River , which is also hazardous: in 1986 Butcher's lead dogs fell through the ice but landed on a second layer of ice instead of falling into the river. In 1997, Ramey Smyth lost the end of his little finger when it hit an overhanging branch while negotiating

8280-583: The breed. The Labrador Husky originated in the Labrador portion of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador . The breed probably arrived in the area with the Inuit who came to Canada around 1300 AD. Despite the name, Labrador huskies are not related to the Labrador retriever, but in fact most closely related the Canadian Eskimo Dog . There are estimated to be 50-60 Labrador huskies in

8418-403: The ceremonial start at the intersection of Fourth Avenue and D Street in Anchorage and in smaller numbers at the checkpoints along the trail. Mitch Seavey set the record fastest time for the Iditarod in 2017, crossing the line in Nome in 8 days, 3 hours, 40 minutes and 13 seconds, while also becoming the oldest winner. The race's namesake is the Iditarod Trail , which was designated as one of

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8556-404: The checkpoints at Yentna Station Station to Skwentna is known as "moose alley". The many moose in the area find it difficult to move and forage for food when the ground is thick with snow. As a result, the moose sometimes prefer to use pre-existing trails, causing hazards for the dog teams. In 1985, Susan Butcher lost her chance at becoming the first woman to win the Iditarod when her team made

8694-410: The conditions Scott placed them in, with four dogs pulling heavily loaded sleds through 45 cm (18 in) of snow with bleeding feet. Scott blamed their failure on rotten dried fish. In 1910, Scott returned with 33 Sakhalin huskies but noted that they performed poorly in deep snow and their docked tails prevented them from curling up to keep warm. Douglas Mawson and Xavier Mertz were part of

8832-604: The corresponding Yup'ik name Kuig-pak [River-big]. The Lewes River is the former name of the upper course of the Yukon, from Marsh Lake to the confluence of the Pelly River at Fort Selkirk . The generally accepted source of the Yukon River is the Llewellyn Glacier at the southern end of Atlin Lake in British Columbia . Others suggest that the source is Lake Lindeman at the northern end of

8970-657: The cost of maintaining Sakhalins was wasteful and exterminated them, with only a handful residing in Japan surviving. There are approximately 20 Sakhalin Huskies remaining on Sakhalin Island. Smaller than the similar-appearing Alaskan Malamute, the Siberian Husky pulls more, pound for pound, than a Malamute. Descendants of the sled dogs bred and used by the native Chukchi people of Siberia which were imported to Alaska in

9108-455: The current, with an estimated 35–50% bound for Canada. As a result, Chinook salmon are noted for their especially rich and fatty meat and are the priciest of all Pacific salmon species. The villages along the Yukon have historically relied on and continue to rely on salmon for their cultural, subsistence, and commercial needs. Salmon are traditionally dried, smoked, and frozen for both human and sled dog consumption. Common methods of fishing on

9246-586: The dog of choice for hauling and messenger work in World War II . The Canadian Eskimo Dog or Canadian Inuit Dog, also known as the Exquimaux Husky, Esquimaux Dog, and Qimmiq (an Inuit language word for dog), has its origins in the aboriginal sled dogs used by the Thule people of Arctic Canada. The breed as it exists today was primarily developed through the work of the Canadian government. It

9384-579: The dogs died. Erich von Drygalski used Kamchatka sled dogs in his 1901–1903 expedition, and fared much better because his dogs were used to the cold and he hired an experienced dog handler. His dogs were allowed to breed freely and many had to be shot because there was no room on the ship to take them home. Many that were not shot were left behind on the Kerguelen Islands . Otto Nordenskjöld intended to use Greenland dogs in his 1901–1904 expedition, but all but four of his huskies died on

9522-429: The dogs they race, or canine first aid. Mushers who have been convicted of a charge of animal neglect, or determined unfit by the Iditarod Trail Committee, are not allowed to compete. The Iditarod Trail Committee once disqualified musher Jerry Riley for alleged dog abuse and Rick Swenson after one of his dogs expired after running through overflow. The Iditarod later reinstated both men and allowed them to race. Rick Swenson

9660-405: The dogs to become lighter than they were historically. Americans and others living in Alaska then began to import sled dogs from the native tribes of Siberia (which would later evolve and become the Siberian Husky breed) to increase the speed of their own dogs, presenting "a direct contrast to the idea that Russian traders sought heavier draft-type sled dogs from the Interior regions of Alaska and

9798-454: The dogs, extra booties for the dogs, headlamps for night travel, batteries (for the lamps, music, or radios), tools and sled parts for repairs, and even lightweight sleds for the final dash to Nome. There are three mandatory rests that each team must take during the Iditarod: one 24-hour layover, to be taken at any checkpoint; one eight-hour layover, taken at any checkpoint on the Yukon River; and an eight-hour stop at White Mountain . In 1985,

9936-530: The earlier dogs. Today, Arctic sledge dogs are the last descendants in the Americas of this pre-European dog lineage. Historical references of the dogs and dog harnesses that were used by Native American cultures date back to before European contact. The use of dogs as draft animals was widespread in North America. There were two main kinds of sled dogs; one kind was kept by coastal cultures, and

10074-968: The early 1900s, they were used as working dogs and racing sled dogs in Nome, Alaska throughout the 1910s, often dominating the All-Alaska Sweepstakes . They later became widely bred by recreational mushers and show-dog fanciers in the United States and Canada as the Siberian Husky, after the popularity garnered from the 1925 serum run to Nome . Siberians stand 510–600 mm (20–23.5 in), weigh between 16 and 27 kg (35 and 60 lb) (16–23 kg (35–50 lb) for females, 20–27 kg (45–60 lb) for males), and have been selectively bred for both appearance and pulling ability. They are still used regularly today as sled dogs by competitive, recreational, and tour-guide mushers. The Yakutian Laika (Russian: Якутская лайка)

10212-561: The effects of climate change on ocean food-supply & disease prevalence in returning adults, the methods of fishing used on the river, and the effects of the Bering Sea Pollock trawl fleet on food supply and salmon bycatch. In 2010, the Alaska Department of Fish & Game's Board of Fisheries issued the first-ever restriction for net mesh size on the Yukon, reducing it to 7.5 inches (190 mm). In 2021,

10350-418: The end of the sled dog era. It still has a good airfield, so journalists are common. Following McGrath is Takotna , formerly a commercial hub during the gold rush . The ghost town of Ophir, named for the reputed source of King Solomon 's gold by religious prospectors, is the next checkpoint. By this stage in the race, the front-runners may be several days ahead of those in the back of the pack. After Ophir,

10488-446: The finish. According to the 2010 census, the village of Unalakleet has a population of 712, making it the largest Alaska Native town along the Iditarod Trail. The majority of the residents are Iñupiat . The town's name means the "place where the east wind blows". Racers are met by church bells , sirens , and crowds. From Unalakleet, the route passes through the hills to the Iñupiat village of Shaktoolik . The route then passes across

10626-461: The finishing times were less than three minutes apart), 2016, and 2019. The official finish line is the Red "Fox" Olson Trail Monument, more commonly known as the "burled arch", in Nome. The original burled arch lasted from 1975 until 2001, when it was destroyed by dry rot and years of inclement weather. The new arch is a spruce log with two distinct burls similar but not identical to the old arch. While

10764-462: The first Alaskan airmail delivery. Dog sleds were used to patrol western Alaska during World War II . Highways and trucking in the 40s and 50s, and the snowmobile in the 50s and 60s, contributed to the decline of the working sled dog. Recreational mushing came into place to maintain the tradition of dog mushing. The desire for larger, stronger, load-pulling dogs changed to one for faster dogs with high endurance used in racing, which caused

10902-636: The first Nome-style sled race, the Skjelbreia Sweepstakes, was hosted near Oslo . For this style of racing, Norwegian mushers began to import Alaskan huskies ; popularized by mushers like Stein Havard Fjelstad and Roger Leegaard who traveled to Alaska to race in the Iditarod . However, as a performance crossbreed, the Alaskan husky could not be legally raced in Norway until 1985, when the Norwegian Sled Dog Racing Association removed

11040-612: The first four US National Historic Trails in 1978. The trail, in turn, is named for the town of Iditarod , which was an Athabaskan village before becoming the center of the Inland Empire's Iditarod Mining District in 1910, and then becoming a ghost town at the end of the local gold rush. The town was named after the Iditarod River. The river's name ultimately comes from the Athabascan word Haidilatna. Portions of

11178-433: The frozen Norton Bay to Koyuk ; the markers on the bay are young spruce trees frozen into holes in the ice. The route then swings west along the south shore of Seward Peninsula though the tiny villages of Elim , Golovin and White Mountain. All teams must rest their dogs for at least eight hours at White Mountain, before the final sprint. From White Mountain to Safety is 55 miles (89 km), and from Safety to Nome it

11316-584: The frozen river during the winter. Plans to build a permanent bridge were announced in March 2004, although they are currently on hold because bids came in much higher than budgeted. There are also two pedestrian-only bridges in Whitehorse, as well as a dam across the river and a hydroelectric generating station. The construction of the dam flooded the White Horse Rapids , which gave the city its name, and created Schwatka Lake . Transportation

11454-412: The gorge. Rohn is the next checkpoint and is located in a spruce forest with no wind and a poor airstrip. The isolation, its location immediately after the rigors of Rainy Pass and before the 75-mile (121 km) haul to the next checkpoint, makes it a popular place for mushers to take a 4-8 hour break. From Rohn, the trail follows the south fork of the Kuskokwim River, where freezing water running over

11592-479: The heads of the dogs had been carefully separated from their bodies by humans. Anthropologists speculated that this might have been for ceremonial reasons. The Kungur Chronicle and the Remezov Chronicle , created at the end of the 16th century and 1703 respectively, tells about the people living along Siberian rivers, whose primary means of transport was riding on reindeer or dogs. In these documents,

11730-598: The introduction of semi-trailer trucks , snowmobiles and airplanes in the 20th century, hauling supplies in areas that were inaccessible by other methods. They were used with varying success in the explorations of both poles , as well as during the Alaskan gold rush . Sled dog teams delivered mail to rural communities in Alaska , Yukon , Northwest Territories and Nunavut . Sled dogs today are still used by some rural communities, especially in areas of Russia, Canada, and Alaska as well as much of Greenland . They are used for recreational purposes and racing events , such as

11868-603: The journey south. He picked up a mixed breed in the Falklands , but after his arrival in the Antarctic, these were all hunted down and killed by his four surviving huskies hunting as a pack because of dog handler Ole Jonassen's failure to tether the dogs. These huskies were later able to pull 265 kg (584 lb) over 29 km (18 mi) in three and a half hours. Robert Falcon Scott brought twenty Samoyeds with him during his 1902 journey. The dogs struggled under

12006-528: The length of the race is frequently rounded to 1,000 mi (1,609.34 km). In 2015 and 2017, due to lack of snow, the race had to be re-routed. The race started in Fairbanks, Alaska, and continued to Nenana (60 miles (97 km)), Manley Hot Springs (90 miles (140 km)), Tanana (66 miles (106 km)), Ruby (119 miles (192 km)), Galena (50 miles (80 km)), Huslia (82 miles (132 km)), Koyukuk (86 miles (138 km)) before joining up with

12144-517: The longest river in Alaska, the Yukon, which is swept by strong winds which can wipe out the trail and drop the windchill below −100 °F (−73 °C). A greater hazard is the uniformity of this long stretch: suffering from sleep deprivation , many mushers report hallucinations . Both trails meet again in Kaltag, which for hundreds of years has been a gateway between the Athabaskan villages in

12282-489: The mountains is exposed to blizzards. In 1974, there were several cases of frostbite when the temperature dropped to −50 °F (−46 °C), and the 50-mile-per-hour (80.5 km/h) winds caused the wind chill to drop to −130 °F (−90 °C). The wind also erases the trail and markers, making the path hard to follow. In 1976, retired colonel Norman Vaughan , who drove a dog team in Richard E. Byrd 's 1928 expedition to

12420-534: The mushers drawing their numbers for starting position. Selections are made in the order of musher registrations. This is an exciting portion of the race for dogs and musher, as it is one of the few portions of the race where there are spectators, and the only spot where the trail winds through an urban environment. However, in "Iditarod Dreams", DeeDee Jonrowe wrote, "A lot of mushers hate the Anchorage start. They don't like crowds. They worry that their dogs get too excited and jumpy." The time for covering this portion of

12558-487: The narrow Happy River Gorge, where the trail balances on the side of a heavily forested incline. Rainy Pass is the most dangerous check point in the Iditarod. In 1985, Jerry Austin broke a hand and two of his dogs were injured when the sled went out of control and hit a stand of trees. Many others have suffered from this dangerous checkpoint. Rainy Pass is part of the Historic Iditarod Trail, but until 1976

12696-647: The night, and the first teams usually arrive at Skwentna before dawn. Skwentna is a 40-minute hop from Anchorage by air, and dozens of planes land on the airstrip or on the Skwentna River , bringing journalists, photographers, and spectators. From Skwentna, the route follows the Skwentna River into the southern part of the Alaska Range to Finger Lake . The stretch from Finger Lake to Rainy Pass on Puntilla Lake becomes more difficult, as teams follow

12834-543: The normal trail at Nulato for the rest of the race. The Fairbanks restart changed the official distance to 979 mi (1,575.55 km), 4 mi (6.44 km) longer than the northern route, 19 less than the southern route. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Iditarod followed a modified 832-mile out-and-back route, the Gold Trail Loop. This route began and ended at Deshka Landing in Willow , with

12972-431: The northern route until 1977, when the southern route was added to distribute the impact of the event on the small villages in the area, none of which have more than a few hundred inhabitants. Passing through the historic town of Iditarod was a secondary benefit. Aside from the addition of the southern route, the route has remained relatively constant. The largest changes were the addition of the restart location in 1995 and

13110-716: The number was significantly higher and projects have been initiated to ensure the survival of the breed. In many regions north of the Arctic Circle in Greenland, they are a primary mode of transportation in the winter. Most hunters in Greenland favour dog sled teams over snowmobiles, as the dog sled teams are more reliable. They are considered genetically to be the same breed as the Canadian Eskimo Dog, as research shows they have not yet diverged enough genetically to be considered separate breeds. The Greyster

13248-405: The old arch spelled out "End of Iditarod Dog Race", the new arch has an additional word: "End of Iditarod Sled Dog Race". A "Widow's Lamp" is lit and remains hanging on the arch until the last competitor crosses the finish line. The tradition is based on the kerosene lamp lit and hung outside a roadhouse , when a musher carrying goods or mail was en route. The last musher to complete the Iditarod

13386-569: The other kind was kept by interior cultures such as the Athabascan Indians . These interior dogs formed the basis of the Alaskan husky. Russian traders following the Yukon River inland in the mid-1800s acquired sled dogs from the interior villages along the river. The dogs of this area were reputed to be stronger and better at hauling heavy loads than the native Russian sled dogs. The Alaskan Gold Rush brought renewed interest in

13524-491: The pass was inaccessible and route detoured through Ptarmigan Pass , also known as Hellsgate, because of the 1964 Good Friday earthquake . From Rainy Pass, the route continues up the mountain, past the tree line to the divide of the Alaska Range, and then passes down into the Alaska Interior. The elevation of the pass is 3,200 feet (975.4 m), and some nearby peaks exceed 5,000 feet (1,524.0 m). The valley up

13662-461: The past. Yukon River The longest river in Alaska and Yukon, it was one of the principal means of transportation during the 1896–1903 Klondike Gold Rush . A portion of the river in Yukon—"The Thirty Mile" section, from Lake Laberge to the Teslin River —is a national heritage river and a unit of Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park . Paddle-wheel riverboats continued to ply

13800-401: The pole. On the return trip, a man skied ahead of the dogs and hid meat in the cairns to encourage them to run. The original sled dogs were chosen for size, strength and stamina, but modern dogs are bred for speed and endurance Most sled dogs weigh around 25 kg (55 lb), but they can weigh as little as 16 kg (35 lb), and can exceed 32 kg (71 lb). Sled dogs have

13938-453: The preferred dog of Russian polar explorer Georgy Ushakov , who prized them for their hardiness and versatility, being able to hunt seals and polar bears as well as haul sleds for thousands of miles. Numerous non-sled dog breeds have been used as sled dogs. Poodles , Irish Setters , German Shorthaired Pointers , Labrador Retrievers , golden retriever, Newfoundlands , Chow Chows and St. Bernards have all been used to pull sleds in

14076-537: The progenitor of the Siberian husky. A Eurohound is a type of dog bred for sprint-style sled dog racing. The Eurohound is typically crossbred from the Alaskan husky group and any of a number of pointing breeds ("pointers"). Greenland Dogs are heavy dogs with high endurance but little speed. They are frequently used by people offering dog sled adventures and long expeditions. As of 2016, there were about 15,000 Greenland Dogs living in Greenland, but decades ago

14214-416: The race a number of times, and wrote about his experiences in non-fiction memoirs . Per rules #1 and #2, only experienced mushers are allowed to compete in the Iditarod. Mushers are required to participate in three smaller races to qualify for the Iditarod. However, they are allowed to lease dogs to participate in the Iditarod and are not required to take written exams to determine their knowledge of mushing,

14352-601: The race does not count toward the official race time, so the dogs, musher, and Idita-Rider are free to take this all in at a relaxed pace. The mushers then continue through several miles of city streets and city trails before reaching the foothills to the east of Anchorage, in Chugach State Park in the Chugach Mountains . The teams then follow Glenn Highway for two to three hours until they reach Eagle River , 20 miles (32 km) away. Once they arrive at

14490-492: The race online from all over the world, and many overseas volunteers also come to Alaska to help man checkpoints and carry out other volunteer chores. The Iditarod received more attention outside of the state after the 1985 victory of Libby Riddles , a long-shot who became the first woman to win the race. The next year, Susan Butcher became the second woman to win the race and went on to win in three subsequent years. Print and television journalists and crowds of spectators attend

14628-500: The race or crosses the finish line in Nome. The winner of the race receives a prize of US$ 50,000. It has been billed as the "World Series of mushing events" and "The Last Great Race on Earth". The first Arctic explorers were men with sled dogs. Due to the success of using sled dogs in the Arctic, it was thought they would be helpful in the Antarctic exploration as well, and many explorers made attempts to use them. Sled dogs were used until 1992, when they were banned from Antarctica by

14766-454: The race started in October 1972 to plan the now famous race. The original plan was to race from Knik to Iditarod and back. Their friend, Bill Weimar, had the idea to start the race in Anchorage because it had a larger population at both ends of the race. They cleared a portion of the trail. A major fundraising campaign which raised a purse of $ 51,000 was also started at the same time. This race

14904-620: The race was restarted at 10:00 a.m., but the time has been moved back to 2:00 P.M. so the dogs will be starting in colder weather, and the first mushers arrive at Skwentna well after dark, which reduces the crowds of fans who fly into the checkpoint. The traditional restart location was the headquarters of the Iditarod Trail Committee, in Wasilla, but in 2008 the official restart was pushed further north to Willow Lake. In 2003, dwindling snow and poor trail conditions due to

15042-544: The race was suspended for the first time for safety reasons when weather prevented the Iditarod Air Force from delivering supplies to Rohn and Nikolai , the first two checkpoints in the Alaska Interior. Fifty-eight mushers and 508 dogs congregated at the small lodge in Rainy Pass for three days, while emergency shipments of food were flown in from Anchorage. Weather also halted the race later at McGrath , and

15180-420: The race, a ribbon-cutting ceremony is held under the flags representing the home countries and states of all competitors in the race. The first musher to depart at 10:00 a.m. AST is an honorary musher, selected for their contributions to dog sledding. The first competitor leaves at 10:02 and the rest follow, separated by two-minute intervals. The start order is determined during a banquet held two days prior by

15318-551: The requirement that sled dogs be purebred. This new ruling also paved the way for Nordic-style mushers to breed their best performing dogs regardless of breed, with mushers mixing Alaskan husky and German Shorthair Pointer to produce the Eurohound as well as Greyhound with German Shorthair Pointer to produce the Greyster . These Nordic-style crossbreeds gained in popularity across Europe and later North America, especially with

15456-404: The rise in popularity of dryland mushing, such as bikejoring and canicross. Sled dogs and husky safaris are not native to Sápmi (Lapland) and Finland and are considered a major nuisance by reindeer herders as they directly impact their livelihoods. These and glass-domed "iglus" have been appropriated from other cultures by the tourist industry in the 1980s and falsely portrayed as being part of

15594-564: The river until the 1950s, when the Klondike Highway was completed. After the purchase of Alaska by the United States in 1867, the Alaska Commercial Company acquired the assets of the Russian-American Company and constructed several posts at various locations on the Yukon River. The Yukon River has a recent history of pollution from military installations, dumps, wastewater, and other sources. However,

15732-478: The rivers Olenyok, Yana, Indigirka and Kolyma were called “dog rivers”, as they were rich in fish for the dogs to eat. Rivers with no fish or not enough to feed the dogs were called "deer rivers,” as reindeer were then used for transportation. From the 1940s to the 1990s, Russian dog sled numbers were in decline. The breed population reached an all-time low of 3,000 in 1998 before revival efforts took off. Reasons for their decline include The Greenlandic Inuit have

15870-408: The route to pass through the trail's namesake, the historical town of Iditarod. The two routes differ by less than 25 miles (40 km). The northern route first passes through Cripple , which is 425 miles (684 km) from Anchorage, and 550 miles (890 km) from Nome (ITC, Northern ), making it the middlemost checkpoint. From Cripple, the route passes through Sulatna Crossing to Ruby , on

16008-554: The same breed as the Greenland Dog, as research shows they have not yet diverged enough genetically to be considered separate breeds. The Chinook is a rare breed of sled dog developed in New Hampshire in the early 1900s by Arthur Walden , a gold rush adventurer and dog driver, and is a blend of English Mastiff , Greenland Dog , German Shepherd Dog , and Belgian Shepherd . It is the state dog of New Hampshire and

16146-400: The serum to Nome. The serum reached Nome in six days. The Iditarod Trail was established on the path between these two towns. It was known as the Iditarod Trail because, at the time, Iditarod was the largest town on the trail. During the 1940s, the trail fell into disuse. However, in 1967, Dorothy Page, who was conducting Alaska's centennial celebration, ordered 14 km (9 mi) of

16284-446: The shift from Ptarmigan to Rainy Pass in 1996. Checkpoints along the route are also occasionally added or dropped, and the ceremonial start of the route and the restart point are commonly adjusted depending on weather. As a result, the exact measured distance of the race varies from year to year, but officially the northern route is 975 miles (1,569 km) long, and the southern route is 998 miles (1,606 km) long. The description of

16422-597: The shoulder. The Sakhalin Husky , also known as the Karafuto Ken (樺太犬), is a breed of sled dog developed on the island of Sakhalin . Sakhalin huskies are prized for their hardiness, great temperaments and easy trainability, even being the preferred dog used by the Soviet army for hauling gear in harsh condition prior to World War II . Unfortunately with the advent of mechanized travel, Soviet officials determined that

16560-559: The snow. By 1901, dog trails had been established along the entirety of the Yukon River. Mail delivery by dog sled came to an end in 1963 when the last mail carrier to use a dog sled, Chester Noongwook of Savoonga , retired. He was honored by the US Postal Service in a ceremony on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea . Airplanes took over Alaskan mail delivery in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1924, Carl Ben Eielson flew

16698-408: The start in Anchorage is in the middle of a large urban center, most of the route passes through widely separated towns and villages, and small Athabaskan and Iñupiat settlements. The Iditarod is regarded as a symbolic link to the early history of the state and is connected to many traditions commemorating the legacy of dog mushing. The race is an important and popular sporting event in Alaska, and

16836-446: The summer of 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service counted 58,500 Chinook salmon, the second lowest season on record. The United States Department of Commerce issued a Federal Disaster Declaration for the 2008 and 2009 Commercial Chinook Yukon River fisheries, calling for the complete closure of commercial fishing along with restrictions on subsistence fishing. The root cause of these poor returns remains debated, with questions about

16974-481: The top mushers and their teams of dogs are local celebrities; this popularity is credited with the resurgence of recreational mushing in the state since the 1970s. While the yearly field of more than fifty mushers and about a thousand dogs is still largely Alaskan, competitors from fourteen countries have completed the event including Martin Buser from Switzerland , who became the first foreign winner in 1992. Fans follow

17112-430: The trail diverges into a northern and a southern route, which rejoin at Kaltag. In even -numbered years ( e.g. 2022, 2024) the northern route is used; in odd -numbered years ( e.g. 2023) the southern route is used. During the first few Iditarods only the northern trail was used. In the late 1970s, the southern leg of the route was added. It gave the southern villages a chance to host the Iditarod race and also allowed

17250-460: The trail to be cleared for a dog sled race. In 1972, the US Army performed a survey of the trail, and in 1973 the Iditarod was established by Joe Redington, Sr. The race was won by Dick Wilmarth , who took three weeks to complete the race. The modern Iditarod is a 1,800 km (1,100 mi) endurance sled dog race. It usually lasts for ten to eleven days, weather permitting. It begins with

17388-407: The turnaround point at the Iditarod checkpoint. There are currently 26 checkpoints on the northern route and 27 on the southern route where mushers must sign in. Some mushers prefer to camp on the trail and immediately press on, but others stay and rest. Mushers prepare "drop bags" of supplies which are flown ahead to each checkpoint by the Iditarod Air Force. The gear includes food for the musher and

17526-416: The two stops added almost a week to the winning time. The race starts on the first Saturday in March, at the first checkpoint on Fourth Avenue in downtown Anchorage. A five-block section of the street is barricaded off as a staging area, and snow is stockpiled and shipped in by truck the night before to cover the route to the first checkpoint. Prior to 1983, the race started at Mulcahy Park . Shortly before

17664-434: The use of sled dogs as transportation. Most gold camps were accessible only by dogsled in the winter. "Everything that moved during the frozen season moved by dog team; prospectors , trappers , doctors, mail, commerce, trade, freighting of supplies … if it needed to move in winter, it was moved by sled dogs." This, along with the dogs' use in the exploration of the poles, led to the late 1800s and early 1900s being nicknamed

17802-537: The village fishers that have traditionally managed these resources, enabling communication between fishers and fishery managers, and helping to preserve the ecological integrity of salmon runs and local cultures' Traditional Ecological Knowledge In March 2001, the U.S. & Canadian governments passed the Yukon River Salmon Agreement to better manage an internationally shared resource and ensure that more Canadian-originated salmon return across

17940-424: The western coast. Roadhouses where travellers could spend the night sprang up every 14 to 30 miles (23 to 48 km) until the end of the 1920s, when the mail carriers were replaced by bush pilots flying small aircraft, and the roadhouses vanished. Dog sledding persisted in the rural parts of Alaska, but was almost driven into extinction by the increased use of snowmobiles in the 1960s. During its heyday, mushing

18078-1071: The winning time to under 10 days in every race since 1996. An awards banquet is held the Sunday after the winner's arrival. Brass belt buckles and special patches are given to everyone who completes the race. More than 50 mushers enter each year. Most are from rural South Central Alaska , the Interior, and the " Bush "; few are urban, and only a small percentage are from the Contiguous United States , Canada, or overseas. Some are professionals who make their living by selling dogs, running sled dog tours, giving mushing instruction, and speaking about their Iditarod experiences. Others make money from Iditarod-related advertising contracts or book deals. Some are amateurs who make their living hunting , fishing , trapping , gardening , or with seasonal jobs, though lawyers , surgeons , airline pilots , veterinarians , biologists , and CEOs have competed. American young adult author Gary Paulsen competed in

18216-408: The world. The term Mackenzie River husky describes several overlapping local populations of Arctic and sub-Arctic sled dog- type dogs , none of which constitutes a breed . Dogs from Yukon were crossed with large European breeds such as St. Bernards and Newfoundlands to create a powerful freighting dog capable of surviving harsh Arctic conditions. The Samoyed is a laika developed by

18354-500: The world. Each year Chinook , coho , and chum salmon return to their terminal streams in Alaska, the Yukon Territory , and British Columbia. As salmon do not eat during their spawning migration, Yukon River salmon must have great reserves of fat and energy to fuel their thousands-mile-long journey. The Chinook, which arrive at the mouth of the Yukon River in early June, have the longest journey – as many as 2,000 miles against

18492-416: Was also a popular sport during the winter, when mining towns shut down. The first major competition was the tremendously popular 1908 All-Alaska Sweepstakes (AAS), which was started by Allan "Scotty" Alexander Allan , and ran 408 miles (657 km) from Nome to Candle and back. In 1910, this event introduced the first Siberian Huskies to Alaska, where they quickly became the favored racing dog, replacing

18630-632: Was originally in Wasilla through to 2007, but due to too little snow , the restart has been at Willow since 2008. The trail runs from Willow up the Rainy Pass of the Alaska Range into the sparsely populated interior, and then along the shore of the Bering Sea , finally reaching Nome in western Alaska. The trail is through a rugged landscape of tundra and spruce forests, over hills and mountain passes, across rivers and even over sea ice. While

18768-454: Was planned around 97 Esquimaux dogs (possibly Canadian Eskimo Dogs , Greenland Dogs or both). On his first try, two of his dogs froze to death in the −56 °C (−69 °F) temperatures. He tried a second time and was successful. Amundsen was covering 27 km (17 mi) a day, with stops every 4.8 km (3 mi) to build a cairn to mark the trail. He had 55 dogs with him, which he culled until he had 14 left when he returned from

18906-747: Was recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) in the Working Group in 2013. They are described as athletic and "hard bodied" with a "tireless gait". Their coat colour is always tawny, ranging from a pale honey color to reddish-gold. The Chukotka Sled Dog (чукотская ездовая) is the aboriginal spitz breed of dog indigenous to the Chukchi people of Russia . Chukotka sled dog teams have been used since prehistoric times to pull sleds in harsh conditions, such as hunting sea mammals on oceanic pack ice . Chukotka sled dogs are most famous as

19044-414: Was the first true Iditarod Race and was held in 1973, attracting a field of 34 mushers, 22 of whom completed the race. The event was a success; even though the purse dropped in the 1974 race, the popularity caused the field of mushers to rise to 44, and corporate sponsorship in 1975 put the race on secure financial footing. Despite the loss of sponsors during a dog-abuse scandal in 1976, the Iditarod caused

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