2017 Iron Dog Race – Day 3 Coverage

2017 Iron Dog Race – Coverage Day 3 - Battling Towards Nome

Battling was the theme on the trail last night in the 2017 Iron Dog race and today the theme will continue as teams charge up the Western coast of Alaska toward Nome.  Riders battled extreme cold, rough trail conditions, frostbite, additional equipment issues, a few spills and wrecks on the trail, and just generally a tough day on the 2017 Iron Dog Race trail. To catch up on last night race happenings, we had many teams including most of the front runners race all the way up the Yukon river to Kaltag, while some racers opted to stop in Galena  Some teams stopped in Galena an hour shy of Kaltag for their 8 hour break.  There isn't much in Kaltag, but it has become a popular layover spot in recent years so I'm sure they can handle up to 10 teams staying the night there, comfortably.  It's safe to say that most of the teams will likely stay in the homes of local villagers they have connections with or have met in years past. The aforementioned time correction, due to the frozen fueling pumps in McGrath, was applied in Kaltag, allowing  Team 16 to leave 19 minutes early from their layover release time.  Team 41 got to leave 2 minutes early because of the same fuel pump fiasco.  This correction put Team 16 out of Kaltag about 6 minutes ahead of Team 8 and Team 41 about 25 minutes behind Team 8 to round off the top three racing teams to depart the checkpoint.  The other teams in the Top 10 are 1 to 4 hrs behind the leaders.

Todd Minnick of Team 16 with protective duct tape on his face to help prevent frostbite

The first team to leave Kaltag (Team 16) got on the clock just before 1am this morning.  The typical strategy is to race to Unalakleet, take another 8hrs of layover, then run up the coast and on to Nome in the daylight, trying as best as they can to make the fastest time from White Mountain to Nome to claim that $6,000 payout.  Kaltag to Unalakleet is 98 miles of very rough overland trail.  Large clumps of frozen tundra with typically just moderate to little snow, and what is there is often hard and wind-drifted.  The top 3 teams made the run to Unalakleet in just about 2 hrs. Team 16 made the run in 2:02 Team 8 made the run in 1:59 Team 41 made the run in 1:53 (the second and third place teams making up a bit of ground on the leaders)  

Team 8 installing fresh skis and carbide for the race up the Western coast of Alaska toward Nome in the 2017 Iron Dog Race

As of roughly 9am, there were a dozen other teams already in Unalakleet or they are headed toward the checkpoint, and it is suspected that  many more teams will take their last 8 hrs of layover in Unalakleet.  Some of the teams farther back in the pack that are 8-10 hours behind may decide to push up the coast during the daylight and take their last 8 hours of LO in White Mountain about 90 miles from Nome. Iditarod Trail Race veteran Rebecca Charles puts some perspective on how difficult the trail is from Unalakleet to Shaktoolik "Racers head out of Unalakleet past the fuel pumps and take a left onto a road/trail heading North along the coast. It winds through the willow brush and passes the old reindeer farm sitting on a high bluff above the ocean.  Racers cross Egavik creek where 2 out of 3 the last 3 years we have LITERALLY had to ride across 300 yards of driftwood... logs from 6 to 36 inches in diameter. I stopped trying to find a trail around them years ago and most of us just Baja right over the jumble of trees. It's incredible how well the sleds handle log crawling.

Rebecca Charles: "2015 just past the jumble of logs at Egavik Creek"

An update from a local on the trail, Erica Esmailka, says that Team 44 Berg/George have scratched at Kaltag after checking in at 10:10am.  She reports that it was a broken left side torsion spring on one of theirArctic Cat ZR 6000 R XC 600 sleds.  They're looking for one right now to be able to drive back to Galena.  Also reporting on social media, Cory Davis of Team 41, currently in 3rd position posted saying "We had a engine code probably lost 15-20 minutes screwing around."   When questioned if they were doing OK, Davis responded with "Yup we are clean, just a sticky exhaust valve, most likely from the skidoo oil, (c-tec oil is much thinner)." It is unofficial but it looks like we have a new record time into the halfway point in the 33rd running of the world's longest, toughest snowmachine race.  Team #16 of Todd Minnick and Nick Olstad roared into Nome at 15:27:25 this afternoon averaging 52 MPH over the first 1108 miles of the race. Nipping at their heels was last years' champs Tyler and Tyson of Team #8 just 14ish minutes later.   Corey Davis and Ryan Simons were the 3rd team in and only 37 minutes separated the top 3 teams.  All the manufacturers were equally represented  in the top 3 teams into Nome.   It is amazing how well the sleds have held up over the grueling terrain with the -50° temps making the plastics and metal more brittle.  And I think it is accurate to note that there has not been one engine failure so far. And just now,  the Fairbanks Team #28 of Gunderson and Norum have also checked into Nome. Racers coming into the White Mountain checkpoint, where the guys took a quick photo op with the students who live there.  Great community involvement along the entire trail! [video width="400" height="224" mp4="https://www.thealaskalife.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2017-Iron-Dog-Racers-into-White-Mountain.mp4"][/video]