Mushing News Round Up (Aug 10)

It was a roller coaster week of weather for South Central Alaska - have to admit the talk of a warm winter again this year makes me nervous for the Alaska Mushing season... we still have several months until the first traditional snow fall, but training is right around the corner, so long as the weather behaves. As of last weekend Alaska's two biggest sled dog races are now open for entries.


The Yukon Quest saw a fantastic turn out for their first day of sign ups on Saturday. 40 teams in all split between the 1,000 and 300 mile races signed up, and as of today two more rookies signed up - one for each race. Both are women. This may mark a turning point in the sport of mushing. The Quest has been in an unofficial competition with Iditarod to be proclaimed the best race in Alaska. With all of the Iditarod upheaval, and the subsequent response by many of the top racing kennels, this just may boost the Quest as the premiere sled dog event for Alaska. The Iditarod still sits with a roster of 30 teams.

After taking last season off from racing, Brent Sass was on hand at Quest sign ups to get back into the swing of things. Sass is a past champion of the Quest, and was thought to be part of the crop of younger up and coming mushers that would dominate the sport. He's had a few bumps along the way, and decided 2017-18 was going to be the season that he took off to regroup.

The Quest changes start and finish every year, they rotate the direction of the race every other year. 2019's Quest begins in Whitehorse and finishes in Fairbanks. Fairbanks based mushers are excited to be racing towards home.

Before sign ups, Mary Helwig posted how her morning was going. Retired sled dogs still keep kennel life interesting.

Cody Strathe posted about his(?) new glasses... in the cutest way imaginable.

And puppy pictures just keep coming, this one from Caribou Crossing Kennel.

Plans seem to be moving forward for the proposed "Mushing District" in downtown Anchorage. Famed Alaskan artist and musher Jon Van Zyle posted on his facebook page that he has been asked to contribute to the project, and he seems very excited. Honestly, I think I'm starting to really like the idea as well. It will be interesting to see what happens.

And more puppy pictures came from Jeff Deeter! Puppies, puppies, puppies! Is it any wonder we love mushers and their sled dogs?! SO MANY PUPPIES!

And for another dose of a different kind of cute, Iditarod's 2019 Teacher on the Trail was featured in the Boston Globe (he's a local boy) for his work with the race. The middle school teacher, you may recall, made quite the splash among fans and teachers alike for being tall and very handsome. I'm just sharing the news, y'all.

And while I'm trying very hard to stay out of politics these days, former Iditarod musher Steve Watkins (also a war hero, and Everest climber, and yadda yadda yadda) is running for congress and just won his state's GOP primary by a narrow margin. I've been somewhat following his campaign, and so it's neat to see him come out on top - whether or not we agree politically.

Did I miss anything? Comment below with your thoughts/news that I maybe skipped over. I had a busy week so I no doubt missed a few things.

Forty mushers sign up for the Yukon Quest events

As predicted by insiders, the Yukon Quest rosters are healthy ones. 22 teams, including seven rookies, signed up on the first day for the 1,000 mile race. 18 teams, half of them rookies, signed up for the 300 mile mid-distance race. Familiar faces in both. Names like Aliy Zirkle and Hans Gatt are among the top names in the YQ 300. Over on the thousand miler side, Allen Moore looks to go for another title, and Brent Sass has returned to racing choosing the race he's previously won.

Not on the list, of course, is Hugh Neff. Neff has been suspended from racing either Quest race this year due to the findings of the necropsy of a dog that died on his team this year in the race. Hugh appealed the decision, but it was upheld in June. Neff must sit out this year's race, and must run the 300 to re-qualify for the 1,000 mile Quest. His dogs will run in 2019, however, as his wife Olivia has signed up for the 1,000 mile race. Olivia's grandfather helped create the Yukon Quest, and she has worked hard to be able to run her "family's race". (She is shown as Olivia Webster on her roster as that is her maiden name - per FBNMQuest on Twitter - and that is what is on her passport used to cross the Al-Can border. Who knew?!)

Considering the dismal number of sign ups currently on the Iditarod roster, one can't help but wonder if those names on the Quest's list that haven't signed up for Iditarod are in silent protest over the past year's drama. While some mushers like Quest and Iditarod veteran Rob Cooke have been vocal about not planning on running both races (he lives in Whitehorse and prefers the Quest), others have not given a reason for why their name does not appear on both like in year's past. That being said some are signed up for both. Aliy Zirkle and Matt Hall the most notable to date. The Iditarod sign up window does not close until December, time will tell if their roster of 30 grows any larger.

Mushers have until January 4, 2019 to sign up for the 2019 Yukon Quest races.

Weekly Mushing News Round Up (Aug. 3)

Rob Cooke's team of Siberian Huskies at the start of the 2018 Iditarod.

We've entered into August, the final month of summer for most of Alaska; the last hurrah before training season truly begins for many sled dog teams statewide. While the summer has been sparse with news out of kennels, there was a boom this week. The Yukon Quest sign ups begin tomorrow with a big kick off on both sides of the border, and that has the mushing community buzzing with excitement. Where the Iditarod sign up seemed quiet, and the roster is still just at 30 names, it is expected that the Quest will outshine in its hoopla this year.

Puppies continue to be the name of the game this week. Many of the summer litters are quickly turning to dogs, and mushers proudly show off their pups on social media. Sarah and Travis at Turning Heads Kennel are no exception.... and they have some good looking pups that will no doubt turn into good looking super stars in the next two to three years.

Matt Hall at Smokin' Aces Kennel is looking to sign up for the 2019 Yukon Quest tomorrow morning, but the last few weeks he's been focused on putting in a new dog yard. Matt shared some of his progress on social media over the weekend.


Iditarod musher Lev Shvarts took to social media on his Team Ollie page to place a want ad for a handler for the winter season. Many kennels need help to keep the teams conditioned - just because the snow flies it doesn't mean that mushers don't have lives/jobs outside the realm of dogs. They have to find a balance to make everything work, and that typically means opening up their kennel and home to handlers (think of them as glorified interns). Many get their start in this way and work their way up to having their own dogs and kennel and racing teams through handling for other established kennels. If you're interested, it looks like the job is still available.

Four-time Yukon Quest and (consecutive) Iditarod Champion Lance Mackey made headlines again, and it's positive. Lance, as you may know, has not given up the dog life, but he has increased his need for speed and has turned a lot of his attention to car racing. While he does plan to race this season in the sprint and mid distance sled dog races, Mackey also has plans for NASCAR. That's right NASCAR. The Daily News-Miner out of Fairbanks, Alaska reported on the mushing legend this week. At some point, Mackey may have to make the difficult decision to choose one passion over the other. In some ways he may have already made his move, as he's sold off a lot of his equipment and long-distance team dogs. That being said, Mackey has been very vocal in his fight against animal rights groups like PETA who want to see the sport of mushing destroyed.

Lance Mackey's team at the start of the 2018 Tustumena 200, January 27.

The Iditarod Trail Committee announced their fifth and final new board member on Monday. The ITC selected Alaska's chief of the National Transportation and Safety Board, Clint Johnson. Johnson runs the investigations of all plane crashes in Alaska among other duties. He is admittedly not familiar with the sport, other than having attended the starts of the Iditarod and Rondy races, but says he is willing to learn about the culture the sport entails. With Clint's experience one has to wonder if there aren't significant plans for changes within the Iditarod Air Force coming with this addition to the board. The Iditarod Air Force is the volunteer group of pilots that transport equipment, people, dogs, etc. to and from the check points. They are the ones who assist in returning dogs back to Anchorage to be handed off to the handlers (these were previously called dropped dogs, dogs who for whatever reason needed to stop racing and go home before the race is over, they are now designated as "returned dogs"). There have been a few mishaps in the last couple of years, one of which resulted in dog deaths, and in the Iditarod's history there have been several planes that have crashed (non-fatal, but no less terrifying). One has to think that he will be giving some guidance on how to improve a system that after 46 years may need fresh ideas to keep flying.

Black Spruce Kennels, owned by Jeff and KattiJo Deeter, made news this week via Penny Hoarder with their kennel being highlighted as an off grid haven. Jeff is one of the youngest mushers to run Iditarod, running his rookie year back in 2008 at the tender age of 19. After taking ten years off to find his calling, Deeter returned to Iditarod running this past March and doing rather well. Jeff is once again signed up for the Last Great Race, and was one of two mushers to win their entry fee back during the June 30 sign up BBQ.


Snow Owl Sled Dog Tours announced the names of their newest sled dog team members with some super cute photos of, you guessed it, PUPPIES! And this is doubly awesome because the litter names are inspired by the Addams Family. Uh, sign me up!


Iditarod musher Lisbet Norris is throwing her hat in the ring for the 2019 Yukon Quest, this will be her rookie run. She was excited not only to share that news with followers of her page but also to show off her awesome dog truck rig. Unlike the Iditarod, handlers are allowed to help their musher within certain check points on the Quest, and with her new rig, she's able to safely run "the other thousand mile" race.

Beckie Hacker - who dreams of one day running the Iditarod and is working towards that goal - proudly showed off her new leaders in a quick update on her social media pages.

Mary Helwig had a little bit of frustration this morning as she found that one of her retired pups had decided to go into landscaping.... in her newly landscaped yard. Needless to say the pup seems pretty dang proud of himself, and she is without a lot of nice flowers and veggies.

Iditarod 46: It's Rookie time!

The finish line and burled arch in Nome, Alaska. March 12, 2017.

Sixteen rookies are set to head to Nome this weekend on a dream come true adventure. The diversity of ages and backgrounds makes for a very interesting line up of rookies, so I wanted to take a few minutes and share them with the world so that they don't get lost in the shuffle. Rookies inspire us all. It's said more people have made it to the summit of Mt. Everest than have finished the Iditarod. Many rookies have tried and failed to finish the "Last Great Race". Some of the class of 2018 Rookies have a lot of miles on the books, and just as much experience. Others are as wide-eyed as you could possibly imagine. All are living their dream.

Class of 2018 Iditarod Rookies


Andrew Nolan - Andrew is the 2017 Iditarod Junior Champion, he runs out of Wade Marrs' Kennel - Stump Jumpin' Kennel. Nolan was involved in a dog team vs motor vehicle accident earlier in the training season, but all is well and on track for his first trip to Nome. You can follow his race through his GoFundMe page, or his "fanclub" Facebook Group.

Andy Pohl - the newest racing member of Seeing Double Kennel, Pohl is a newcomer to the sport of mushing but not the Iditarod trail. Pohl has finished the race via bike, as part of the Iditarod Trail Race that takes place ahead of the sled dog one. In his first trip, he met Kristy Berington - yes, of the Berington Twins at Seeing Double Kennel. The rest is history as they are newly wed (this past summer). It will be interesting to see how he does, he had a hard time on the Tustumena 200 this past January and had to scratch. Seeing Double isn't much for social media, but they do have a nice website.

Anja Radano - Having gotten the mushing bug somewhere around 2004, Anja started her own kennel 10 years ago in 2018. When not mushing the trails around her home in Talkeetna, she is a veterinarian. You can follow her kennel on facebook.

Bradley Farquhar - He learned the ropes from Sebastian Schnuelle and Ken Anderson. Good tutors who helped Bradley qualify for the race. Bradley seems to be a man of adventure judging by his website. He ran the T200 this year, but did not finish, something about dogs going into heat. Hopefully his run to Nome is a little less chaotic.

Brett Bruggeman - Can you say Dad of the Century? If you haven't read his musher bio, go there now. Seriously, how cool is his "getting into dogs" story! You can follow along on their kennel's facebook page to get race updates on this Montana musher as he achieves the goal of finishing the Iditarod. With his lessons from Doug Swingley and Jessie Royer, expect him to go all the way!

Emily Maxwell - The 33 year old Iowan is ready for her Iditarod debut. She's running out of Nicolas Petit's kennel, so expect a fast team. She looked great at the Tustumena 200, now it's time to run a race five times as long. No doubt Petit has taught her well. Follow her journey via her facebook page.

Jason Stewart - He fell in love with the sport in 2011, he fell in love with one of the sport's famous up and comers in 2012. Now he's running their dogs to Nome in his rookie year. We're used to seeing Melissa Owens mush to Nome, but they just welcomed their daughter into the world last year, so I assume mama's happy to be on the sidelines. Facebook is the place for updates on Owl Creek Kennel's musher, too.


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Jessie Holmes - Life Below Zero is coming to the Iditarod. Not that they don't see below temps and a completely different life style on the Iditarod, too. But this race is all reality... like, real reality. The reality star, though, seems well prepared for the race, and is set to make a strong run to Nome. His bio states that he was inspired to run the Iditarod after winning last year's Kobuk race. His official facebook page is keeping fans updated on his Iditarod run.

Matt Hall - Smokin' Aces Kennel is coming to Iditarod! The 2017 Yukon Quest champion will make 2018 his rookie year on Iditarod. Clearly he knows what he's doing, having beaten some of the best dog drivers just a year ago on the other 1000 mile sled dog race. http://www.smokinacekennels.org/

Meredith Mapes - Fun on the Run Kennel is finally hitting the trail! The Junior Iditarod veteran took time off for school and other pursuits, but was eventually wooed back to the sport and she has successfully built her team back up to hit the Last Great Race. She has raised most of her team from puppyhood, and they have serious pedigrees. Mapes works for Mitch Seavey's tours in the summer time, and Seavey is one of her sponsors. It will be exciting to see what Meredith can accomplish! Follow her race on facebook!

Michi Konno - Another one of the more interesting mushers (in my opinion anyway) trying out the Iditarod this year is Michi Konno. Originally from Japan, he moved to Alaska around 25 years ago. He originally got into sprint mushing, and did rather well on that circuit and at one point had a large number of dogs to choose for his team. After retiring from sprint racing he focused on other interests, but it's always been a goal to run the Iditarod. I wish I knew more about him but most of his website (and social media) is not in english! But you can still follow if you wish on his website here.

Peter Fleck - It's the Seavey Puppy Team! Peter will be running his rookie race training the future super stars of Mitch Seavey's kennel. Expect a solid showing for this team. Peter's main goal will to keep the race positive for his team and get as many as he can to the finish line (what every team's goal is, really). He won't be breaking any speed records, and it will be more of a camping trip, but at a nice clip. I assume there will be a few updates on his race from Seavey's Ididaride Facebook Page, but since I no longer run it I'm not really sure what to expect (haha).

Shaynee Traska - A childhood dream come true, this is something Shaynee's been planning since she was 9 years old. She started her kennel when she was in her teens, and now she's here. Expect a giant smile on race day. Follow her journey on facebook.

Tara Cicatello - Bacon Acres will be represented by a rookie this year. Kristin isn't racing, but Tara is ready to go! You might recognize her name as she reported on the race for a couple of years for Nome's radio station KNOM. That's actually how she got into the sport, and how she met Jeff King and Kristin Bacon. Follow along with her race on the Bacon Acres' Facebook Page.

Tim Muto - Tim is "entering the Iditarod to live intentionally and to squeeze the marrow out of life and to travel 1000 miles across Alaska." He will be running a combination of his dogs and Brent Sass's dogs (all dogs are from Sass lines). Muto has been great to share his mushing adventures on social media, and I assume someone will be giving updates while he's on the trail. Follow his race.

Tom Schonberger - One of the few mushers who run an all Siberian Husky team, Tom is entering his first Iditarod with a goal of showing off what the dogs are capable of. Many say that Siberians are too big and slow to run sled dog races anymore, but you can't help but love seeing those beautiful dogs all hooked up loping down the trail. Follow his kennel's facebook page.


Which rookie(s) do you plan to follow? Comment with your thoughts and cheers below!

Mushing News Weekly Round Up (Dec 8)

With the advent of social media, it's a whole lot easier for fans to immerse themselves into the mushing world. It's also easy to miss a lot of the interesting and newsworthy stuff as it seems to become overloaded in the weeks leading up to race season. Training reports begin as the leaves fall from the trees, and then almost over night the snow hits the rosters are finalized and we're in the middle of race season.

So a new feature here on Reitter's Block starting this week is a sort of weekly round up of news, and interesting stories from the mushing community. These will be selection that caught my eye, and in no way everything that happened within the week.



In response to the Iditarod Trail Committee's announcement on December 1 about their plan to come up with a standard of "Dog Care" for kennels to be eligible to compete, Iditarod Veteran Wade Marrs took to his website to share his thoughts. While, overall, Wade is supportive of the idea - he wanted to voice some concerns he had. It is equally a response to another kennel that has created a lot of drama since October when they decided to try and promote themselves as the kennel/people all mushers wish they could be like.

SP Kennel (Home of Aliy Zirkle and Allen Moore) shared an adorable update on their trio of pups. It's not really news worthy, but it's adorable, and there's video. What more does a mushing fan need than a puppy cam?!

Monday brought the amusing with the report that Jeff King was auctioned off during the Talkeetna Bachelor Auction, and brought in a whopping $4,600! King is thought to be the first Iditarod Champion (and certainly IS the only 4-time Champion) auctioned off at the event. Known as one of the larger than life mushers, it should come as no surprise that Jeff was up for something like this. But it was still amusing to read. Much better than the articles showing the mushing community up in arms.

And, just today, Monica Zappa took to Facebook to announce that the 2018 Iditarod will be her last "for a while" as she needs to go off on new adventures. Iditarod will be far less colorful without her neon colors out on the trail. So when you see her run down the trail this March, cheer extra hard for her!

Speaking of Facebook - my favorites on the social media round up: