March 17, 2013

Iditarod Finishes in Les Cuspides; No Fulcrum

An even number of mushers and their teams finished the 2013 Iditarod, the last team arriving Sunday afternoon. As a result, there is no Point d’Appui for 2013. Les Cuspides are shared by two mushers, each of whom had held the Point d’Appui at intermediate stages of the race, Curt Perano and Matt Failor.

Perano finished one day and slightly less than six hours behind the winner, Mitch Seavey, and about three days and nine hours ahead of the final musher, No. 54, the Lanterne Rouge, Christine Roalofs.

The musher with the time closest to the median time for the 998-mile dogsled race was Mike Williams Sr., whose son Mike Williams Jr. also raced the course and held one of the Cuspides after Day 6.

March 14, 2013

As First Mushers Finish, Failor Running on Fulcrum of Iditarod

Matt Failor

Matthew Failor, 29, was at the fulcrum of the 2013 Iditarod as the first mushers finished at Nome, Alaska, late Tuesday night. Failor, who grew up in Ohio, was an Eagle Scout along with three brothers and learned his way around the outdoors during that period. He began learning about sled dogs and mushing while working summers at Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau.

He moved to Alaska in 2010 to accept a dog handling position with the Buser family. His boss, Martin Buser, somewhere ahead of him on the trail, asked if he would be interested in running a yearling team to Nome. Said Failor: “That is when I became interested in running the Iditarod.”

Failor arrived at White Mountain, the penultimate checkpoint, at 11 a.m. Wednesday with 10 dogs still on the run.

The winner of the Iditarod appears to be Mitch Seavey with a time of nine days, 7 hours, 39 minutes and 56 seconds. So far, the Lanterne Rouge continues to be Cindy Abbott.

We’ll update again once all finishers have crossed the line and we have a final Point d’Appui, if indeed the odd number of mushers survives to the finish.

March 10, 2013

Perano Mushes into Iditarod Point d’Appui

Curt Perano

Curt Perano, a dog handler who now calls Willow, Alaska, his home, is running his second Iditarod and has become the Point d’Appui of the race on Day 7 of the 2013 Iditarod. Perano, 40 has lived in New Zealand, Singapore, Europe, the United States and British Columbia, so staying on the move doesn’t appear to be a problem for him. He began running dogs in 2000.

Martin Buser continues to lead the race, and the new Lanterne Rouge is Cindy Abbott.

March 5, 2013

Sass Mushes into Iditarod Point d’Appui on Second Day

Brent Sass

Teams are spread among three different checkpoints as the second day of the Iditarod mushing is figured. Brent Sass, owner and founder of Wild and Free Mushing, is at the Point d’Appui of the race. Half the dog sleds were ahead of him and half were behind when he checked in at Finger Lake.

Sass majored in geography at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and started racing and training huskies about seven years ago. He began racing in 2006 and was Rooke of the Year for the 2012 Iditarod. Ahead of him, Martin Buser still leads the race, and James Volek is bringing up the dog’s tail.

March 4, 2013

Demoski Holds Point d’Appui after First Day of Iditarod

Rudy Demoski

Sixty-seven-year-old Rudy Demoski Sr., who raced his first Iditarod in 1974, finished at the middle of the pack Sunday as the mushers arrived at the Yentna checkpoint on the first day of the 2013 Iditarod. His placement, however, belies his success. The mushers were sent off every two minutes, and Demoski has already passed several other mushers to get to the fulcrum.

Demoski, a carpenter, hasn’t run Iditarod for 27 years, but picked up a sponsor this year and decided he wasn’t getting any younger. In the 1974 Iditarod, Demoski finished fourth so don’t expect him to stay on the fulcrum long.

Martin Buser, who led out the race, has retained his lead so far, although several behind him are maintaining stronger paces so far. The final sled had not checked in at Yentna as of this post, so the tail of the dog is unknown yet.