elenamarie Posted March 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 I suspect that there are times when attitude and making yourself *seem* as scary as can be are more important than what "weapon" you actually have... A month or so ago, there was a story about an elderly couple (something like around 80 years old, if I recall correctly) where he was attacked by a moose while calling their dog back to their vehicle. She beat the moose off of him with a shovel! Wow, really??? Wish I'd have seen that. Go granny! I've heard/read so many horror stories about moose going after dogs and dog teams--and even mushers--that I wouldn't imagine a branch would do much to fend off a po'ed moose. But hey, if granny could do it. . .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenamarie Posted March 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 Cool! Sled dog profiles! Demon is a rescued dog. His story is really neat! 37709382 Demon kicked in head by moose Even Alaska's largest city, where mushers converged to train and run the ceremonial start along the urban trails, wasn't safe. Heavy Anchorage snows have tempted the animals to linger along cleared trails and roads. Demon, a lead dog for musher Zoya DeNure of Gakona, was kicked in the head during a run Friday at Tozier Track, DeNure said. (Demon was featured in our "Meet the Sled Dogs" earlier in the week.) "It just kind of makes me aware that I'm going to have to be really careful out there and hope that nothing else happens," she said. Read more here: http://community.adn.com/?q=adn/node/160046#storylink=cpy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenamarie Posted March 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 Oooooo, video of Karen Ramstead's Sibe team. 37349944 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenamarie Posted March 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 Musher Pat Moon Three years ago, doctors told Chicago native Pat Moon he had cancer. Two years ago, Moon found himself more than 3,000 miles from home, lying unconscious along the Iditarod Trail. He'd smashed into a tree in the Dalzell Gorge, an injury that forced an early end to the rookie musher's bucket-list ambition to run a dog team to Nome. On Saturday, Moon was back. He's still sick. In addition to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, he was diagnosed long ago with Ulcerative colitis, a disease that targets the intestines and kidneys. And after a winter training in the Western Alaska village of Unalakleet, he's still a rookie looking to finish the Iditarod. "I've never felt better," said Moon, who as been living in a storage room of the village post office, running dogs raised on seal and salmon. "Alaska has been good to me." The next 10 days will test that goodwill, as Moon and 65 other racers begin the 975-mile marathon across the state on Sunday afternoon from Willow. . . .. [During the ceremonial start] Moon said he let other teams pass his so he could stop and give rides on the urban trails. He picked up six or seven kids and ferried them about a quarter-mile each, he said. Moon trained in Unalakleet at the invitation of the village's former mayor -- and Iditarod veteran -- Middy Johnson. Johnson shares a kennel with his brother, Paul, a 2011 Iditarod finisher who died of cancer in October. Using hockey sticks, Paul Johnson built the faded red sled Moon will attempt to drive to Nome. One of the dogs that pulled Johnson's sled in last year's Iditarod, Sprocket, will race with Baker this year, the defending champion said. Several more Johnson dogs are racing with Moon. The musher said he has lived long past the expectation of doctors. He doesn't know if he'll attempt the Iditarod again if he doesn't finish this year, he said. One thing's for certain. The 2013 race is out of the question. Moon says he's already signed up to run a charity race early in the year driving motorized rickshaws -- three-wheeled, 1.5 horsepower carts -- across India. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutsibe Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 Wow - Pat Moon sounds like quite a character - and very indomitable - I wish him well! It looks like (from what I read on Karen Ramstead's blog) there's another Siberian team on the trail - Hank Debriun out of Ontario, Canada... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutsibe Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 Wow, really??? Wish I'd have seen that. Go granny! I've heard/read so many horror stories about moose going after dogs and dog teams--and even mushers--that I wouldn't imagine a branch would do much to fend off a po'ed moose. But hey, if granny could do it. . .. Pretty amazing woman! Here's a link to the story... http://www.newsminer.com/view/full_story/17266277/article-Alaska-woman--85--uses-shovel-to-scare-off-moose-attacking-husband Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MollynDiesel Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 Wow, really??? Wish I'd have seen that. Go granny! I've heard/read so many horror stories about moose going after dogs and dog teams--and even mushers--that I wouldn't imagine a branch would do much to fend off a po'ed moose. But hey, if granny could do it. . .. You ever been up against a granny? DONT DO IT! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenamarie Posted March 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 Pretty amazing woman! Here's a link to the story... http://www.newsminer.com/view/full_story/17266277/article-Alaska-woman--85--uses-shovel-to-scare-off-moose-attacking-husband Wow, that's a story! Thanks for sharing, I'll have to show hubby that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenamarie Posted March 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 You ever been up against a granny? DONT DO IT! lol LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenamarie Posted March 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 Wow - Pat Moon sounds like quite a character - and very indomitable - I wish him well! It looks like (from what I read on Karen Ramstead's blog) there's another Siberian team on the trail - Hank Debriun out of Ontario, Canada... Just checked Hank out. He made the 40 miles from Yentna to Skwentna at 11.48 mph. That Sibe team is flying! Karen made that run at 9.72 mph--good time. Got a link to Karen's blog? I was thinking about starting a thread about Sibes versus Alaskans in terms of the race and dog care and such. What do you think? I'm torn on the subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuskyCouture Posted March 5, 2012 Report Share Posted March 5, 2012 I'm rooting for Mackey and DeeDee Also Karen Ramstead, props to her for a purebred team. That's awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MollynDiesel Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 I'm rooting for Mackey and DeeDee Also Karen Ramstead, props to her for a purebred team. That's awesome! Ditto. Love Lances ninja musher attitude lol and love Deedee's persaverance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenamarie Posted March 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Musher update: Lance: 3 DeeDee: 16 Karen: 56 Hank: 53 DeeDee and Lance are in Rainy Pass. Karen and Hank are in Finger Lake. Skwentna and the rest of the Alaska Range checkpoints are forecast to get 2-4 inches of snow tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MollynDiesel Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Musher update: Lance: 3 DeeDee: 16 Karen: 56 Hank: 53 DeeDee and Lance are in Rainy Pass. Karen and Hank are in Finger Lake. Skwentna and the rest of the Alaska Range checkpoints are forecast to get 2-4 inches of snow tonight. Wooo Lance and Deedee! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Ashley and Kai Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Martin Buser has always been a favorite musher of mine. After our tours here in Utah are finished, Ashley and I are set on Alaska for a few years and I definitely want to visit his kennel and chat with him. I have always admired Martin's personality and continuous smile. After him definitely Lance Mackey(the man is a mental beast). And I cant forget Dee Dee lol AMAZING woman, she is a doll. She has been a good friend of my godparents for 20 years and always has a wonderful spirit and is very uplifting to be around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenamarie Posted March 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Martin Buser has always been a favorite musher of mine. After our tours here in Utah are finished, Ashley and I are set on Alaska for a few years and I definitely want to visit his kennel and chat with him. I have always admired Martin's personality and continuous smile. After him definitely Lance Mackey(the man is a mental beast). And I cant forget Dee Dee lol AMAZING woman, she is a doll. She has been a good friend of my godparents for 20 years and always has a wonderful spirit and is very uplifting to be around. Martin is at 35th, and Rohn is 38th. Both are between Finger Lake and Rainy Pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Ashley and Kai Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Martin is at 35th, and Rohn is 38th. Both are between Finger Lake and Rainy Pass. WooHoo Buser Boys!! Its early in the game but I think both are going to have a good run this year. I see a promising future for kids like Rohn, Nikolai and Dallas Sweavey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenamarie Posted March 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 OOPS! This would be spooky. Ramey Smyth Lost the Team Front runner Ramey, 2nd last year, has already had one of those musher moments in the first day. Anecdotal information has reached us that he fell asleep on the runners, lost the sled, and ultimately lost 45 minutes before recovering his team. First reports indicate Rohn Buser discovered the driverless team behind him. Thinking, in the dark, that it was a super team, he automatically put on the brake to allow a pass. Rameys team dutifully passed Rohn’s team. Rohn realized the team was driverless and eventually caught it tangled on the trail. Ramey, after chasing the team for 45 minutes, was picked up by Jeff King, we are led to believe, and transported on the sled for another five minutes to the dogs. Taking the liberty to add some poetic license, Ramey must have been a gigantic sweat ball. Bruce Lee, Insider, talked with Ramey as he checked in and out of Finger, and reported Ramey was in good spirits, laughing at himself. Objectively, his dog team never travelled an inch further than necessary. All he lost was a little time. Hmmmmm, more to think about. From the same link: The Busersâ€â€Martin and Rohn The 4x Champ is found working with his dogs, now resting comfortably on straw. Moments later, his son Rohn, who won the Kusko 300 as a cap to his successful pre-season, pulls in beside him and begins taking off booties and decommissioning the team for a rest. Martin, dressed in a festive Hawaiian holiday wind breaker, gave me a short tutorial on blankets. “Some of my dogs have the husky fur, so I don’t worry about them. But other ones have a seal coat (think a slick coat, which is actually advantageous in the warm weather at Big Lake near Martins kennel). I have an insulated and a not insulated coat. Depending on the dog, I use them.†I could see that his “seal coated†dogs were blanketed. I later heard reports from mushers with thermometers that is was -25F on last nights trail. I asked Rohn if he trained with his Dad. “No , we don’t do the Rumble line,†indicating they liked their independence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenamarie Posted March 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Weather moving in, could make things interesting. Winter Weather Advisory for Upper Kuskokwim Valley, AK until 1:00 PM AKST, Tue., Mar 06, 2012 ... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM AKST TUESDAY... A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM AKST TUESDAY. * SNOW... 3 TO 6 INCHES. * TIMING... CONTINUING THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT ONE OR MORE WINTER WEATHER HAZARDS ARE EXPECTED TO CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenamarie Posted March 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Slideshow of Happy River Steps this year. Why the Steps came back: Menacing Happy River Steps Over the weekend, snowmachine crews responsible for molding the course felt it was the mining road, not the Steps, that posed the bigger hazard. The observation, which may seem counter-inutuitive to casual race fans, stems from conditions created by deep snow and blowing wind. The road that officials hoped would be a flat, easy glide had become a cement-hard, 45-degree slope, according to Noah Burmeister, a two-time Iditarod finisher working this year as a trail breaker. Drifting snow had blown onto the road that follows the Skwentna River, and cold temperatures had allowed it to set up. Cutting an Iditarod course would require shoveling away all of the snow, with a high likelihood that new snowdrifts would sweep in and undo all of their work, Burmeister said. And without improvement, it was the equivalent of sending teams down a double-black-diamond ski slope --double fall lines and plenty of bumps. The snow causing problems for what should have been the easier route actually improved conditions on the usually menacing Steps, a section that in 2011 crunched the race's most winningest musher, Rick Swenson, who arrived at Rainy Pass after his run at the steps with a broken collarbone. Trailbreakers were able to push extra snow to the downhill side of the switchbacks, which in past years have turned into a narrow, luge-like race course. The extra snow allowed them to pack a wider trail and cut a straighter, longer approach to at least one of the early turns. That should give mushers more time to maneuver their teams, which, according to head checker Dale Peterson, can be as unwieldy to turn as a big truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenamarie Posted March 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Weather, dogs, etc. Lightweight Iditarod teams rewarded in heavy snows John Baker’s Iditarod course record is safe for another year. Heavy snow is beginning to fall in Western Alaska, and the storm track puts the leaders of the 2012 Iditarod in the eye of it for the next 24 to 48 hours. The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for the Upper Kuskokwim Valley with predictions of 4 to 8 inches of fresh snow on the trail between Finger Lake and McGrath. It would not be surprising if a foot or more fell at Rainy Pass. Wind and drifting aren't expected, so the full effect should be to slow the race pace for a couple of days. A slow trail is good for dogs, but it can be frustrating to some mushers. Mother Nature seems to be dictating a slower pace, and dogs tend to pick up fewer musculoskeletal (wrist and shoulder) injuries on a softer trail, as long as there is an established base. Although fun to travel on, hard-packed and high-speed trails are tough on dogs. A good analogy is running in sand on a beach vs. running on pavement. When the dogs are running slower, they are less likely to trip on obstacles or step in holes. They also work more efficiently at a trot than a speedy lope. Expect to see fewer dropped dogs in the first third of the race, as well as more mushers passing unscathed through the traditionally difficult Happy River Steps and Dalzell Gorge. Fresh snow on the trail is like a pillow, or safety cushion, along the sides of the trail. Air bags from Mother Nature, so to say. Deep snow has been the theme of Alaska weather this winter. Dog drivers have gotten used to mushing in snow, breaking trail in training and mid-distance races. Several mid-distance races have been affected by heavy snow -- the Sheep Mountain 150 and Knik 200 were both won by mushers who chose to follow, rather than lead through deep snow. In December, Jeff King passed Aliy Zirkle just a few miles from the finish of Sheep Mountain 150 after she assumed heavy-duty trail-breaking duty. Jake Berkowitz followed a trail-breaking Lance Mackey for 60 miles before winning the Knik 200 in January. The Copper Basin 300 was cancelled altogether by snow too deep for teams and trail breakers. It looks like this Iditarod will be no exception. Advantage goes to the light and tough. Small and scrappy mushers like Dallas Seavey, Hugh Neff, and Lance Mackey will thrive on the slower trail. Speed is not their strength, endurance is. The speedsters like Martin Buser and Jeff King will have to overcome one more obstacle in their quests for Iditarod victory number five. Any musher over 175 pounds also faces an added disadvantage when the trail gets deep and slow. Disadvantage to Ken Anderson, Jake Berkowitz, Gerry Willomitzer and John Baker. Advantage DeeDee Jonrowe, Mitch Seavey, and Sigrid Ekran. Many of the mushers from the Lower 48 and Canada have not had good snow conditions for much of their winter, and their dogs might struggle in the powder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austinville Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 @elenmarie Here's the link to Ramstead's blog... http://northwapiti.blogspot.com/ She's also on facebook...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutsibe Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Just checked Hank out. He made the 40 miles from Yentna to Skwentna at 11.48 mph. That Sibe team is flying! Karen made that run at 9.72 mph--good time. Got a link to Karen's blog? I was thinking about starting a thread about Sibes versus Alaskans in terms of the race and dog care and such. What do you think? I'm torn on the subject. Karen, if I recall correctly from past races, tends to start more slowly, and conserve her dogs - she's likely to finish with most of her dogs still going strong! I truly don't know anything about Hank or his dogs, other than that they're Siberians... I do have a link to Karen's blog (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karen-Ramstead-North-Wapiti-Kennels/118830361194 for those who might enjoy it)! Love to read it - it's often either hysterically funny or a lot of good info - or both! I would say that there would be a lot of info on the subject of Siberians vs Alaskans that a great number on the forum wouldn't know, and might find interesting... They are so opposite in their strengths and weaknesses, in many ways! As the race progresses and temperatures cool, it will benefit the Siberians and the Alaskans who have more the Siberian-type coat... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elenamarie Posted March 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 The official Iditarod forum has someone giving GPS updates. As of right now Lance is in the lead going into Nikolai. Top ten are: Lance, Aliy, John, Hugh, Ray, Paul, Aaron, Kelley, Rick and Jeff http://www.iditarodforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3262&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=590 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 6, 2012 Report Share Posted March 6, 2012 Just stumbled accross this picture from the event, how happy do they look!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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