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The Last Great Race

© James Soos

It’s that time of year again. Alaska’s state sport, dog mushing, is in full swing. “The Last Great Race” or the ‘Iditarod’ is the most famous and probably the first to come to mind when you think of this unusual sport. Alaskan’s have been busy for the last few months preparing for the start of the 2001 Iditarod in downtown Anchorage.

Until the introduction of the airplane to Alaska in the 1920’s, dog sled was the chief means of transportation when winter freeze-up rendered water travel impossible from October through May. Mushing enabled people to travel long distances within a state where very few roads, and a railroad in its infancy created transportation nightmares. Dog teams carried mail, supplies and even passengers throughout Alaska during the gold rush days and beyond. By 1910, it was realized that a route was needed to deliver mail and supplies to the miners in western Alaska, and the Iditarod Trail was born (a transportation system over 1150 miles long, beginning in Seward on the Kenai Peninsula, and ending at Nome).

Probably the most famous use of the Iditarod Trail was the 1925 Serum Run to Nome. After an outbreak of diphtheria, countless lives were in jeopardy. A plea for help was wired out to Anchorage, Fairbanks, Seward and Juneau. The only serum in the state was in Anchorage, so a brilliant plan was devised using 20 drivers and dog teams to relay the life saving fluid to the stricken.

The airplane took command of Alaskan skies around 1924. Daring pilots began to fly over The Last Frontier’s rugged wilderness delivering mail and supplies to destinations only accessible by dog sled before, and the bush pilot was born. Around the same time period, the financially troubled Alaska Railroad was completed, which allowed Alaskans to be less dependant on the dog sled for transportation. However, due too lack of roads, mushing was still a favored means of travel where the railroad could not reach. Many years later, with the advent of the snowmobile and a more reliable roadway system, dog sled use began to dwindle. But it still holds a place in every Alaskan’s heart.

The 2001 Iditarod is slated to begin March 3rd. The first dog team will begin its 1000 mile journey through Alaska’s wilderness at 10:00 am Alaska Standard Time. This year, 73 mushers will vie for a $550,000 purse up for grabs to the first thirty teams to cross the finish line in Nome. It’s been a tough year for Alaska’s state sport though. Due to a mild winter, many qualifying racing events had to be canceled due to lack of snow. This had an effect on many who wished to enter the Iditarod for the first time as a rookie musher. Even though February has blessed us with some snow and cooler temperatures, it will be interesting to see how the dog teams negotiate a trail with many river crossings that may not yet be as frozen as most mushers are comfortable with.

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