The Iditarod is Dying
We tend to romanticize the Iditarod. Lonely men and women under the darkened skies of the Alaska winter…tending to their pack of pups as they dogsled their way across the frozen turf. Onward they mush … day after day… toward a distant finish line… and the accolades.
It is brutal… this is former champion Dallas Seavey …showing off one of his 110 dogs.
But 51 years after the first race… the Iditarod is dying. Because of all the issues we’re grappling with much further south.
As the race gets started this weekend in Willow Alaska… they’ve had to move the course further toward the north pole… to ensure there’s snow for the sleds to glide upon. Regardless of what you believe about climate change… it’s warmer… and there’s less snow.
But that’s not why the race appears to be dying. 15 years ago… there were 96 entries. This year W e. That doesn’t leave much money for the guy or gal behind the sled.
So some of these competitors make ends meet by giving dogsled rides to cruise ship passengers. But even that work dried up during the pandemic. And a lot of these Iditarodders had to move on. While they used to race for the finish line… they no longer have the time… or money.. to get to the starting line. Nonetheless… on a thousand-mile course through the snow… the Iditarod starts Saturday.