Page 37 - Travel Guide Fly Alaska Winter Edition

Twenty mushers volunteered, the team to the next relay point. often called “The Last Great
traveling with more than 100 Another musher later recalled Race.” Mushers and their
dogs. Their backgrounds he could not see his dogs at all teams travel more than 1,000
reflected Alaska itself: through the blinding fog. He miles from Anchorage to
trappers, mail carriers, guides, trusted them to do what they Nome, honoring the courage,
racers, Indigenous Alaskans, were bred to do. They found endurance, and teamwork that
locals, and Norwegians. the trail on instinct. defined the 1925 serum run.
They faced brutal conditions, On February 2 at 5:30 a.m., The ceremonial start takes
including temperatures the final team arrived in Nome, place in downtown Anchorage,
dropping to 85 degrees below led by the now-legendary lead with the competitive restart
zero. One musher lost two dog Balto. The relay took 127 happening in Willow, about 80
lead dogs when a frozen river hours and 30 minutes, just over miles north.
cracked beneath their paws. five days. Nome was saved. The timing makes the
He placed their bodies in the Every March, that story experience even more special.
sled, strapped on the lead comes alive again during the The Iditarod ceremonial start
harness himself, and guided Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, happens on the final weekend
of Fur Rondy, giving visitors a
rare opportunity to be part of
two iconic Alaskan traditions
at once. Festivalgoers can
take in Fur Rondy events, from
winter sports to community
celebrations, and then line
the streets of downtown
Anchorage to watch dog
teams surge forward in the
ceremonial opening of the
race.
There are many ways to
experience the Iditarod beyond
race day. Visitors can tour sled
dog kennels in the weeks
leading up to the event, as many
mushers welcome the public.
Others book flightseeing or
snowmobile tours to “chase
the race” across Alaska’s
backcountry. Volunteers play
a vital role as well, helping
handle dogs, communicate
with checkpoints, and keep
the race running smoothly.
For those who time it right,
Fur Rondy and the Iditarod
together offer something
uniquely Alaskan: a celebration
of winter, history, and resilience,
all unfolding in the heart of
Anchorage before the teams
head north toward Nome.

WINTER EDITION
® 35