The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, Alaska’s premier wilderness challenge, begins this weekend mired in scandals.
There’s fallout from a dog doping fiasco, a musher mutiny, and unprecedented pressure from protest groups. All of which, according to a leaked report, are putting the event’s future in dire jeopardy.
Saturday marked the “ceremonial start” of the race, when the streets of downtown Anchorage fill with more than a thousand yapping sled dogs. Looking on from the snowy sidewalks are tourists, townies, and mushing fans outfitted in their finest furs. The festivities arrive at the tail end of the city’s annual Fur Rondy, a week of events harkening back to a yearly rendezvous among fur trappers, where pelts and antlers are sold openly in the streets. By the time the Iditarod kicks off, the vibe is somewhere between a parade and a dog pageant, with notes of a folksy rural carnival.
Sunday, dozens of competitors set out on the grueling journey over snowy mountains, icy rivers, and frozen tundra toward the tiny town of Nome on the Bering Sea coast. As the race has grown increasingly competitive in recent years, top teams make the trek in between eight and nine days.
Musher Mutiny, Dog Doping: Scandals Mire The Super Bowl Of Sled Dog Races
Photo: Zachariah Hughes/Alaska Public Media
