The 42nd running of the Iditarod - The Last Great Race - is almost here.  Sixty+ mushers will drive their teams from Anchorage to Nome, leaving on March 1st.  The logistics of supplying the 25 remote checkpoints would be very difficult without aircraft.  The IAF is a group of 31 volunteer pilots who make a lot of things happen during the 3 weeks of Iditarod. They will carry injured dogs, veterinarians, checkpoint volunteers, as well as tons of dog food, bales of hay, lumber for tent cabins, cooking fuel (heet), groceries, etc. Checkout the IAF website to learn more about this great group of pilots.  Their website is at www.dogflying.com. 

Has it already been another year? That was great fun tracing the route last year. Wonder if MS will do the Aerocache's in order again?

 

Steve

You might be interested to know that there's a VA called Alaskan WInds that every year hosts both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod concurrently with the actual races. Pilots choose a Musher, follow him around the Course and offer Support Services, while posting a record of your Travels in the VA's Event Logbook. Upon completion of the Event, you're awarded a special Race Banner which can be displayed on the Site.

 

Now, being that MS Flight encompasses the entire State of Alaska, and also the fact that two of the airplanes (the C-46 and the Maule) are ideal backcountr/off airport aircraft, that AW might offer some alternative flying scenarios to those of you using Flight. The VA is very friendly and also very relaxed, unlike other VA's out there.

 

Cheers!

 

Alan 

I read in the newspaper this morning that they are looking at changing the start point to Fairbanks this year due to the unusual weather and lack of snow pack as in previous years.

 

They are to make a decision later in the month.

This is what was posted,

".Iditarod Trail Committee

Time to gear up for the 2014 Iditarod!.21 hours ago..Iditarod Trail Committee

RACE PLANNING UPDATE: The Ceremonial Start of Iditarod XLII will be held in Anchorage on Saturday, March 1, beginning at 10:00 am as planned. At this time we are planning to stage the Restart in Willow on Sunday, March 2 beginning at 2:00 pm, also as planned. We do have trail concerns, particularly from the top of Rainy Pass to Nikolai. If conditions are not deemed acceptable by February 17, we will stage the Restart in Fairbanks on Monday, March 3, time yet to be determined."

They are used to trucking in lots of snow for the ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage.  That should be quite a convoy if they have to truck the 360 miles up to Fairbanks for the restart. A C46 would sure come in handy!  (a nice idea for a livery)