Iditarod 36: Backen first into Nikolai

NIKOLAI — Kjetil Backen was the first musher into Nikolai, arriving at 10:39 a.m. on Tuesday

Backen was followed by a group of six teams that hit the checkpoint within a span of just more than an hour. Gerry Willomitzer was the second to arrive in Nikolai, reaching the checkpoint at 11:17 a.m. Paul Gebhardt (11:33 a.m.), Lance Mackey (11:36 a.m.), Jeff King (11:46 a.m.), Hans Gatt (12:04 p.m.) and Hugh Neff (12:05 p.m.) followed.

As of 1 p.m. Tuesday, 37 other mushers had left Rohn and were en route to Nikolai.

Mackey was the first musher to leave Rohn, departing the checkpoint at 8:36 p.m. Monday.

Mackey, of Fairbanks, left two minutes before Neff. Former champions King (9:59 p.m.) and Seavey l(10:01 p.m.) left Rohn within a two-minute span. Rohn Buser, the top rookie in the standings, left the checkpoint he was named for at 4:05 a.m. Tuesday.

Into Nikolai:

1. Kjetil Backen 10:39 a.m. (Tuesday), 2. Gerry Willomitzer 11:17 a.m., 3. Paul Gebhardt 11:33 a.m., 4. Lance Mackey 11:36 a.m., 5. Jeff King 11:46 a.m., 6. Hans Gatt 12:04 p.m., 7. Hugh Neff 12:05 p.m., 8. Mitch Seavey 12:40 p.m.

Out of Rohn:

9. Cim Smyth 11:49 p.m., 10. Ramey Smyth 12:19 a.m., 11. Kjetil Backen 1:11 a.m., 12. Zack Steer 1:45 a.m., 13. Aaron Burmeister 2:24 a.m., 14. Martin Buser 3:23 a.m., 15. Jim Lanier 4:03 a.m., 16. Rohn Buser 4:05 a.m., 17. Sebastian Schnuelle 4:22 a.m., 18. Rick Swenson 4:25 a.m., 19. Ken Anderson 4:33 a.m., 20. Ed Iten 4:35 a.m., 21. Ryan Redington 4:36 a.m., 22. Ality Zirkle 4:45 a.m., 23. Sigrid Ekran 4:50 a.m., 24. Jessie Royer 5:01 a.m., 25. Jason Mackey 5:07 a.m., 26. Scott Smith 5:45 a.m., 27. William Kleedehn 6 a.m.,28. Silvia Willis 6:38 a.m., 29. Rick Casillo 6:40 a.m., 30. John Baker 6:50 a.m., 31. Gerald Sousa 7 a.m., 31. Louis Nelson Sr. 7:08 a.m., 32. Matt Hayashida 7:01 a.m., 33. Louis Nelson Sr, 7:08 a.m., 34. Jessica Hendricks 8:26 a.m., 35. DeeDee Jonrowe 8:30 a.m., 36. William Hanes 8:31 a.m., 37. Ed Stiestra 8:40 a.m., 38. Robert Bundtzen 8:46 a.m., 39. Melissa Owens 9:46 a.m., 40. Molly Yazwinski 9:55 a.m., 41. Benoit Gerrard 9:56 a.m., 42. Allen Moore 10:31 a.m., 43. Clint Warnke 11:04 a.m., 44. Cindy Gallea 11:44 a.m., 45. Fabrizio Lovati 12:29 p.m.

Mushers on trail: 94

Scratched: 2 — GB Jones, Anchorage; Tom Roig, Rainy Pass.