Dogs of iron, men of steel

WASILLA — Nearly three dozen teams are in the hunt to claim top bragging rights in this year's Iron Dog snow machine race across more than 2,000 miles of rugged, Alaska wilderness. Among those seeking the title and a chunk of more than $250,000 total purse, is last year's reigning champs — veteran racers Tyler Aklestad of Palmer and Tyson Johnson of Eagle River.

Although tomorrow is official start of "The World's Longest, Toughest Snowmobile Race", pro-class racing kicks off with a Big Lake restart on Sunday morning. Due to a lack of entrants, the 2017 recreational class race isn't being held this year. Activities have been going on for the past couple of days kicking off with the Valentine's Day Racer Drawing and Hall of Fame Banquet.

Public events begin in earnest today. The Iron Dog Safety Expo is ongoing throughout 1-8 p.m. at Cabela's , 155 West 104th Avenue in Anchorage and the third annual Flying Iron Freestyle Show in downtown Anchorage.

Organizers have two shows scheduled this year. The first is tonight at 7 p.m with the show under the lights. The second takes place Saturday at 2 p.m. following the noon official start on 4th Avenue near F Street. Both shows shows are slated for 3rd Avenue between E and C Streets.

Sunday's Big Lake restart ceremonies begin at 10:45 a.m. with the first green flag dropped at 11 a.m. The last team should be out on the course by 1:30. The start takes place on the lake adjacent to Big lake Power Sports and Marina on Big Lake Road. Signs will be posted. From there, teams face more than 2,000 miles of Alaska.

By Wednesday evening, teams should be hitting the halfway mark at Nome. Not only do racers get a chance for repairs, rest and recuperation, each member of the first team in gets a $10,000 "Gold Rush" cash prize sponsored by Donlin Gold. A banquet and ceremonies are on tap before the racers and sleds head out for the final stretch to Fairbanks.

The first teams are scheduled to arrive in at the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center in Fairbanks around noon with the last racers expected in around 5 p.m. The award ceremony has 7 p.m. start at the Westmark Hotel, 813 Noble Street.

Returning champs

Team 8 is seeded 23rd for the race's official start. Both come with years of racing the Iron Dog as well as experience in the annual Arctic Man. The two have been an Iron Dog team since 2006 and are sponsored by Ski-Doo. Both will race MXZ X-RS 600 sleds this go-around. The two did not finish the race in 2014 and 2015.

Team 8 finished the 2016 race finished the 2,031 miles in 35:35.22 for an average speed of 57 miles per hour. That time bested the efforts of Wasilla veterans Nick Olstad and Todd Minnick who finished just over 45 minutes later averaging 56 miles per hour over the course. Olstad and Minnick each have several Iron Dog firsts under their belts.

Johnson, 36, calls Eagle River home. He is a journeyman sheet metal fabricator at H&K Sheet Metal Fabricators of Anchorage. This year marks the 20th for his racing career. He missed only one Iron Dog during that time, in 2005. Over those two decades, Johnson has finished second three times and has placed in the top five several times. Johnson also has seven Arctic Man wins to his credit — five in ski and two in snowboarding. He also has tallied up many cross country race wins in the sport including three wins in the Mayor's Cup and four K150 victories. He and his wife Alexis have a new son Rowan which occupies a much of his free time. He also enjoys anything outdoors-related.

Thirty-one year old Aklestad hales from Palmer and is journeyman cable splicer for Matanuska Telephone Association. He has been racing since 2004. A native Alaskan, Aklestad has 13 Iron Dog competitions under his belt. True to the spirit of the event, he didn't let eight DNFs dissuade him before he and his partner claimed the overall top spot in 2016. Aklestad claimed bragging rights in the 2011-2014 Arctic Man events and also won it in 2008. He and his wife Erin have two sons —Liam and Finn. Like his teammate, Aklestad enjoys Alaska's outdoors opportunities when he has free time.

The field

While a majority of the racers call Alaska home, many entrants come from Outside — from Maine to Michigan to California.

Closest to home are eight Mat-Su rookies, including both members of Team 25 — Tyler Bogert of Big Lake and Brandon Burmeister of Eagle River. Others include Wasilla's Micah Huss from Team 2, David Spain of Team 3, Jason Moore from Team 12, and Luke George of Team 44. Big Lake's Alex Schwochert of Team 15 and James Stan of Palmer from Team 37 round out the list.

Rookie status in the Iron Dog doesn't necessarily mean a racer is new to the sport. Iron Dog maintains a long-standing tradition of labeling a racer as a rookie for those who have never finished the Pro Class event. A finishing Trail Class racer who has crossed the line along with the Pro Class is still considered a rookie.

The sled of choice for 2017 is a close race with Ski-Doo narrowly beating out Polaris, 14-12. Arctic Cat isn't far back with nine teams with a preference for green. Unlike last year, there are no teams racing Yamaha sleds this event. This year's snowfall over most of the course is more plentiful that last season's. The Iron Dog course follows a very similar route as the Iditarod sled dog race. Iditarod officials announced Feb. 10 that weather forced moving traditional restart from Willow to Fairbanks.

The elements

The weather may have affected the dog-powered route, but not the horsepowered one. Although there have been minor course changes to avoid long stretches of open water in some of the warmer winters, there has never been a major location change for the Iron Dog. Dogs, sleds and mushers don't float. Snow machines, however, when driven by an experienced operator, can skim over large, shallow areas of open water.

According to event organizers, often times the route contains large, open plains with little or no snow. This requires racers to weigh time and distance over the possible adverse effects the elements, or lack of, has on their machines. On the other extreme, some racers have recorded temperatures approaching -60 degrees Fahrenheit, although most racers claim experiencing lower temperatures in the river basins and valleys. Toss in wind chill factors and unannounced storms and it's easy to see how racers can wake up to find the entire belly-pan packed so tight when they lift the hood, the snow retains the shape. Or racers having to chip ice out of the engine compartment just to get enough air to combust fuel.

The Iron Dog website has links to keep track of each team throughout the race. A number of events will be streamed live on the internet. For a complete rundown on the race, schedule of events, and related information, check out www.irondog.org.

Contact reporter Chris Ford at 352-2270 or

chris.ford@frontiersman.com