March 6 PM Update

Alright!  We are to the halfway point of the race.  There isn’t a lot of news off the trail so far today, but here are some highlights. 

·         Four-time Iditarod Champion Jeff King was first into Ruby this morning at 6:41 am.  He came in with 14 dogs and they are all looking good. He wins the Millennium Alaskan Hotel First Musher to the Yukon Award. Jeff will be having a lovely meal and a few dollars to line his pocket.  I hope his dogs get some kind of fancy meal too!  Here is the menu:

The Millennium Alaskan Hotel First Musher to the Yukon Award is a five-course meal with Alaskan Sablefish & Blue Mussel Stew, followed by Red King Crab Cajun Bruschetta with cream cheese, chives, shallots, garlic and special seasonings. The third course consists of Baby Arugula & Smoked Spotted Shrimp Salad including toasted pine nuts, sliced avocado, grated parmesan cheese, cherry tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts and champagne vinaigrette dressing. The entrée is Peppercorn Crusted Filet Mignon & Fried Oysters on a cabernet sauce with sockeye salmon lox and caviar potato pancakes, baby carrots and zucchini flowers. For dessert Roasted Pear Crème Brulee Tart with cream, flour, sugar, and vanilla bean on a tart shell with roasted pear toppings. Wine and champagne pairings accompany each course.

King’s “After Dinner Mint” of $3,500 presented on an Alaskan Gold Pan accompanied by a bottle of Dom Perignon was presented by Patrick Cashman, Millennium Alaska Hotel Food and Beverage Director. The meal was prepared by Executive Chef, Bobby Sidro.

·         Sonny Lindner was next into Ruby a scant hour behind Jeff.

·       All 6 of the past race winners are included in the first 15 placements at the moment.

I thought you might like to learn a little more about the Iditarod Air Force, the group of pilots that provide flying support of the Last Great Race from Anchorage to Nome.  You can find more information on their web site, but here are some bullet points:

1.    Our 31 volunteer pilots collectively bring 743 years and 420,000 hours of flying experience to the table. These credentials speak highly of a dedicated group of pilots that are about to make a lot of things happen.

2.    We will move over 537 dropped and scratched dogs back to Anchorage or one of the hubs.

3.    Move over 124,822 lbs. of dog food to nourish our athletes

4.    Each musher averages 1758 lbs. of food

5.    A total of 3203 bags of food

6.    Move 391 bales of straw/hay, enough for each team to have fresh straw at every checkpoint.

7.    Move 5100 lathes to remote checkpoints for the trail breaks to mark the trail.

8.    Distribute 1135 cases of heet.

9.    Bring in lumber for the tent camps and the carpenters to build them. see the 2010 photo gallery for Ophir

10.  Fly 45 veterinarians that monitor the athletes before, during and after the race to insure there well-being.

11.  Move 44 communications volunteers and all their equipment to and from checkpoints.

12.  We also moved 101 race judges, Director of Competition and logistics, photographers, insider personnel and dog handlers continually up the trail who support the race