CRISIS: IDITAROD PURSE DECREASES
Iditarod purse decreases, entry fee increases, mushers left destitute on wind swept snow bank! Are they capable of negotiating their own future?By your consummately ill-informed correspondent, Joe Runyan, 1989 Iditarod champ.Hang on to your dog leash, illiquidity in the economy and high oil prices have impacted Mushdom. In absolute terms,…
LACONIA 2008: AS CLOSE AS IT GETS
Once again Mother Nature smiled down on Laconia, New Hampshire for the World Championship Sled Dog Derby. Once again Mother Nature smiled down on Laconia, New Hampshire for the World Championship Sled Dog Derby. The renowned Lyman Construction crew was able to create a fantastic trail. Just four days prior…
MEDIA REVIEW: 1000 MILE SLED DOG JOURNEY
The Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, like the proverbial redheaded stepchild, has only received a fraction of the attention paid to the other 1,000 mile race in Alaska. The world famous Iditarod has numerous videos made and books, magazine and newspaper articles written about it annually, but as the…
CATCHING UP WITH: TIM OSMAR
The biggest fishing day of the year has arrived and Tim Osmar is confined to his bed at fish camp.Tim stays behind in Kasilof on the Kenai peninsula while his crew goes to work on the ocean. Instinct tells him to go, but he can hardly move. His ankle hurts…
BACKPACKING WITH DOGS: CARRYING THE LOAD
I’ve spent more than 450 overnights backpacking in the mountains with the aid of my dogs… Mostly off-trail and in difficult terrain including thick brush and swamps.On all occasions, even 13-day trips, the dogs started out carrying not only their own food but some of my food and gear as…
MUSHING DENALI
Despite all the rules and logistical difficulties, my best mushing trips have been to national parks and other protected areas where snowmachines are prohibited. Disliking the restrictions on motorized mobility, most Alaskans stay out of such areas, which are all but empty of people in the winter. Consequently, you don’t…
ARCTIC ODYSSEY: THE 2008 HUDSON BAY QUEST
Raging Blizzards, Whiteouts, Waist Deep OverflowOver the years the Hudson Bay Quest had been tough on mushers and dogs. But if you think it couldn’t get any worse, the Arctic will teach you otherwise. The winter on Hudson Bay’s coast had been fierce. Temperatures hovered around minus 50˚ Celsius. The…
BELLE OF THE BALL: 1967 FUR RONDY WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SLED DOG RACE
In 1967 Sports Illustrated sent a reporter to cover, at the time, the biggest dog race in the world—the Fur Rondy World Championship. But through the reporter’s tenacious and adventuring spirit she ended up running the race and reporting. She completed the race and was also the first woman ever…
SUPERDOGS: LOU SERRE
Lou Serre is arguably one of the top limited sprint drivers in the sport. Starting in the early 1990’s if you saw Lou at a race, with few exceptions, he was a threat to win. Lou has earned the most ISDRA medals (22) to date with no contenders in sight….
Ken Anderson is Keynote Speaker at the Race to the Sky Symposium
Our dog mushing symposium is scheduled for September 5-6 (Friday and Saturday), 2008 at the Best Inn and Conference Center in Missoula, Montana. We have scheduled Ken Anderson as our keynote speaker, a massage therapist, a dog chiropractor, other mid and long distance mushers and it is sure to be…