Anthony Beck drives his sled at the 2023 Deh Gah Sprint Sled Dog Races in Fort Providence in December 2023. Beck has only been able to compete in four races this winter due to weather conditions. | Photo courtesy of Anthony Beck, Article: Tom Taylor - NNSL Media - NWT, Canada
It has been “a strange winter” for sled dog racers in the NWT, according to Susan Fleck, one of the territory’s most dedicated mushers and race organizers.
The Aurora Ford Classic Sled Dog Race was cancelled on its second day due to extreme cold, she said, while the K’amba Carnival races were nixed for the same reason. Fort Smith’s races were also cancelled on day two due to rain, and the Fort Resolution races were nearly cancelled due to “a big wind and snowstorm” that compromised the track.
Hay River’s Anthony Beck, a lifelong racer with 36 dogs...
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Iditarod Air Force missions include picking up dogs at various checkpoints (Nikolai, in this case). Mushers expect that dogs will need to leave the race, usually because of fatigue, and be given a ride back to Anchorage in an airplane. | Article: Alicia Herron, Photo: Chris Rose - AOPA.org - Iditarod
This March marked the running of the fifty-second Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, crossing nearly 1,000 miles of Alaska wilderness in little more than a week. While each team races alone, a volunteer squadron provides air support in Cessna Skywagons.
With the ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage on March 2, followed by the official restart in Willow the following day, reaching Nome pushed the most competitive mushers and their teams to their physical limits. (Dallas Seavey won his record sixth Iditarod, overcoming a two-hour penalty for improperly gutting a moose that attacked his team to finish in 9 days,...
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#08, Jessica Klejka, Wasilla, Alaska. Photographed at the 2024 Iditarod musher banquet in Anchorage with her daughter Lucy Brewer. | Article/Image: Loren Holmes, ADN - Iditarod
A third-year Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race competitor who crossed the finish line expecting her next child was named this year’s most inspirational musher by her peers.
Wasilla competitor Jessica Klejka said after arriving in Nome early last Thursday in 19th place that she was “working on another mini me right now,” which added another challenge to her run that she managed by taking additional, longer breaks this time around.
The Iditarod’s special honors and other awards were finalized and presented to mushers at Sunday’s finishers banquet, capping off a 2024 race that brought a record sixth win...
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Fernando Ramirez and dogs at Rancho Luna Lobos. | Article/Image: Jonathan Vigliotti, CBS Mornings - Utah
In the mountains of Utah, the Rancho Luna Lobos race team is gearing up for its next competition as one of the top-ranked dog sled teams in the world.
Each of the all-star canines is an underdog who has overcome significant challenges to reach their winning status. Most were abandoned or abused before being rescued by Fernando and Dana Ramirez, who helped them find new footing in life.
The couple and their five children foster nearly 100 dogs on the 55-acre ranch, giving the pups a second chance at life and love. Fernando Ramirez began racing...
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