Racers arrive to Iron Dog's ceremonial halfway point in Nome
Team 7’s Tyler Aklestad and Nick Ousted arrived in Nome maintaining their first-place position. Nome Nugget photo
Monday was déjà vu all over again for Teams 7, 14 and 39, who continue to hold a strong lead in Iron Dog 2023. The three teams arrived in Nome with virtually the same time gaps between their departure times from Kotzebue this morning. Team 7 Tyler Aklestad and Nick Olstad arrived 28 minutes before Team 14 Casey Boylan and Bryan Leslie. Team 14 stayed 16 minutes ahead of Team 39 Cody Barber and Brett Lapham. Steady riding for a safe arrival seemed to be the order of the day.
By 8 p.m. Monday, 11 of the 15 remaining teams arrived at the ceremonial halfway point. The front-runners were traveling at a slightly faster clip than previous days, averaging 45 mph to 50 mph. However, there were still challenges.
“I don’t think it was rough but the biggest issue for them today is that it was really, really bad ice fog, so everybody came in with a quarter-inch of ice on their googles and their machines,” said head race marshal Tyson Johnson. “The freezing fog really lowered visibility.”
Tyson said it had been snowing steadily all day, but a more problematic storm is expected to roll on Tuesday or Wednesday morning – just about the time racers are scheduled to head out for the return to Big Lake.
“It’s pretty flat light and kind of steadily getting worse,” Johnson said. “If that storm hits, it’s not going to be easy on these guys on the way back.”
Ambassador Team 77 arrived in Nome Monday afternoon and will take part in community festivities tonight and Tuesday. Roger Brown photo
A young Nome rider sports goggles and a new Iron Dog helmet, complete with the custom Iron Dog stickers made specially for each region. Taylor Booth photo
Ambassador Team 77 rolled into Nome at about 2:30 p.m. Monday to prep for an evening of meet-and-greets, a safety presentation and the popular helmet program founded by Iron Dog board member Doug Dixon. Roger Brown, Iron Dog Race Inc.’s board treasurer and Team 77 lead, said it is much-anticipated break for everyone.
“The kids and fans here absolutely love it,” Brown said. “In Kotzebue and Kiana both, we autographed all the kids’ helmets and probably took 30 pictures each at each location. I am assuming Nome is going to be the same way, and we love it.”
In Elim, Brown said his team was slowed because there were so many people out and they wanted to talk to all of them. So, they opted to just turn off their machines and spend an extra 30 minutes with them.
Team 14 Casey Boylan and Bryan Leslie prep to depart Kotzebue early Monday morning. They maintain a 16-minute lead over Team 39.
“Then we got back on our sled and got by the school just a minute or two away and there were about 30 kids out by the school,” he said. “I don’t know what the population of Elim is, but we might have met everyone.”
Johnson said most racers will likely do their sled inspections tonight then get some rest. Bright and early Tuesday, they will have wrench time in the Nome garage to prepare their sleds for the long return to Big Lake. Both Johnson and Brown agree: The racers are going to have a tough trail ahead – especially if the predicted storm blows in.
“The consensus is there’s going to be a lot of carnage on the way back,” Brown said. “Overall, the trail doesn’t have as much snow as last year, but it’s still rough with a lot of bomb holes.”
Team 39’s Cody Barber and Brett Lapham prepare to leave Kotzebue. They are currently in third place.
Johnson said poor visibility and flat light could be an issue – and being in the lead if a big storm comes in means more work for the team at the front of the pack.
“It’s tough to break trail because you’re going slower, you burn a lot more fuel and you have to navigate,” Johnson said. “The teams behind you can ride faster because you’ve done all the work.”