Iditacam and Snow Dogging It - The Iditarod 2011

We saw the Iditarod ceremonial start and Running of the Reindeer. We tested the Hero Naked helmet cam, too. It was a lot of fun. Still some adjustments to make.

The Iditarod has what is called a ceremonial start. This is because the race used to be in Anchorage and run through our town and out to the Valley. The snow pack just stopped being good enough between Anchorage and the Valley. Now, they do a ceremonial start in Anchorage to celebrate the start of the race.
During this start, an Iditarider (a person who won an auction) rides in the bottom part of the sled in front. A musher's handler or assistant is attached to the back of the musher's sled in their own sled. They dress up, act silly, fancy up the dogs.
Starting the next day, the really serious part of the race begins. It is called the Willow Restart and takes off from Willow, Alaska. This is the real Iditarod. After Willow, it is just the musher and his/her dogs. And the hundreds of volunteer veterinarians, dog handlers, and so on to come to their aid if they need help.

On the trail, there are many rules. There has to be a certain amount of required items in the sled. Every musher gets a feel for what else they should include. Some mushers eat gourmet meals on the trail. Some just heat up beans. Some have thousands of dollars in sponsorships. Some, like John Baker of Kotzebue, quietly make their way up the trail and give the mushers who are popular a real run for their money.

The mushers have to care for their dogs on the trail completely. They have to put out straw, give them their mushy gruel and fish, and bed them down for the night at every stop. The musher cannot tend to themselves until this is done.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Iditarod
• Hero
• helmet cam
• Alaska
• sled dogs
• dog racing

[BOSTONSNOWDOGS]

Very cool to see P.O,V.

:-0

Go Dawgs & Mushers!!