Weather holds, pace remains brisk

MAT-SU — Near-perfect weather conditions have helped Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race leaders maintain a blistering pace as mushers make their way toward Nome.

Finishing up their first week of racing, favorable weather and a seasoned, skillful pack of competitors has many mushers in the running to claim the Iditarod crown, said Chas St. George, Iditarod Trail Committee spokesperson. St. George and other race officials are at Nome anticipating a Tuesday finish for the winner, whoever that turns out to be.

“We fully expect a team to be here sometime on Tuesday late afternoon/early evening — hopefully,” he said. “Once these teams get to Unalakleet and they’re on the Gold Coast, the reality sets in that it’s a sprint.”

Iditarod veteran John Baker of Kotzebue is in the lead at the Kaltag Checkpoint. By Saturday evening, Baker, who is running with 11 dogs, was the first and only musher to leave Kaltag at 5;18 p.m. after taking a four-hour rest there. Although he leads the race, a host of others are in at Kaltag, including Ramey Smyth, a former second-place Iditarod finisher who’s running less than two hours behind Baker.

Other notables in the running at Kaltag are Hugh Neff (fourth), Ray Redington Jr. (fifth) and DeeDee Jonroe (seventh). Perennial powerhouses Martin Buser and Lance Mackey are still in the running in 10th and 12th respectively, St. George said.

Mackey, the four-time defending champion, is down to nine dogs and wasn’t in at the Kaltag Checkpoint as of press time. Neither was Buser, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be considered contenders.

“Martin Buser still has a team that can spring, DeeDee Jonrowe’s times have been unbelievable, gaining time as she’s gone along,” he said. “This is such a deep field, the well is deep here and we’re seeing some tremendous teams with a lot of strength left.”

That the weather has been nearly perfect for racing dogs has been a pleasant surprise, St. George said. Although it can change at any time, racers and officials of the annual Iron Dog snowmachine race encountered severe storms just a week before.

“Oh my gosh, are you kidding?” St. George said of the difference. “It’s like night and day from the Iron Dog guys. We’re really pleased, but we know Mother Nature can change her act at any time. There’s a lot of local weather that can happen.”

In the mean time, Baker appears to be the musher to beat as the race enters its final days.

“He has a degree of separation,” St. George said. “Whether that separation grows or shrinks is really up to John and the teams behind him. Baker’s definitely the leader, there’s no doubt about that, but if you look at the times and how other teams are responding to the challenge to come and get him, they’re all responding very well, actually.”

And while Mackey may have lost nearly half his team, don’t sell him short, St. George said. He’s won an unprecedented four straight Iditarod races for a reason.

“You cannot count Lance out,” he said. “In 2008, he had a small team at this point too. He is such a phenomenal manager of his team that you just can’t count him out ever.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.