So remember how I posted a video of the Iditarod first place racer, Lance, coming down the stretch back a few weeks ago with my Iditarod 2008 wrap up?
Turns out that I was the main commentary for other videographers! James J Keller, a sponsor of Mitch Seavey (2008 All Alaska Sweepstakes winner), happened to be standing next to us and I ended up on the web because of him, as well!
>> Check out the my voice and his camera moves here.
This video from across the street and higher up gives a good feeling for the ambiance that night as well!
Also, he's got quite the IROD website if you're interested in more video footage.
Showing posts with label Alaska. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alaska. Show all posts
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
All Alaska Sweepstakes
Thanks to AD for keeping me in the loop on this one. You might remember the winner of the Iditarod a few weeks ago, Lance Mackey, who was going to try to set another record this year, by winning three major sled races.
Last year he set a record by winning the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod in the same year.
This year he set another record by repeating last years performance.
And he would set yet another this last week if he'd won the All Alaska Sweepstakes.
Unfortunatly, it was not to be, as a worthy competitor, Mitch Seavey, put his son's wedding plans on hold to win the race and Jeff King also finished before Mackey.
Mackey's third place finish doesn't go quietly, though, as tragedy befell his team near the finish. With less than 22 miles left in the 408 mile (three day) race, a snowmachine clobbered Mackey's sled, and some of the wheel dogs! Full writeup of the incident here by Anchorage Daily News.
Lance Mackey with main Lead dog and stud, Zorro.
Last year he set a record by winning the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod in the same year.
This year he set another record by repeating last years performance.
And he would set yet another this last week if he'd won the All Alaska Sweepstakes.
Unfortunatly, it was not to be, as a worthy competitor, Mitch Seavey, put his son's wedding plans on hold to win the race and Jeff King also finished before Mackey.Mackey's third place finish doesn't go quietly, though, as tragedy befell his team near the finish. With less than 22 miles left in the 408 mile (three day) race, a snowmachine clobbered Mackey's sled, and some of the wheel dogs! Full writeup of the incident here by Anchorage Daily News.
Lance Mackey with main Lead dog and stud, Zorro.[BOB HALLINEN / Anchorage Daily News archive 2007]
So sad, as the one dog, Zorro, that was critically injured (life in jeopardy now) was Mackey's main stud dog -- 40 of the 80 dogs in his kennel being related to Zorro!
Monday, March 24, 2008
Iditarod 2008!
Sorry for the delay, folks, here is my post about the Iditarod 2008! Sorting through a few gigs of pics and movies wasn't easy, but here I give to you some of the best moments captured digitally. I was visiting a college friend (with a few other college friends) who has lived in Nome for the past few years, and it was really helpful to have a local around! Thanks AD!
First off, where is Nome? It's a small town (3,500 people) in western Alaska, on the Bering Sea. This time of year the Bering Sea is frozen there, so the only way to get to it is by airplane.
Places Not to Fall Down Episode 7:
(Joe actually fell through to some liquid water trapped between layers of ice, wetting him up to his calves, necessitating one of the fastest "Run to Nearest Bar" times of our trip!)
(and shown on the back side, 7181 miles from Sydney, where I was 2 weeks ago. I know, I know, carbon footprint!)
Nome is the finish of the 1049 mile Iditarod Dog Sled Race, where mushers and their teams of sled dogs take between 8 and 18 days to cross from Anchorage to Nome. There's not even a road between these two cities, so dog sled is one of the only ways to get around! (Here's me at the finish line)
After a few days in Nome, we got to cheer on the first place musher as he and his dogs crossed the finish line. For a great pre-race story, check out "Iditarod racers set their sights on Nome" in the March 2008 edition of Alaska Airlines magazine (sorry, I can't find one online).
2008 Iditarod, First place finish, defending champion, Lance Mackey!
These guys and gals are as tough as they get, and Lance is no exception. Having conquered cancer, he has won his second Iditarod in a row, as well as multiple other sled races in Alaska. Check out his wikipedia page.
A bit later in the race, we got to welcome Scott Smith to Nome, which was exciting as he was the musher staying with us at AD's place.
One of Scott's lead dogs, Puma:
It's pretty sweet to see a team mushing across the frozen Bering Sea, as JR caught on film so well (click image for full resolution):
Not quite as cool, but still neat to be walking down the street randomly and get passed by an Iditarod finisher on their way to the burled arch finish line:
After the race, we got to go with Scott (in between his much deserved naps) to the dog lot, where the dogs rest before flying back home:
Some dogs wear blankets and sleep in kennels, but others don't. The dogs have slept for a few hours at a time over the past 10 days on just straw in well below freezing weather (in fact many dogs got sick because of the approaching-freezing temperatures outside of Anchorage this year, I heard). They're amazing animals who are just used to the cold!
After a day or so, the dogs are put in their kennels and flown home on Alaska Airlines, on one of their sweet 737-400 "Combi" combination planes, which are half full of seats (back half) and the rest of the space is reserved for cargo (frong half).
One other cool thing I got the chance to do up there is herd a herd of reindeer, on foot and snowmachine (snowmobile). Here's me on a snowmachine (behind the herd):
And a closeup of the herd:
And one random other picture showing this town's 100 year history, from when it was a booming gold town (gold on the beach!) with a population of 20,000 people, to now, when the population is lower, but has better tools for the job. Here's the old truck on the left, and the new one on the right!
First off, where is Nome? It's a small town (3,500 people) in western Alaska, on the Bering Sea. This time of year the Bering Sea is frozen there, so the only way to get to it is by airplane.Places Not to Fall Down Episode 7:
(Joe actually fell through to some liquid water trapped between layers of ice, wetting him up to his calves, necessitating one of the fastest "Run to Nearest Bar" times of our trip!)
(and shown on the back side, 7181 miles from Sydney, where I was 2 weeks ago. I know, I know, carbon footprint!)Nome is the finish of the 1049 mile Iditarod Dog Sled Race, where mushers and their teams of sled dogs take between 8 and 18 days to cross from Anchorage to Nome. There's not even a road between these two cities, so dog sled is one of the only ways to get around! (Here's me at the finish line)
After a few days in Nome, we got to cheer on the first place musher as he and his dogs crossed the finish line. For a great pre-race story, check out "Iditarod racers set their sights on Nome" in the March 2008 edition of Alaska Airlines magazine (sorry, I can't find one online).
2008 Iditarod, First place finish, defending champion, Lance Mackey!
These guys and gals are as tough as they get, and Lance is no exception. Having conquered cancer, he has won his second Iditarod in a row, as well as multiple other sled races in Alaska. Check out his wikipedia page.
A bit later in the race, we got to welcome Scott Smith to Nome, which was exciting as he was the musher staying with us at AD's place.
One of Scott's lead dogs, Puma:
It's pretty sweet to see a team mushing across the frozen Bering Sea, as JR caught on film so well (click image for full resolution):
Not quite as cool, but still neat to be walking down the street randomly and get passed by an Iditarod finisher on their way to the burled arch finish line:
After the race, we got to go with Scott (in between his much deserved naps) to the dog lot, where the dogs rest before flying back home:
Some dogs wear blankets and sleep in kennels, but others don't. The dogs have slept for a few hours at a time over the past 10 days on just straw in well below freezing weather (in fact many dogs got sick because of the approaching-freezing temperatures outside of Anchorage this year, I heard). They're amazing animals who are just used to the cold!
After a day or so, the dogs are put in their kennels and flown home on Alaska Airlines, on one of their sweet 737-400 "Combi" combination planes, which are half full of seats (back half) and the rest of the space is reserved for cargo (frong half).
One other cool thing I got the chance to do up there is herd a herd of reindeer, on foot and snowmachine (snowmobile). Here's me on a snowmachine (behind the herd):
And a closeup of the herd:
And one random other picture showing this town's 100 year history, from when it was a booming gold town (gold on the beach!) with a population of 20,000 people, to now, when the population is lower, but has better tools for the job. Here's the old truck on the left, and the new one on the right!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)