Reitter's Block: copper basin 300

Showing posts with label copper basin 300. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 11, 2023

2023 Copper Basin 300 musher roster

The Copper Basin, the toughest 300 miles in Alaska - or for sure the coldest. It's also one of the most popular of races in Alaska. This year's roster is a lot of well known names as well as hopeful qualifiers for future Iditarods and Quests. The Knik 200 was chilly enough at -20F for most of the race, but we've seen CB300s that have gotten as cold as -60F (and a lot of teams scratched because of it). This race is not for the faint of heart, and kudos to all who not only run it but volunteer to work it.

As with all of my musher rosters, the list will not be finalized until the night before race day, but for now the twenty nine names are in alphabetical order with each musher's kennel and links. Bib draw is Friday evening, and as usual the roster will be updated to reflect any changes to the roster as well as bib order. Bib draw happened Friday night where the roster was finalized, the honorary musher revealed, and bib numbers listed. Hopefully no one has a frozen truck in the morning and we see everyone at the start line at 10am Saturday!

01 - Honorary Musher, Lance Mackey
02 - Lara Kittelson (Seavey's Ididaride*) - Website / Facebook / Instagram
03 - Anna Hennessy (Shameless Huskies) - Facebook / Instagram
04 - Matt Hall (Smokin' Aces) - Website / Facebook / Instagram
05 - Nicolas Petit (Team Petit) - Website / Facebook / Instagram
06 - Riley Dyche (Dark Horse Sled Dogs) - Website / Facebook / Instagram
07 - Lauro Eklund (Skookum Expeditions) - Website / Facebook / Facebook 2 / Instagram / Instagram 2
08 - Calvin Daugherty (Seavey's Ididaride) - Website / Facebook
09 - Jeremy Traska (Howling Ridge) - Website / Facebook / Instagram
10 - Justin Olnes (ReRun Kennel) - Website / Facebook / Instagram
11 - Gregg Vitello (Northern Exposure Dog Sledding) - Website / Facebook / Instagram
12 - Misha Wiljes (WW Kennel) - Website / Facebook
13 - Bailey Vitello (Team Bailey) - Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
14 - Jessie Holmes (Team Can't Stop) - Website / Facebook / Instagram
15 - Vickie Justice (Awl Alaskan Kennel) - Facebook / Instagram
16 - Brent Sass (Wild and Free Mushing) - Website / Facebook / Instagram
17 - Cody Strathe (Squid Acres) - Website / Facebook / Instagram
18 - Hedda Mosleth (Dallas Seavey Racing) - Facebook / Instagram
19 - Paige Drobny (Squid Acres) - Website / Facebook / Instagram
20 - Tucker Costain (Ryno Sled Dog Kennel) - Website / Facebook
21 - Joshua Armstrong (?) - Facebook / Instagram
22 - Louve Tweddell (Echoes Kennel) - Website / Facebook
23 - Ronald Stiffner (Fast and the Furry) - Facebook
24 - Jeffery Deeter (Black Spruce Kennel) - Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
25 - Richie Beattie (WildThingz) - Website / Facebook / Instagram

*Jonathan Hayes had to withdraw due to musher injury, his place was swapped by another member of Team Seavey, Lara Kittelson ~~(which is why her name is not in order alphabetically.)~~
**Ashely Dove is off the roster due to her team catching a bug on the Knik 200 which then got passed around to the entire kennel. The dogs are all doing fine and it's a minor illness but better to let it run its course than run with sick dogs - DOGS FIRST ALWAYS.
***Amanda Otto hit a caribou near Cantwell on her way to the race and had to withdraw. All humans and canines are fine, truck and caribou not so much. Amanda says she is bummed, but excited to cheer on everyone running this weekend and will focus on the Quest.

Comment below with any thoughts about the roster, or any corrections. If you like what you see and want to support my addiction (I mean HOBBY) of following these races and stalking (I mean cheering on) the mushers, you can buy me a slice of pizza (that really goes to paying for my internet/web expenses).

Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Sass battles extreme temperatures to win Copper Basin 300

Brent Sass and Lead Dogs at the finish of the
2022 Copper Basin 300. January 10, 2022
Screencapture from feed by Kale Casey Live.

42 teams originally signed up for the 2022 Copper Basin 300, by race week the roster dwindled to 25, by bib draw 21 teams made up the official roster. The weather played a huge factor into the roster changes. Many teams withdrew after a very difficult december full of storms dumping feet of snow - kennels spent all their time digging out, and unable to train properly. Other's withdrew once the forecast came out that the Copper Basin was looking at temps between -40F and -50F.

The cold did not disappoint - mushers woke up to at least -40F on race day. Two teams ended up withdrawing just hours before the start due to trucks that seized up and refused to start in the extreme cold. Four-time and reigning Copper Basin Champion Nicolas Petit was the first to announce withdrawal because of a frozen dog truck. Rob Cooke's announcement would soon follow.

With the reigning champ out of the way, the race was wide open for another team to take the spot. Most believed Brent Sass to be the favorite. Living off grid in the interior, Brent's team was most capable to handle the weather being thrown at them. Jessie Holmes was another favorite for similar reasons, but the reality tv turned competitive musher ended up scratching midway through the race. Matt Hall, Joar Leifseth Ulsom, and Paige Drobny would prove they weren't willing to just hand Sass the win. The four teams led the race and came in with strong, happy dogs.

Each team went into the Copper Basin hoping for a solid training run, every musher - scratched or finished - have said that while the cold was at time brutal they couldn't be more proud of their dogs. The Red Lantern went to the Shaytaan Siberian B-Team. While Rob Cooke was sidelined with truck problems, he got his second string to the start and allowed musher Giordano Tarara to continue with his first Copper Basin 300. Tarara did very well, even after having to drop several veteran dogs. He ran much of the race with more dogs running their first 300 mile race than he had veterans. Tarara wrote on his facebook page: "this race has taught me some things:

- That being able to take a shower again whenever you want is really beautiful

- That in a race the miles are fucking longer than the kilometers

- That if you have the strength to not give up, the results always come."

The Copper Basin proved itself to once again be the toughest 300 miles in Alaska. Congratulations to all of the teams who accomplished whatever it was they set out to do. On to the next race!

Friday, January 7, 2022

2022 Copper Basin 300 Race Preview

The Copper Basin 300 is set to head out at 10am on Saturday and forecast predicts another COLD one (at last glance it should be around -40F at the start) and it could be another breezy race (though hopefully nothing like last weekend). Still the roster boasts a competitive field as well as some rookies working to qualify for their Iditarod and Quest runs.

While the roster is a little on the small side (for CB300) there are still 25+ teams set to run - though final count won't be official until the bib draw Friday night. Teams have posted to their social media pages that they were making their way to Glenallen.

Let's take a look at the top teams that should challenge for first.

Brent Sass - The three-time Yukon Quest Champion has proven to once again be one of the top mushers in any field. Sass has shared a lot during the training season of just the daily trials and struggles of running a champion level kennel. He's shared video of the slow going of putting in a trail, to breaking trail, and losing a snow machine (for you outsiders you call it a snowmobile) to overflow. Sass lives off grid in the interior of Alaska and should be well suited for the crazy cold temps the racers will face this weekend.

Jeff Deeter - Deeter was scheduled to run in the Knik 200 last weekend, however the severe snow storms that the Interior of Alaska has faced most of the winter set back his training. He posted earlier this week that he is bringing his core group of Iditarod dogs to this race but is looking for this to be more of a training run. He DID use a "however" throwing in the possibility that should his team look strong, he'll challenge for the top spot.

Joar Leifseth Ulsom - The 2018 Iditarod Champion and new dad is starting his season in the "toughest 300 miles" race. Joar is not good at sharing what his plans are for any given race, but it'd be easy to guess that he will be working hard for a top finish. He did come in second last season.

Matt Hall - Matt posted that he was on the fence for several days if he was going to come down to the race or not. The -40 temps had him second guessing his choices, but he is headed for the race today. Look for Matt to put up a strong race.

Nicolas Petit - The four-time and reigning Copper Basin Champion looks to keep the streak alive and snag a fifth title this weekend. Petit won the Knik 200 last weekend with seemingly little problem with the wind and overflow, so look for him to once again take the lead early and hold on to it. He is, in my mind, the king of the mid-distance races.

Travis Beals - Travis came in second at this year's Knik 200 race, and won the humanitarian award for best dog care. Beals has been climbing steadily as one of the foremost mushers in this sport, and his season has started off incredibly strong. He'll no doubt want to keep the momentum going for this race.

How to Follow
While covid is still a concern, last year proved that - for the most part - mushing races are relatively safe for all participants and so rules are a little more lax. It also helps that most mushers and volunteers are vaxxed as it's a requirement for the Iditarod and everyone must be vaxxed well in advance of that race.

GPS Tracker
As fans have come expect, there is once again a GPS tracker to follow your favorite teams! Many thanks to TrackLeaders for providing the technology needed to make this possible. You can find the link to track the 2022 race here.

Radio Broadcast
KCAM Radio will broadcast the start beginning with musher interviews at 9:30am. If you're in the area you can listen to the broadcast on AM 790, or online through this link.

Social Media
Updates will most likely be posted on the race's facebook page, and possibly their twitter account. They do plan to have a live feed that you can stream from their facebook page or their website, however they noted in a post today that with the forecasted weather they cannot promise the feed won't die. They will also livefeed or record the first five finishes of the race. If you are tweeting, instagramming, etc. the traditional hashtag is #CB300.

KCAM normally posts updates throughout the weekend on the race on facebook as well.

Schedule of Events

Friday, January 7
9am-4pm Registration
10am-4pm Vet Checks
6pm Handler & Musher Meetings, Meet and Greet, and Bib Draw

Saturday, January 8
10am - Race Start

Will you be watching? Who are you hoping takes the win? Comment below with your thoughts!

Like what you see and want to help offset costs to keep this blog running? You can send me a slice of pizza (that is code for "pay for internet and server fees").

Thursday, January 6, 2022

2022 Copper Basin 300 Musher Roster

Once again, I've compiled the list of links for each musher currently set to run this weekend's race. If I have missed any links, or if the roster changes between now and Saturday let me know and we'll get it fixed. Once the Bib numbers are drawn I'll edit the list to reflect everyone's starting order. The musher list is taken directly from the race's website. Here's hoping this race is a little less windy. It'll no doubt be cold enough without the added windchill.

Comment below with any thoughts about the roster, or any corrections. If you like what you see and want to support my addiction (I mean HOBBY) of following these races and stalking (I mean cheering on) the mushers, you can buy me a slice of pizza (that really goes to paying for my internet/web expenses).

Musher roster as of January 8, 2022 at 9:44am (Alaska).

Sunday, October 3, 2021

Mid-Distance races open up registration this weekend

With snow falling consistently for the last two weeks in Alaska, fans can officially say it's mushing season. Teams began early fall training late in August and have continued to share their impressive early season miles as the weather remains cool to crisp. While races like the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod open registration in mid to late summer, the mid distance races wait to organize as thoughts turn to long hours on the back of a dog sled.

This weekend two of the big names in mid-distance races opened registration. The Copper Basin 300 in Alaska and the John Beargrease of Minnesota opened registration Saturday with much fanfare. With Covid numbers rising in Alaska and elsewhere, it was curious if there would be much enthusiasm by the mushing community to look ahead to January and sign up - but sign up they did.

While the Copper Basin is missing some familiar names to the opening name roster - most noticeable is reigning champion Nicolas Petit is not listed (however the musher did comment with plans to sign up, but was having credit card issues) - the Beargrease is welcoming a rookie to their race but not to the sport Wade Marrs. Marrs joins a field with several past champions (Redington, the Frekings, and reigning champion Erin Letzring) as well as some fan favorites and is shaping up to be one competitive race. The Beargrease is partnered with the Iditarod and QrillPet Sports as part of the "Grand Prix" of mushing known as QRILL PAWS Arctic World Series which began in 2019 but has since been sidelined due to the global pandemic.

The Copper Basin 300 race begins in Glen Allen on January 8, 2022. Registration is open for the first 50 teams, after which names will be held on a waiting list until/if a spot opens up. Deadline to register is December 1, with late entries being allowed for an extra $150 registration fee. So far, the Copper Basin has not maxed out on registrations.

The John Beargrease Marathon's registration is open from now until January 27, however if mushers want to get in at the cheapest rate they need to sign up by December 31. For the marathon race, due to covid mitigation - they will cap the registration at 25 teams (and then a wait list). The marathon has not maxed out its roster, yet. The race begins in Rice Lake Township on January 30, 2022.

Other races have also opened registration or will open in the next couple of weeks. Snow is literally in the air. It feels like sled dog season. Before we know it, we'll be cheering our teams from the comforts of our home (or out on the trail).

Which races are you excited to watch? Who are you excited to see sign up, and who are you hoping to see add their name to the roster(s)? Comment below!

Like what you see and want to see post like this continue? Support is always greatly appreciated, if you want to buy me a slice of pizza (or more) I won't say no. (To be honest that money goes into paying for internet and other website related costs.)

Monday, January 11, 2021

Nicolas Petit is your 2021 Copper Basin 300 champion

They done did the thing! pic.twitter.com/Tcd4MndsyG
— Jess ☞ Black Lives Matter (@fartsock) January 11, 2021

In a finish that surprised really no one, Nicolas Petit and his team of 9 dogs stormed the finish of the Copper Basin 300 at 11:48am Monday to take his fourth title. According to KCAM Radio, Nic is the first musher to ever win four Copper Basin races in a row. Nic left Chistochina with 10 dogs on the line, but had to put one in his sled due to the dog tiring early in the run. Due to Covid-19 there will not be an awards ceremony and the teams are going to receive any prizes at the finish. Also due to Covid-19 there are no large crowds to welcome them.

In a battle for second Joar Leifseth Ulsom has a narrow lead over Gunnar Johnson, both teams are less than 5 miles from the finish line and should be in in time for lunch. Joar is technically a rookie in this race as the other time he competed in the Copper Basin 300 the race was stopped mid-race over concerns of brutally cold temperatures.

There is a live video feed of the finishes provided by the Copper Basin 300, as well as radio broadcast through KCAM radio.

With 7 mile lead Petit looks to finish strong

Nicolas Petit at the ReStart of Iditarod 47
March 3, 2019.

It ain't over til it's over, but in all likelihood Nicolas Petit is running into the finish of the Copper Basin 300 to win his fourth consecutive title. Gunnar Johnson and Joar Leifseth Ulsom have given chase, but sit seven miles behind the leader who has kicked it into high gear. It seems Petit owns this race. Of course, stranger things have happened and it isn't a given that he's won until he wins, but be on the look out for Nic Petit to come into the finish around 11:30am AKST (could be earlier, more likely later. Check the GPS to make sure you don't miss him come across the finish line.)

Overnight three more teams scratched from the race, including Shaynee Traska who was one of the leaders of the chase pack yesterday. It was reported by fans who watched over night that Shaynee left Meier's Lake and ran a few miles before turning back and returning to the checkpoint. There's no official report on any of the race scratches, so we will only know what happened if the musher(s) decide to make a statement on their own social media pages. Scratching is a very emotional and personal decision for mushers and sometimes they remain silent. Jeff Reid and Allen Dunn also scratched last night at Meier's Lake.

ATAO kennel reports that the trail is not the best condition with a lot of sugar snow. Sugar Snow adds friction to the sled and also makes for a very unstable/soft trail which only gets worse the more teams go over it.

It does appear that Julie Ahrens did not complete her mandatory six hour plus differential and has had to take another 6+ rest in Chistochina. The rookie musher had a phenomenal race and should be very proud of what she and her team accomplished. Every team has made the differential mistake, it wouldn't be a "rookie mistake" if they hadn't. This was Ahren's first Iditarod qualifier and above all that is the goal.

The champion finish is always celebration worthy, but the true excitement comes from battle for placement. second place and fourth place look at being closely contended. Teams must give the right of way to the team coming up faster behind them UNTIL "no man's land" (typically the last mile to the finish) then it's every team for itself. Watching teams come in seconds after each other always gives for a fun little jump in excitement.

Get ready for an exciting afternoon of finishes, race fans. CB300 had announced they planned to go live for the finish and I believe the link will be shared on their website. You can also listen to the finish on KCAM online.

Sunday, January 10, 2021

Ulsom and Hall giving chase towards the final checkpoint

Nicolas Petit at the ReStart of
Iditarod 48. March 8, 2020.

Petit might need to look over his shoulder from time to time. What was once a challenge of two is now a challenge of potentially four as Matt Hall and Joar Leifseth Ulsom have made a move to join Gunnar Johnson and Julie Ahren in chasing Petit. Of the top five out of Meier's Lake, only Ahren has yet to take their six hour plus differential mandatory rest (though a refresh does show her staying for 6.5, they don't have it down as completed). Ahren will have to take it at the final checkpoint at Chistochina (unless the notation is . With the rest having just the final few hours to take, Ahrens is all but out of contention (we've seen some weird finishes, so never say never). Gunnar Johnson led for most of Saturday and has been hot on Petit's heels when not in lead.

For Joar Leifseth Ulsom it looks like plans from when he made his racing schedule for the season have changed. While he posted on his site that this would be treated like a training run - it seems he's making a run that's more competitive than training. Matt, too, has a young team that apparently has shown they're ready to race and he's let up on the brake to let them have that experience. Hall's team has reported through out the Copper Basin how GREAT the team is doing. Always good to read that the coach is happy with his team.

If Ahrens has taken her mandatory, she and Gunnar both have a half hour less rest to take than Petit. Ulsom also has just 3.5 hours to take. Hall, like Petit, has four hours left to take. It should be an interesting night, especially since both Matt and Joar's trackers seem to not want to refresh. The current leg for the front runners have a lot of river crossings and potential for overflow is high. There are also some intense (for this race) elevation changes. It could be slow going for a while depending on trail conditions.

Nic's got about 90 miles until the finish. 40 to his final checkpoint and mandatory four hours of rest. His moving average speed according to trackers is 9mph. I don't expect that for this current run, but he'll punch it out of Chistochina. If we give him an 8.5mph average we could see a finish tomorrow around 11:30am or Noon - if all goes well and speed improves from what it is at the moment. We're probably looking closer to 1pm (IFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF my math is correct at all which we all know I'm the worst at this). I just encourage everyone to be ready for a late morning early afternoon finish.

This is not saying that it couldn't change up and we could see someone else take the title away from the reigning champion, but for now Nic has command of the trail and without a trail report we don't know if he will be hindered by being so far up ahead or if this will see a four-peat for the speedy musher.

Petit charges into lead over night

Nicolas Petit's team at the Ceremonial Start of
Iditarod 48. March 7, 2020.

It should surprise no one that Team Petit currently leads - mile-wise - the Copper Basin 300. The three-time and reigning CB champ is known for his aggressive racing strategy of get out ahead of everyone and keep the lead. Nic often accounts his racing style to just letting the dogs set their pace and if that means they lead, they lead, but to me it feels far more like that's just where the musher likes to keep his team. It's a good strategy if you can keep it, and so far in the mid-distance races it works for him (still waiting to see it truly work for him in the Iditarod).

Keeping Petit company is rookie Julie Ahren who is running a team of dogs belonging to Reality TV Star Jessie Holmes. Holmes is playing handler while Ahren runs the dogs and she has consistently stayed with the lead pack. Rounding out top three is Gunnar Johnson who is kind of a surprise through all of this and one wonders if he can keep the pace for the whole course. Johnson is running his Iditarod 2021 season with the goal of bringing more awareness to Suicide and Suicide prevention, so it's nice to see him rocket up the trail with confidence. (I believe he is running Jim Lanier dogs? I could be wrong.)

The chase pack is large but full of a lot of well known names as well as a few up and comers many may not be aware of. Hunter Keefe looks to really improve his standing over last year's Copper Basin. Joar Leifseth Ulsom's "puppy team" that was just using this race as a "training run" seems to be more into racing than his website led on (also he has a lot of veteran dogs on his team for a "puppy team" but who am I to judge). Matt Hall is reportedly very excited that his young team seems to be "getting it" in their first major race, and Jeff Deeter's team is also performing strongly.

Three scratches happened overnight. The first sign of "trouble" was Falk Huettman's tracker starting and stopping multiple times in the first leg and falling very much behind. Suddenly his tracker pinged going 41mph and that was almost a total giveaway that someone decided to throw in the towel. The scratch wasn't made official until this morning, but it came as no surprise. John Lloyd, running a puppy team for Team Petit, chose to scratch when the group of young dogs decided they were done. The whole goal of a puppy team is to get them used to the schedule of racing, the energy of a race, and to make sure they have fun. From John's wife's report it sounds like by the end of the night neither team or musher was having much fun. Elisha Rutledge rounds out the list of scratches, but no word on reason.

Several teams chose to do their mandatory 6 hour (plus differential) layover in Lake Louise, the front runners were not among them. Teams must have a mandatory 18 hours of rest over the course of the race. Nic has 8.5 hours tallied so far.

Friday, January 8, 2021

2021 Copper Basin Musher Roster

You asked, and I'm willing to spend my "day off" (it's not, I have to work tonight and all day tomorrow so I will miss a lot of sled dog action, cry for me) looking up links for all of you to follow the mushers and their teams who are running this year's Copper Basin 300. If I've missed a link or have the wrong link, please let me know in the comments below. I really do appreciate the readership and the feedback! I will try to edit this once they have their bib numbers, but for now we'll go with the list on their website.

Musher List for the 2021 Copper Basin 300

1 Honorary Musher - Jamey Kemp
2 Gunnar Johnson Website / Facebook / Twitter
3 John Lloyd Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
4 Adam Lindenmuth Facebook / Instagram / Youtube
5 Joe Taylor Facebook 6 Allen Dunn Facebook   7 Gerhardt Thiart Website / Facebook 8 KattiJo Deeter Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram 9 Julie Ahnen  Facebook / Instagram 10 Will Troshynski Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram 11 Dre Langefeld Facebook / Instagram 12 Eric Kelly Instagram / Facebook
13 Matt Randall  Facebook / Twitter 14 Hal Hanson Website / Facebook 15 Falk Huettmann - maybe found a personal fb page but not sure 16 Rebecca Rowin  Facebook 17 Matt Hall Website / Facebook / Instagram 18 Chad Stoddard Website / Facebook / Instagram
19 Nicolas Petit Website / Facebook / Twitter 20 Deke Naaktgeboren Website / Facebook / Instagram 21 Jeff Reid Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram 22 Joshua Cadzow Facebook 23 Joar Ulsom Website / Facebook / Instagram 24 Jeffrey Deeter Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram 25 Dan Powell Website / Facebook / Instagram 26 Jacob Witkop Facebook 27 Misha Wiljes Website / Facebook 28 Amanda Otto Facebook / Kennel Facebook / Instagram 29 Dennis Kananowicz Facebook
30 Elisha Rutledge Instagram
31 Shaynee Traska Website / Facebook / Instagram
32 Philip Hanke  Facebook
33 Hunter Keefe Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

*Edited to add bib number and starting order.
**Added Will since no one caught my mistake earlier!

Pages