Time: 7:40am Race Mile 425
Aliy and her 13-strong team pulled into the checkpoint at Cripple at 7.28am this morning. Their run over from Ophir was just under 15 hours including a three hour rest after about seven hours, just after crossing Folger Creek. We were able to watch their arrival into the checkpoint on the live feed and we enjoyed seeing them briefly as they parked in the long term parking area. We have to assume they are staying here for 24 hours. With the time differential they will need to stay 25 hours, 10mins.
They are technically in 7th position right now but a bunch of teams have come off their 24 hour rest behind them and will pass them as they rest at Cripple so she will drop back down the standings when that happens. An advantage to taking the long rest later is the dog team is fresher so she may be able to pick up some places from those that didn’t rest as recently.
Aliy called Allen this morning and she’s doing great as are the dogs.
The Insider interviewed Aliy at Ophir and she again reiterated that she is reconciled to the fact she is not competing for the win and is still enjoying the running. The dogs are great, they’re not sick or hurt, they are simply slower than they ought to be.
A few screenshots of the team arriving into Ophir sees the line up as: Cousins QT and Junior in lead, Spark and his older brother Dutch in swing, Kodiak and his little brother Decaf, brothers Rodney and Five, siblings Chevie and Jefe, Cloud running on her own, with sisters Amber and Violet in wheel.
An ‘Aliy Cam’ from 2016 shows the team travelling along the trail around 30 miles from Cripple. The team was running in the daytime in this video and I expect there is more snow on the trail this year but it will give you an idea or the surrounds.
For those with access to the tracker and who might be wondering – the short ‘blips’ downward on the analytical view are when she stops the team to give them a snack (frozen beef, poultry skin and/or salmon). Sometimes the tracker captures it, sometimes it doesn’t, depending on the signal cycle. She has a regular schedule for snacking during a run, same as during training. The dogs will have their snack, find something to pee on, say hi to their neighbours and if it is warm they’ll sometimes roll in the snow and shake themselves off. Aliy could also take this opportunity to swap dogs around if need be.
While I was up in the middle of the night checking the tracker, the Live feed was broadcasting from Norway – check out one of the background screens!
Those SP Kennel dogs are SO photogenic! Glad to know all is well and they all will be settling down for a long winter’s nap…well, at least the dogs will…Aliy has a lot of dog chores to do throughout the 24 hours! I love how QT is always ears up and alert! Thanks for the pictures….I missed them coming into Cripple!
Some serious determination on Decaf’s face on that banner! Looking good Aliy! You Win every time you move the team safely and happily down the trail. We love you and we got your back!
Kinda cute hearing Aliy say, “You see 15 dogs aren’t supposed to go this slow,” knowing the team finished 3rd, and more than five hours shy of nine days. They were pretty amazing.
Thanks for helping us sort out who is running where. I love this shaking up of the team. They are all getting experience in numerous positions. 🙂
I appreciate you post these corresponding parts of the trail from Aliy’s archives. It gives us a sense of where she is, what she is going through, seeing, and even a little insight into the mental state. <3
QRILL PAWS nice back drop. 😉
The background photo behind the Norway broadcast desk is so cool!
I had forgotten about Sandy ( in the 2016 video). If I remember right, she normally ran in wheel, but in this video she was one up from there. Her size, gate and color are still very easy to recognize. Very fun flashback.
Hope the team rests well and has a little more spunk the second half of the race. If not, then that’s just the way it is. Love this team whether they decide to speed up or whether they decide this year is more of a stroll.
WOOF WOOF WOOF
Awesome job!!!
The trail appears to have been slower for the first group than those who are following. When I looked at travel times, Aliy’s time was great compared to those in Cripple right now. However, I see the next group coming up toward posting appreciably faster times so the trail must have hardened.
Ah – the Iditarod – the trail changes every five minutes.
Love the back drop with SP Dogs! No one knows till it’s over–Keep the spirit! Fantastic Dogs and Musher!
Go Red Team GO-O-O!!!!! The 24 later may be the winners!!!