Tyler Aklestad and Nick Olstad scratch from 2024 Iron Dog

WASILLA — Defending Iron Dog champions Tyler Aklestad and Nick Olstad of Team 7 were forced to drop out of the 2024 Iron Dog after Aklestad's snowmachine was damaged to the point of not being able to continue the race.

The Mat-Su Valley based racers discussed their experience on the trail in a video that was posted by Iron Dog officials in Kotzebue.

Aklestad said the weather conditions out of Buckland made visibility a challenge. He said that he totaled his snowmachine after hitting "steel drums" and other debris.

"The weather's bad out there," Aklestad stated in the video.

Aklestad and Olstad won the 2022 and 2023 Iron Dog Pro-Class races. If they won this year's race, it would have been a "three-peat" victory which has only been done once before, according to Dog Executive Director Mike Vasser. He said that Team 7's scratch was unfortunate.

Vasser said that a total of five teams scratched from the Iron Dog (as of Wednesday, Feb. 21). He said that his heart goes out "equally for all the teams that have scratched due to accidents or injuries." He cited the tumultuous weather with its highs and lows as a major contributor to teams' dropping out of the race.

"It's been an incredible factor," Vasser said.

For 2024 Iron Dog race updates, visit irondog.org or follow the official Facebook page.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com