The Iditarod, the annual sled dog race celebrating Alaska’s official state sport, is set to begin Saturday, with safety taking a new focus. Previously, five dogs were killed and eight dogs were injured in collisions with snowmobiles while training on shared multi-use trails.
For the first time, mushers lining up for the ceremonial start in Anchorage will have the opportunity to outfit their dogs with lights, neon harnesses or necklaces before starting a multi-day race between dog sled teams and human sled teams in Alaska Approximately 1,600 kilometers over harsh terrain.
Thirty-eight mushers will cross two mountain ranges, the frozen Yukon River and the snow-covered Bering Sea. In about 10 days, they will leave the ice and hit the streets of the ancient gold rush town of Nome for the final sprint to the finish line.
Sled enthusiasts have long struggled with the darkness and whiteouts of Alaska’s deep winters. But recent deaths of dogs while training have put a spotlight on ways to make four-legged athletes more visible at all times. Mushers often wear bright headlamps to improve visibility, but this does not protect the lead dog running about 18 meters in front of the sled.
“I can’t get the snow machine to act responsibly, that’s just not going to happen,” said Dutch Johnson, manager of the August Foundation Kennel, which looks for retired racing sled dogs. home. “But I can help make the dogs more visible.”
In November, one of five-time Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey’s teams was killed and seven dogs injured on a remote Alaskan Highway used as a winter training track . It has recently become increasingly popular with snowmobilers, bikers, and other users, making it even more dangerous for dogs.
Seavey posted on social media that the snowmobile was traveling in the opposite direction at about 105 kilometers per hour when it hit the lead dog in the convoy. The snowmobile driver was later charged with negligent driving.
Musher Mike Parker was walking the dog of veteran Iditarod runner Jim Lanier on the Denali Highway in December when a professional The snowmobile driven by the rider struck the dog team. Three dogs died and another was injured. The driver, Erik Johnson, was testing snowmobiles for his employer, Minnesota manufacturer Polaris, and both were charged with reckless driving.
Julie St. Louis, co-founder and director of the August Foundation, is close to the Lanier family and knows the dogs involved. While brainstorming with Johnson, they decided to use the nonprofit foundation to help outfit the dogs with harnesses and necklaces.
“This is a way that we can step up and do something that’s still within our mission because we’re all about keeping dogs safe,” she said.
The August Foundation has since received an $8,500 grant from the Polaris Foundation and raised an additional $2,500 to purchase 400 illuminated safety belts, which were deployed earlier this winter in Fairbanks and Distributed to mushers during Bethel’s sled dog races.
The harnesses burn bright neon-like colors, helping to illuminate the dogs in the darkness of Alaskan winters and cut through the clouds of snow sometimes kicked up by snowmaking machines (what Alaskans call snowmobiles).
They are now accepting donations to equip as many dog teams as possible. Each team is provided with 4 harnesses or glow necklaces and a glow vest for $120. Another campaign called “Light Up the Lead Dog” is raising money to buy light-up collars for dogs.
Johnson said in each incident, the snowmobile that struck the dog was closely behind another snowmobile, which kicked up snow and obscured the view.
“I’ve witnessed firsthand the halo effect these harnesses create in the dust,” Johnson said. “So they do give you some warning about where the lead dog is.”
Jeri Rodriquez, vice president of the Anchorage Snowmobile Club, said multi-user trails are getting busier and all users need to make every effort to be seen.
Johnson will hand out lighted seat belts at a ceremony Saturday in the Iditarod, Alaska’s largest city. The fan-favorite event involves mushers driving auction winners on their sleds on approximately 18 kilometers of snowy trails. The real start of the race will be on Sunday in Willow, about 121 kilometers north of Anchorage.
The dog’s death is the latest pressure point for the Iditarod, which began in 1973 and has been hit in recent years by the pandemic, climate change, the loss of sponsors and the retirement of several big-name sled racing champions without replacements. .
The field of mushers participating in this year’s race was further reduced last month as the Iditarod became embroiled in allegations of violence against women by two of its top mushers. Both men were initially officially disqualified for breaching the rules of competition conduct. One of them later returned to work, but ended up suffering from a scratch because he rented his dog out to other mushers and was unable to regroup his team in time.
Three former champions remain in the game: 2019 champion Pete Kaiser, defending champion Ryan Redington and Seavey, who is seeking a record-breaking sixth title.
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