SAFETY
W HITE M O U N TAIN G OLOVIN
KOYUK ELIM
GALENA
NULATO
SHAKTOOLIK
UNALAKLEET
KALTAG
CRIPPLE OPNIR
TAKNOTKA MCGRATH
NIKOLAI
ROHN
RAIN Y PASS
FINGER LAKE
SK W E N TN A
CA M PBELL AIRSTRIP
W ILLO W
N
KNOWN AS
“THE LAST GREAT RACE ON EARTH,”
the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race relies on ski-equipped,
single-engine bushplanes for its very existence. Taking
place since 1973, the Anchorage to Nome, Alaska, event
could not happen without the cadre of volunteer aircraft owners and pilots who spend hundreds of hours
each February and March flying people, dogs, and supplies to and from each of the 26 checkpoints in
central-western Alaska. And, needless to say, the 49th
state in winter can be an extreme environment to fly
light aircraft. Collectively known as the Iditarod Air
Force, the 2011 group of 26 privately owned airplanes
and one commercial Cessna Caravan provided nearly
all the carrying capacity that the event requires—and it
is substantial.
From about two weeks before the race start, wheel-
and ski-equipped Cessna 180s and others begin hauling
dog food, people food, tents, communication gear, vol-
unteer worker supplies, straw bales, and musher
equipment to each of the checkpoints used during the
e
1,049-mile race. By the time the race gets underway,
about 20 to 30 percent of the total flights needed to
support this great event have already been flown.
The “start” that many of us see on TV newscasts or
on videos from 4th Avenue in downtown Anchorage is
actually only the ceremonial start. Thousands of spectators and media see the racers (mushers) and dog
teams off in a grand ceremony the first Saturday of
March each year. The teams travel through the eastern
part of Anchorage and to the Campbell Airstrip, about
11 miles from the downtown start. This leg of the race is
for ceremonial and publicity purposes only and does
not count in the actual race statistics. The next day, the
racers reposition the dogs, sleds, and equipment about
70 miles north to Willow Lake for the real start at 2 p.m.
From this point on, roads between towns and vil-
lages do not exist, and the only method of winter travel
and support is with small airplanes, sled dog teams,
or snowmobiles.
y ta n
