Valley riders win another Iron Dog title

Iron Doggers raced into a Fairbanks finish late on Saturday, February 21.

Through a race of difficult trail conditions and adverse weather, 19 of the 30 starting teams made the 2,318-mile trek from Big Lake to Nome and on to Fairbanks. Valley racers Tyler Aklestad and Nic Olstad secured their fourth championship together as a team with a final time of 51:25:26 riding for Ski-Doo. Individually, Aklestad celebrated his fifth Iron Dog championship while Olstad finds himself tied for all-time most Iron Dog wins at seven.

Team 5 Zack Weisz of Eagle River and Thomas Davis of Wasilla secured a second place finish with a final time of 53:37:00 riding for Ski-Doo. Team 10 Chris Olds of Eagle River and Ryan Sottosanti of Wasilla finished third with a time of 54:04:56 riding for Polaris.

Extreme blizzard conditions and high winds along the coast halted travel for many pro class and expedition teams. Shifting sea ice and drifting snow forced overland travel and breaking trail, slowing down race times and forcing teams to battle Mother Nature together. Despite the hardships endured, there were 16 rookies that finished the race this year and earned their veteran status.

Conditions not only affected trail routes, but fuel consumption for hungry machines. Some checkpoints along the route in the first thousand miles experienced record fuel consumption that left racers in the back of the pack looking for juice. Teams were addressed by Iron Dog staff to accommodate the issues and future checkpoints were adjusted accordingly.

While traveling over the Alaska Range seemed to be better than in 2025, some teams succumbed to the hard and rugged trail and scratched from the race in the first days of the race. While removing a team from the race is never an easy decision, the hard miles can be difficult on even the most well-built machines and the most experienced of riders. Other racers found themselves experiencing mechanical issues in the last half of the race that prevented them from travelling further.

The race would never be possible without the help of a large crew of volunteers spread throughout the race route. Residents in the villages and checkpoints along the way play a huge role in the success of Iron Dog every year, from housing and feeding racers, to forming rescue teams and trailbreaking crews and hosting large crowds for community events. Without the people of Alaska, this one-of-a-kind race couldn’t happen.