MEDIA ADVISORY-RAMY BROOKS INCIDENT
by Richard Burmeister, President ITC
TO: Media, Mushers, Race Veterinarians, Race Officials, Volunteers, Fans & Other Interested Parties
We’ve received a number of phone calls and emails inquiring as to what, if anything, is going on in regards to Ramy Brooks and the incident in Golovin. What has happened, and what is happening, is this:
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Mackey’s double grand caps of one of the toughest Iditarods ever.
KASILOF, Alaska — It was a year of tears, groans, grimaces, frowns and big laughs. Just pick a musher.
No matter who it was among a field of 82, strung out over hundreds of miles, emotions swung from high to low and back again for two weeks on a cold, blustery March in interior Alaska. The Iditarod is always like that – it’s more than a simple sled dog race – but the intense emotional wringer seemed ratcheted up higher than ever this year. And springing out of that stirring cauldron of pain, sweat and nerves was a gangly, unlikely anti-hero by the name of Lance Mackey.
AAFES Is Home!!!
My sincere thanks to all those who have expressed their concern for my missing dog Aafes. This dog became detached from the team while negotiating through deep overflow and high winds outside of the Rohn checkpoint on the Alaska Range. Words can not express the happiness of having this dog safely back home!
Aafes was recently recovered from the Rohn cabin area by Manny Wrase and Allen Winkelman who had flown to the search area three times and spent several days looking for Aafes. I give my heartfelt thanks to Manny and Allen for all they did to make this tragic event turn into such a happy ending! I also give my thanks to Robert Donhauser who also flew his private aircraft to the search area on three occasions, looking for our missing teammate.
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Halverson overcomes anxiety, claims 2007 Red Lantern Award
KASILOF, Alaska — Like most Iditarod mushers who wind up with the “honor” of claiming the infamous Red Lantern Award, Ellen Halverson never set out to be dead last. “My goal was to finish,” the Wasilla, Alaska, psychiatrist said.
Halverson, 46, was among a small pack of three rookies struggling for one reason or another to keep a pace that would prevent them from being disqualified for being too slow. They teamed up, looked after each other and kept each other moving. The others included Donald Smidt, 39, who piloted a team of 16 slow-moving registered Siberian huskies all the way to Nome. He didn’t drop a single dog. And there was also Heather Siirtola, nicknamed “hard-core Heather” by her friends in Talkeetna.
The 2007 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race officially ended at 2:56 this morning (Alaska Time) when Wasilla Alaska musher Ellen Halverson (Bib #41) ended her journey under the Burled Arch in Nome Alaska. The 46 year old musher made the trek from Wasilla to Nome in 16 days, 11 hours, 56 minutes and 26 seconds.
Halverson was greeted by well wishers at the finish line including Loren Prosser Wells Fargo Bering Sea Community Bank President who awarded Halverson the coveted Wells Fargo Red Lantern Award.
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AAFES, a dog that was in the team of G.B. Jones was found at Rohn Roadhouse late yesterday afternoon. AFEES slipped from her harness on March 8th in Ptarmigan Pass. Jones scratched from the Race on March 9th in order to begin searching for AFEES.
Yesterday Jones posted an email message stating “AAFES has been found alive and is doing well! She was airlifted off the Alaska Range and is currently being flown to Anchorage. The story will be told here within a couple of days. My thanks to everyone for your prayers and concern.” G.B. Jones.
Drawn March 18, 2007 Nome, AK
1 #1965
Janice Laverdure, Unalaska, AK
-2007 Dodge Ram Laramie “HEMI” 4×4 Quad Cab Pickup with Leather Package, 20″ Alloy Wheels & Tow Package-Anchorage Chrysler Dodge
2–#3500
Julie Barajas, Anchorage, AK
-2007 Ski-Doo Summit “Rev Chasis” 550F Snowmobile-AK Mining & Diving Supply
3–#2958
Stephen Hill, Anvik, AK
-Caribbean Cruise for Two (12 days/11 nights)-Holland America
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Mushers tell yarns, get trophies at finishers’ banquet
NOME, Alaska, — The Iditarod’s awards banquet is never complete without a song from Jim Lanier, the race’s “oldest” participant, as Lanier’s son, Jimmy, noted from the podium at this city’s civic center, which was packed with a boisterous crowd.
Lanier, 66, and his son, 9, sang a duet this year, a lullaby about falling asleep by not counting sheep but by counting your sled dogs’ feet. Other mushers told stories and jokes at the expense of competitors from the trail, and they thanked their sponsors.
Tekla Monson, age 11, the daughter of Dave Monson and the late Iditarod legend Susan Butcher, arrived unpresumptiously at 6PM under the burled arch finish in Nome with her eight dog team Saturday afternoon-after a 700 mile trip on the historical Serum Run Trail. Long sentence, but Tekla deserves it.
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The IDITAROD XXXV Wells Fargo Awards Banquet was filled to the brim at Nome’s Recreation Center this evening. Hundreds of mushers, supporters, and volunteers were on hand to celebrate the finish of an historical race with a celebration that lasted hours.
49 mushers were recognized for making the trek to Nome and crossing the finish line. Two mushers, Jeff Wells and Dan Carter, were able to attend the Awards Ceremony after arriving in Nome this evening at 5:40 and 6:36 respectively. Nine mushers remain on the trail.
Lance Mackey, the 2007 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Champion was on hand receiving a number of awards including the Chevron Most Inspirational Musher Award, and the GCI Dorothy Page Halfway Award.