Going Into Nikolai – It’s move it or lose it this year
10. Mar, 2009 
6 Comments
Going into Nikolai the names of the mushers at the front of the Iditarod might look a little different than some could have imagined at the beginning of the race. Coming off of a Yukon Quest win just a few weeks ago Sebastian Schnuelle is taking some early gambles with how much rest his team will need to get into Nome. If he’s right and can stay at the front of the pack he’ll be sure to place higher than he ever has before – but if he’s wrong and is forced to slow his pace a victory won’t be in the cards. Hugh Neff is right up there with Schnuelle and these two mushers deserve a lot of credit, while Schnuelle won the Quest last month Neff came in a close second and might have won, had it not been for a two hour penalty assessed by race judges.
Its a tight lead right now for those two and keeping it over the next 24 hours could prove to be be very tricky when just a few miles behind you is Lance Mackey the reigning two time Iditarod Champion, two four time champions King & Buser, and Rick Swenson the Iditarod’s only 5 time champion who is looking more competitive than he has in recent years.. not to mention a handful of extremely experienced teams that are all running very strong at this point in the race. Coming into Nikolai signifies a turning point for many as much of the tough challenges that the first 250 miles presents are now checked off the list and behind you. Intimidating sections such as the most recent “Farewell Burn” coming out of Rohn, where frozen tundra isn’t often padded with snow and can tear up sleds, to the previously mentioned Happy River Steps, Alaska Range, and Dalzel Gorge. It will be interesting to hear what the Burn was like this year when other areas of the trail have more snow than normal.
We should see some of these first teams into Nikolai stop and catch up on some rest while others may have rested their dogs somewhere in the middle of the Burn, something Iditarod mushers frequently do. Once rested and back on the trail, the section between Nikolai to McGrath can be considered an often fairly easy, but deceptive stretch that can seem to go on forever. With many seemingly identical lakes and river bends it can be difficult for mushers to keep track of how far they’ve gone. We’ll have more on that and the checkpoint of McGrath later on today.
Thanks again everyone for all your support, the time you take to read these updates and listen to the podcasts are much appreciated. The response this year has been overwhelming with thousands more people visiting the site each day that ever before. We’ll keep going as long as you’re still here!
Keep the updates coming…I live for this race every year!
Thanks for being here, this seems to be the only way to follow this year’s race without having to pay for Iditarod Insider. I miss Jon Little’s commentary. I also miss Cabela’s Iditarod coverage. Keep up the great work. Having lived in Alaska for 19 years, I know this is not an easy undertaking to cover this race. Again, thank you so much and at some point I look to return to Alaska.
I have lived in AK for 25 years and I, too, miss Cabela’s Iditarod coverage–the best coverage for sure. Jon Little writes so well, I always feel like I’m there experiencing the event. Thank you!
Where is Racheal Scdoris? And how is Dee Dee doing. This is an excellent blog and its free. Thank you so much!
Nice report, thank you for your fantastic efforts to keep us in the loop.
Hoo! I hope Dee Dee gets near the top five this year. Hoo!! Go Dee Dee I’m rooting for ya girl!