Iditarod Rookie Kailyn Davis popped the snowhook at 10:50am Alaska Time on Saturday to head out on the final 77 miles to Nome. The musher and her team of eight dogs will soon enter the treacherous trail in the Topkok Hills. Just yesterday this section of trail claimed three mushers - forcing scratches and a couple trips to the medical clinic. Today the weather has improved - winds aren't quite as strong - and race officials have deemed the trail safe to travel.
During yesterday's drama of scratches and stalls, those mushers already in Nome spoke on trail conditions. Both hardened trail veterans and past Iditarod Champions Mitch Seavey and Martin Buser (both of whom had puppy teams out in the storm - and would end up scratching by day's end) noted that the trail in the Topkok Hills had been the worst they remember seeing. No snow, just thick ice and wind gusts so strong they easily picked up a sled and dog team and threw them about the trail. With no way to pick in on the trail due to the ice the teams were at the mercy of it all.
In an interview/trail update given last night to Insider, Mark Nordman described the trail as the "worst possible conditions" and noted that teams currently in White Mountain would stay in White Mountain until he was assured they would be safe out on the trail. That basically meant until the winds died down (they were to reach 60mph overnight) everyone in the checkpoint was in stay put mode. That was lifted around 9:30am this morning.
It won't be long until she comes to the area that it all went wrong for teams yesterday. We're about to know if the trail truly has improved.
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