Iditarod 35: Creativity leads to improvement of gear

March 13, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH / Frontiersman

WASILLA - By the time teams of dogs and mushers start hitting Nome sometime today, they'll be bruised and battered from more than 1,100 miles of mushing across the frozen Alaska landscape. And although it takes plenty of gumption, skill and endurance to complete the race, one element is absolutely critical to a successful run: a good sled.

Sleds are often overlooked when discussing who'll have a good race, but they're often what makes or breaks the trip to Nome. Talkeetna musher Melanie Gould was forced to scratch this year when her sled was smashed on the treacherous run to the Puntilla Lake checkpoint.

In recent years, mushers have begun to get more serious about sled technology. Lightweight metals and composite materials have replaced wood as the choice building material, and mushers begun adding innovations to make sleds stronger, lighter and more comfortable.

Perhaps no musher is as innovative as Jeff King, a four-time Iditarod champion from Denali Park. King is credited with bringing the sit-down sled to mushing, and this year is using a handlebar handwarmer/cooker stove on his sled.

Although using a King-designed sled won't guarantee an Iditarod win, it doesn't hurt, either. Jeff Wells is a rookie in this year's race, but as a handler for King has been using one of the veteran musher's sleds. Wells said the innovations that King has added make a big difference when out on the trail - especially the handlebar heater.

&#8220When there's excess heat in your hands it feels like it transfers it up,” Wells said minutes before leaving the race start in Willow. &#8220It just warms your whole body.”

The handlebar heater works like a camp stove, and is powered by HEET, a highly-flammable alcohol-based gasoline additive. King actually has hooked up a stove to his device, while Wells' older version only heats his hands. Still, the rookie said the contraption works wonders.

&#8220It heats up the handlebar to the point where if you're not moving you can't touch it with bare hands it gets so hot,” he said.

Like King's sled, Wells' also is equipped with a seat and kennel for hurt or tired dogs to ride in. Without a kennel, dogs are usually placed inside the sled itself, taking up valuable storage space.

Wells said the seat makes it nice for mushers, who often make runs of as much as eight hours with little more than a few minutes rest.

&#8220It's nice just to sit down for a little bit, maybe eat something or take a little break,” he said.

King doesn't have a monopoly on innovation in the mushing world. For the past two years, 2001 champion Mitch Seavey of Sterling has used a rather unique material from another wintertime sport to craft one of the strongest, lightest sleds in the field.

The frame of Seavey's racing sled is built entirely of used hockey sticks, which are made of space-age composite fibers that are as strong as metal but weigh only a fraction as much.

&#8220They work great,” Seavey said. &#8220They're light and they're strong.”

Seavey said last year's version even came with a special touch, a stick used by Alaska's most well-known hockey star.

&#8220Last year I had a bunch from the (Alaska) Aces,” Seavey said. &#8220I actually had one from Scotty Gomez that I cut up and used.”

Although high-tech innovations are crucial for mushers wanting that winning edge, even small modifications can make a big difference.

Rookie musher Jeremy Keller of McCarthy said knowing how to take a sled apart and put it back together is a big part of running the trail. Since sleds will inevitably need repairs along the way, Keller said it's important to use nuts and bolts that are easily accessible and don't take long to put on or take off.

That's because when mushers are on the trail, they get little sleep and have to be able to make repairs on autopilot.

&#8220It has to be easy, so you can do it when you're cold and tired,” he said.

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com