Were it not for unseasonable warmth and a dire shortage of snow in southcentral Alaska, the mushing fans of Fairbanks would have enjoyed the 2015 Iditarod start like they do every other year: from hundreds of miles away.
Instead, the population of Fairbanks swelled this weekend: with sled dogs and their human mushers, handlers, and well-wishers. Crowds overwhelmed capacities at nearby hotels and, on the day of the restart (Monday), filled overflow parking lots at Fairbanks’ Carlson Center. It was the necessary staging area from which Iditarod fans were transported, in a steady stream of coach buses, to Pike’s Waterfront Lodge, whose front lawn became the start line for Iditarod 43.
At 9am, an hour shy of the Iditarod restart, Pike’s lobby was barely big enough to house all the Iditarod fans waiting inside. They clutched paper cups of steaming Bunn coffee and hot chocolate, enjoying a brief respite from the subzero temperatures outside.
Then, starting at 10am, the competitors of Iditarod 2015 departed the start line, separated by 2-minute differentials, and began their 60-mile journey to the first race checkpoint, Nenana.
Scroll (or swipe) down for our photo gallery from Monday’s Iditarod restart in Fairbanks; click or tap for a photo carousel with captions. (All photos: David Dodman, KNOM.)
