This year’s Iditarod Trail Invitational in Alaska is proving to be exceptionally difficult, with a high number of scratches, an athlete traveling on foot in first place, and waist-deep snow that makes forward progress nearly impossible for many riders. Kari Gibbons of the Wild Winter Women group put together a detailed update with photos from Mark Smith and other participants. Find it all here…

Words by Kari Gibbons/Wild Winter Women, photos by Mark Smith and others

At this year’s Iditarod Trail Invitational, there were no tracks remaining from when the Iron Dog sled race went through, so three bikers (Kendall, Maya, and Troy) stayed behind in McGrath to wait for the dog race trail breakers to come and set the trail. Erickk left, got to Tokotna, and turned around to wait in McGrath. He is going for the triple: finishing the ITI on foot, by ski, and by bike.

As for those who pushed on, Ryan left Tokotna and made a push for the Ophir airport (an airstrip with a tiny cabin), and it was a literal push—no riding, just hiking a bike, where he met with the foot division and led Gavin. They waited a couple of days for the breakers, but set out before. Gavin got the furthest, probably due to snowshoes, but he was stopped by the trail, thigh-deep snow, and bivvied there. Same with Ryan, a few miles back, pushing the bike until he could go no farther and bivvied, waiting for the trail breakers. This all shook out while trying to get to a safety cabin at mile 374-ish.

I think everyone is tuned into two facts: First, Alaska is king! The trail and the temp rule the day. And second, we would not be able to have this race if it were not for the Iron Dog and the Iditarod breaking the trail. It is a busy trail this time of year, and it’s very special that these guys can go out and be a part of it. Where are we? Not quite halfway to Nome and already over halfway through our allotted 30 days. Oh jeez. A foot person leads, but if we have a good trail, they might pass him soon.

They have to get through and out of the interior to Ruby asap, get on that mighty Yukon, and get some miles in. It’s a nail-biter for sure, which is amazing because they are going about 4 MPH! There is one more safety cabin, and then it’s a big push to the big river. The dogs are coming right behind them. If it gets cold, they have a small window of extra sweet trail before puppy paws make it a bumpy ride.

Ophir is 40-ish miles from McGrath. Gavin (foot) stayed there 3 days and 18 hours before pushing on through the snow ahead of the trail breakers. Maya, Kendall, and Troy were in McGrath for 4 days and 18! It’s about 200 miles to cross it and get to the Yukon. The trail breakers have gone through, so they are riding, but it’s slow.

Head over to the event page to follow their progress as riders continue pushing north.

Further Reading

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