Mushers worry about lack of snow as Iditarod gets underway

WILLOW — Getting his gear ready before start of the 2014 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, four-time race veteran Rick Casillo needed just five words to sum up what’s on everybody’s minds.

“It’s going to probably suck,” he said of the more than 1,000 miles of trail ahead of him.

Casillo was one of 69 mushers who left the starting chute Sunday as part of the official Willow restart of the Iditarod. Spectators couldn’t have asked for better weather — mild temperatures and plenty of sunshine.

But it’s that nice weather that’s been the problem this year. Warm temperatures and a lack of snow nearly forced a shift of the race restart from Willow to Fairbanks, something the race has only done once before. Reports from the trail Monday seemed to indicate slick conditions and fast runs. At the re-start, Casillo said that’s what his dogs are used to.

“The thing with this season is we’ve been training on hard pack all year,” the Willow said.

Martin Buser of Big Lake is a four-time champion in the hunt for an elusive fifth title that would tie him with singular five-time champ Rick Swenson. As of press time, he was solidly among the front-runners, who had made it out of the Rohn checkpoint on the far side of the Alaska Range. Buser’s unsuccessful gamut last year of running hard and delaying rests at the start of the race seemed to spark interest with a few mushers, including Kelly Maixner. The Big Lake dentist attempted a variant of that strategy and led the race for a good chunk of Monday.

Back in Willow, Buser pointed out something else a lot of people were saying:

“It’s going to be the same for everybody,” he said.

Which is to say that the hard-going trail won’t be hard just on his team; competitors face the same trail conditions.

Also in Willow, Maixner said he’s worried about his team running too fast on hard pack.

“I’m going to try to slow them down as much as I can,” he said, saying he’d add weight to the sled when he could.

Buser said his dogs are good listeners.

“They’ll slow down when I need them to,” he said.

Jason Mackey of Wasilla is a member of the storied Mackey mushing clan that contains three champions in two generations. Mackey is the youngest brother and the only one still chasing his first Iditarod win. He said he thinks the race might turn out to be more of a hard-fought slog than anything — an endurance match, a survival challenge.

“I just heard from a pilot who said there’s no snow from the Tatina River to the Buffalo Camp,” he said.

Mackey stopped by Buser’s spot in the staging area to wish him good luck.

“Go get that No. 5,” he told Buser before complimenting his team. “They sure looked good every time I’ve seen them.”

Over on the other end of the staging area, Ray Redington Jr. of Knik munched on Clementine oranges while he shared his thoughts on the race. He said small differences mean a lot in the Iditarod. A musher running his dogs at 9.6 miles an hour has a huge advantage over someone running, say, 9.2. In NASCR, that wouldn’t mean anything.

“It’s a lot of difference when you’re traveling as slow as we are,” Redington said.

He said he expects the first part of the race will be difficult.

“It’s a little rough, probably, getting out of Rohn,” he said.

It’s about there that the dogs seem to settle in. He said there isn’t any particular part of the trail he likes more than another.

“I just like being out there,” he said.

He described being on the trail as “relaxing.”

“Especially when you have a good dog team,” said Redington, a member of another storied mushing clan, which includes race founder Joe Redington Sr.

Wade Marrs of Wasilla said he’s looking forward to his fourth Iditarod.

“I like spending time with the dogs,” he said. “Being out there with no people is awesome.”

He said some of his favorite parts of the race are spending time with the people of McGrath, who he enjoys, and the run from Kaltag to Unalakleet.

“Seems like I always do good on that run,” he said.

Maixner said he’s eager for the northern reaches of the race, where the snow will be more reliable.

“I’m looking forward to getting over the Alaska Range,” he said. “That’s what I’m looking forward to — seeing Nickolai.”

Next door to Maixner was his friend, Dallas Seavey, a race champion and yet another member of a well-known mushing clan.

Seavey said that he thinks this is the best team he’s ever trained.

“You’re probably going to hear that a couple of times today,” he said. But that’s the Iditarod. Mushers are constantly improving their training and breeding programs.

“If you’re not getting better, someone else is,” Seavey said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270 or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.