Sorlie's Iditarod lead beginning to tighten up

MAT-SU -- There are two big questions left in Iditarod 31 -- "Can anybody catch Robert Sorlie?" and perhaps the bigger question, "Who is Robert Sorlie?"

Sorlie is a Norwegian musher running in his second Iditarod. After finishing ninth last year and winning the Rookie of the Year award, he is looking to add the championship to his resum/. He blazed to the front of the pack on the second day of the race and has continued to hold the rest of the pack to his back since.

But as of Monday morning, when the Frontiersman went to press, there was a strong push coming from Ramy Brooks and Jeff King, two familiar Iditarod faces.

Sorlie left Kaltag 2 checkpoint (the second stop there on the modified loop) at 4:41 a.m. Monday, with Brooks on his heels, leaving at 6:03 a.m. King was the only other musher out of Kaltag 2 on Monday, departing at 7:50 a.m., setting up a pretty close run to the finish line.

Defending Iditarod champion Martin Buser was in fourth place, having pulled into Kaltag 2 at 7:42 a.m. The next eight mushers had not arrived in Kaltag 2 as of press time Monday, but all had departed Eagle Island 2, in this order: Sunday, John Baker, 11:13 p.m.; Monday, Ken Anderson, 12:34 a.m.; Ed Iten, 6:58 a.m.; Jon Little, 7:06 a.m.; Sonny Lidner, 7:14 a.m.; Rick Swenson, 7:23 a.m.; Ramey Smyth, 8:25 a.m.; and Linwood Fiedler, 8:38 a.m.

All of the top mushers have completed their mandatory 24-hour and eight-hour layovers. While the pack of eight is bunched up together, there appears to only be a three- or four-person group battling for the championship.

Joe Runyan, the 1989 champion and current Cabela's correspondent, wrote Sunday in his online race journal that "I think we have to wait until Unalakleet to see this race really resolve all these questions. For the moment, I see the race as Sorlie, Brooks and the DUO (King and Buser)."

Sorlie got to the front using a gamble of sorts, by shortening his rest periods. But part of his strategy was to "double up" his mandatory layovers, and within a day and a half, he had used his 24-hour and eight-hour layovers to give himself one of the most rested teams on the trail at the midpoint.

According to numerous reports, the trail off the Yukon River to Unalakleet and along the Bering Sea Coast is exceptional this year. That stretch of the race is often the deciding point, as storms can change the entire strategy of mushers in a second's notice. Weather reports don't indicate any incoming storm, and with smooth trails reported, the leaders should be in a sprint to the finish.

While predicting when the winner will arrive in Nome is nearly impossible, many are predicting the leaders will finish later this week, perhaps on Thursday.

One notable scratch was that of Charlie Boulding, a fan favorite. Boulding's team was down to six dogs, and he decided to pull out of the race Sunday night, citing that he had nothing to prove. The former Yukon Quest champion and annual Iditarod contender is coming off extensive chemotheraphy for colon cancer. He was running in the top 20 when he decided to scratch. He is one of the most colorful mushers on the trail each year.

As of Monday morning, there were 11 mushers who had scratched.