Iditarod 2019

With 300 miles of trail behind them, Iditarod mushers are navigating warm temperatures and inconsistent trails as they race deep into the heart of Alaska’s Interior. It’s the part of the race in which when and where to take the mandatory, 24-hour layover becomes a key decision.

A recap of KNOM’s coverage of Iditarod 2019 from Tuesday, March 5.

Iditarod mushers racing their dogs to Nome this year are doing it with a smaller team on the gangline. The race reduced the maximum team size from 16 to 14.

As Iditarod teams reached the checkpoint at Rainy Pass yesterday, most were slowing down to take a break due to trail conditions or for strategy.

In addition to the field’s hyper-competitive slate of five past champions, nearly one in five Iditarod mushers in 2019 is new to the race.

The early stretches of the Iditarod Trail lead mushers away from the suburbia of Southcentral and into the vast wilderness of the Alaska Range. Reports on Monday suggested the weather was on the warmer side, nearing or exceeding the freezing point in some places. The first musher to arrive in Skwentna said trail conditions had been favorable, but continued warmth could deteriorate snow cover and lead to a slower trail going forward.

Iditarod mushers started arriving at the Skwentna Roadhouse checkpoint overnight. It’s one of the first opportunities teams have to take a rest after departing the Willow restart 83 miles earlier.

Explore highlights of KNOM’s coverage of the “Last Great Race” from over the weekend, including photos of the Ceremonial Start, a trail weather forecast from climatologist Rick Thoman, and KNOM’s on-air update from Sunday night.

The 47th Iditarod kicked off this weekend with the ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage. 52 teams left Willow on Sunday, headed up the trail in the official start of competition.