The Village

Yup, it really does take a Village.  So this post is a thank you to all the folks helping make this trip a reality and a few shameless endorsements for their fantastic businesses.

So here goes:

A big thank you to Lynn Whipple for providing the dog care for my canines while I am gone.  Not everyone can take care of 3 crazy sled dogs and keep them happy and having fun.  If you need a mortgage or REFI, just call Lynn.  She is the best in the West - Montrose to Albuquerque.
          www.majormortgage.com/lynnwhipple

Kirk, Chandler and Colin at SpinDoc in Santa Fe - helping figure out Fatbike logistics for Fairbanks, fenders for mud season and so much more ... I hope you enjoy my Pugsley while I am out of town and get Geoff hooked!
          www.spindoc.com

Wet Dog Ranch in Fairbanks - lodging and even a ride from the Airport.  Check them out under Fairbanks, AK at
         www.airbnb.com

Josh Spice and Far North Fatbikes.  You got me hooked on those crazy bikes last year, so really it is all your fault!  Thank you for the Pugsley!
          www.farnorthfatebikes.com


Charles at the Whole Package - shipping large unwieldy objects just is not a problem.
          www.twpgifts.com

Robbie Ryse -  Well, Jack London set the standard, if you are going to Alaska you gotta go through San Francisco.  Robbie's kennel, POSTMORE KENNELS has consistently been voted the best grooming and boarding kennel in Marin County, CA
         www.postmorekennels.com

Carolyn - thank you for the airport transportation, the cat/house sitting, the mail pick up, the assistance with accommodations and well just about everything else!  Without your help, it wouldn't be possible!!!

And of course, Dad who would have thought I was nuts and still would have said Enjoy the Ride.

Part of my DNA

MUSHING, it is just part of my DNA.  With only two weeks to go before departing for Alaska, I headed into the heart of the Colorado Rockies to serve as Race Marshal and Chief Judge at the Winter Park's Dog Days of Winter Sled Dog Race.  When one of the up and coming newer racers thanked me for driving so far (about an 8 hour drive) to help make the event happen,  I responded that it is just part of who I am - and, at this point, part of my DNA.  That little strand of DNA is what has drawn me to Alaska over and over for twenty-five years and to dog sled sports.

I started running sled dogs in the mid-1980s.  Did my first novice race - or Cheechako by 1987 and traveled by dogsled through Gates of the Arctic National Park in northern Alaska in the late winter of 1988, Denali in 1989 and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 1990.   That first trip to Alaska took me north of the Arctic Circle, into a roadless wilderness where I joined a couple other tourists, an Iditarod veteran - one of the well known Mackey family of racers, an Arctic explorer - Joe Henderson and about 50 dogs for a weeklong, self supported dogsled trek along the park's many rivers.  

Malamute Man - Joe Henderson leading us up river.  Yes, that is polished ice we are using as our highway!

It was that first night in Gates of the Arctic NP that infused Alaska into my genes.  Our band of travelers had to wait until about 8 pm for the sun to go down and the moon to rise over the horizon before harnessing up our teams of 7 dogs for a shakedown run along the river.  About halfway through the evening cruise, the northern lights came out and put on a show so incredible that everything other than the dogs and the sky faded away.  The minus thirty degree temperatures were hardly noticeable - and I didn't notice when my ear poked out from under my hat and began to freeze.  

My team and I approach frozen overflow.  This photo of an old photo doesn't fairly reflect the electric blue color of the ice.  Someday, I will scan the original slides of the trip to share the amazing colors of this journey.

The travels by dog team through the Alaskan bush and the northern lights had me hooked on Alaska.  

Soon, my racing partner and I became very serious about the dogs and racing.  At the start, we had a couple great dogs that were worthy of world class competition, even though we were still newbies and the dogs were teaching us.  

Those dogs took us to the IFSS 1993 World Championships as handlers for Team USA member and 1992 ISDRA Eight Dog Silver Medalist - Rick Meyer.  Rick asked if he could use those dogs at the world championships in Fairbanks and we enthusiastically said YES.  It was a chance to watch the very best racers running their dogs and, for me, a chance to run dogs on what is arguably the best race track in the world - the Alaska Dog Mushers Association track.  For the next 10 years, I would race my dogs (in teams of 4, 6 and, my favorite, 8 dogs) from Fort Nelson BC to Flagstaff, AZ and from California and Oregon to Colorado.  

When time, money and over crowded roads to our training spots made it impossible to continue training at the level required to be competitive, racing became a thing of the past.   Dog sledding however has remained a constant.  There hasn't been a year since I first got into the sport that I haven't trained, run, handled for someone or been part of a sleddog event.  So, when I saw that the IFSS Championships were going to be back in Fairbanks and North Pole this year, of course I had to plan to attend my 3rd IFSS Championship event.  This year it has been my pleasure to work with the IFSS to honor Bob and Bella Levorsen (see prior post) and to volunteer to mark dogs at the ADMA Limited North American Championships. 

If you are in Fairbanks next month, look for me marking dogs at the LNAC! You'll recognize me by the paint all over my Carhartts!  Hope to see you there.  And for those of you who can't quite get to Fairbanks, this blog will soon turn into race reports and photos! GO TEAM USA! GO COLORADO TEAM MEMBERS - show the world your altitude!

Enjoying the dog days of Winter Park!

Twenty Years Later

I first went to the IFSS World Championships of sled dog racing in Fairbanks in 1993.

My then neighbors and good friends, Robert and Arabella Levorsen were instrumental in founding the IFSS and in efforts to make sled dog racing an Olympic sport.  Last fall, I read that the IFSS was returning to Fairbanks (North Pole really). A couple weeks later I learned that Bob Levorsen had passed away.  Somehow those two things came together in my mind as a reason to go to the races in Bob's honor.  Since then, I have been in touch with many people who knew Bob and with the IFSS board, lobbying for some sort of formal recognition of Bob and Bella's decades of tireless work to promote sled dog sports.  The IFSS has agreed to do something, though they are not sure what.  I was asked to write up something about Bob to be read at the ceremonies.  I don't know what use will be made of it, but here is the speech that I wrote:

Last fall, the IFSS lost one of it founding visionaries, Robert Levorsen.  Some of you may never have heard of Bob - others of you may know that Bob was instrumental in founding the IFSS, in the effort to have sled dog sports included in the Olympics and in having skijoring as a demonstration sport at the Lillehammer Olympics, in the creation of the ISDRA championship point and medal system, in creating the well regarded Truckee Lions race and was a tireless force in countless other  behind the scenes efforts to promote the sport and the animals that he loved.  In 1999, Bob was awarded the Mush with PRIDE Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedication to the sport and to the dogs.

It is not an exaggeration to say that you are here today thanks in part to Bob's efforts.  It is for this reason that the IFSS has chosen to recognize and honor Bob at this event and to thank him and his wife Arabella (Bella) for years of service to sled dog sports.

Bob and Bella were introduced to mushing when Chevron sent them to Anchorage in 1965.  A few years later, when they relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, their love of mushing remained an unwavering lifelong passion.  Bob and Bella jumped into the then fledgling local club, Sierra Nevada Dog Drivers and began organizing races in California.

Over the years, Bob and Bella would race in events from Alaska to California.  Bella was the "ghost writer" behind George Attla's first book - Everything Thing I Know about Training and Racing Sled Dogs.  She and Bob would create and nurture the book Mush - A Beginners Manual of Sled Dog Training through three revisions and updates. The book, now in its 4th edition, edited by Charlene LaBelle, still  can be found on the shelves of mushing supply stores  and Amazon.com.  By the way, Bob and Bella did not profit from the sale of the book.  The net proceeds of the sales of the book go to help support the Sierra Nevada Dog Drivers'   events.

Bob's work on behalf of the sport was not limited to behind the scenes organizing efforts.  Bob and Bella seemed to view our sport and all its participants as a form of extended family.  Whether someone was a new sprint racer, a seasoned Iditarod veteran or community booster trying to put on a race, Bob and Bella were willing to lend a hand.  It would be hard to guess how many of us benefited from the Levorsens' generosity - helping mushers with a place to stay, a donation to get to a far away race or just an afternoon of cocktails and conversation if musher was passing through the town.  Somehow, the Levorsens' view of our sport as an extended family was something that they passed on to everyone who knew or raced with them.

Just like any other family, sometimes there were some strong disagreements. Let's face it, we are a competitive bunch with some pretty strong opinions.  Bob and Bella made high demands of themselves and had equally high expectations of the rest of us to do what we can for the benefit of our sport and our mushing community.  

So, as you go through the next few days and as you go forward in our sport, ask yourselves, what I am doing to promote this sport, what can I do to help my fellow mushers and how can I help safeguard the sleddogs we all love.

I am sure that where ever Bob is today, he is anxious to watch some great IFSS Championship Racing here in North Pole.  Through his family and friends, we will be sending his wife Bella some updates about this great event.  Let's all say thank you to Bob and Bella Levorsen -two of the unsung heroes of our sport.

T - Minus 30 and Counting

ALASKA! 

Just the sound of it conjures up all sorts of images for most people.  Whales breaching, snowy mountains, polar bears and frigid temperatures to name a few.   When you tell the average Jill or Joe from the lower 48 that you plan to visit Alaska in the winter, they seem to be both in awe and bewildered why a seemingly rational person would do such a thing.  

For the folks who know me and wonder why I chose to spend a month in the sub-arctic this winter, this blog will try to answer the question.  For my dog musher friends who know that there really is no question to answer about why Alaska in the winter, this blog will try to keep you up to date on the IFSS World Championships, the Limited and North American Championships, the Iditarod and anything else that seems like it might be of interest.  The blog will be more photos than text and I will try not to bore you with the twenty-first century equivalent of watching someone else's vacation slides.

Wasilla in 2012.  Yes, that WASILLA!

30 days from departure

Since I am writing this 30 days before I depart on this little adventure,  this blog is going to start with a little bit about logistics.  Next time, we can get back into the whys of the trip rather than the hows.

So far, I have pretty quickly arranged a cabin for the month, a reasonably priced car (no small feat), looked into using frequent flier miles to get to Fairbanks, checked and tested my cold weather gear, upgraded my computer's operating system, found a wonderful place for my dogs to stay while I am gone, arranged to get the mail picked up, taken care of the cat, started laying out things to pack, started a BLOG and a few dozen other things. 

By far the biggest challenge was getting my snow bike to Alaska.  Taking a bike as excess luggage is pretty simple, unless you have a stop someplace on the way for a day or two.  My local bike shop suggested the usually simple and not very expensive UPS or FEDEX ground shipping.  Unfortunately, a fat bike fits in an unusually large bike box.  So large, that shipping round trip was going to cost nearly as much as the bike.  A bit more research and I learned, with the help of expert researcher Collin at SpinDoc Santa Fe, that if you want to  ship a bike to Alaska, particularly a fat bike, it is going to take 3 boxes and a bit more disassembly than normal.  

Somehow, it was all doable but it wasn't going to be easy or reasonably priced. 

Plan B - find someone from whom I could rent a fat bike for a month!  I called the ONLY place in Fairbanks that rents fatbikes to see if they would consider a monthly rental rate.  My thanks go out to Josh Spice at Far North Fatbikes for the very fair rental rate!  

T minus 29 days ... There is still a lot to do before leaving for Fairbanks.  The biggest task remaining is to write a short memorial statement to be read at one of the IFSS Championship ceremonies to honor the late Robert (Bob) Levorsen one of the founders of the IFSS and my long time friend and neighbor.  

First fatbike ride - at 17 below!