I hope everyone is keeping up with race coverage. What an exciting time it is. I sure wish I was there but I couldn’t get away from my studies this year. Zuma, Libby, and Sanka will keep you up to date on all the happenings from Alaska. Since I had to stay home this year and work on my assignments, I will answer some of your questions and help you understand the race a little better. I will be doing short posts on all sorts of topics. If you have a question that you can’t find the answer to, just send me a comment on the blog and I will try to help you find the answer.
I have had a lot of questions about weather so I thought I’d try to explain it. Weather doesn’t always follow rules and is very unpredictable. Weather does affect the race. It affects the trail conditions, and how fast teams can travel. Since the mushers can get spread out along the trail, a blizzard in one area, may affect some of the mushers but will be over when the next set of mushers get to that area. Also if weather conditions are warm, you’ll see teams traveling more at night when it’s cooler.
You can get up-to-date weather information by going to www.iditarod.com and clicking on check weather. This will give you weather reports along the trail. Remember that weather can change quickly so check back often as your favorite musher progresses along the trail. Also watch what the mushers are doing and what the weather is. See if you can figure out how the weather is affecting the race this year.
Have fun following the race,
Gypsy
18 Comments
Dear Gypsy,
How come Balto is so famus? Togo ran more miles when delivering the syrum to the children who had Diphtheria.
Abigail
P.S. How did you learn to type?
Are there any storms predicted for the upcoming days of the Iditarod? Do you have alot of snow? Mrs. J’s students
Hi Mrs. J’s class, I haven’t looked at the weather for the race this morning. There was some talk of a storm moving in for parts of the trail yesterday. Go to http://www.iditarod.com and go to check weather for the up to date weather reports from the checkpoints. There is a LOT of snow here in New Hampshire. It’s so much fun to play in. Hope you are enjoying the race. Gyspy
hi, my name is courtney and i am in the fifth grade. we are studying the iditarod. my musher i am researching is matt hayashida he is in the 32 place. we have talked about u alot in class. u r a great way to learn about the iditarod. love courtney
Hi Courtney, Thanks for the nice comments. Hope you are enjoying the race. Gypsy
Good luck racers.
i think the weather is interesting, because it is the same as my state! So far, the Iditarod is very fun to follow. Go DeeDee (whatev her last neme is!) I’m rooting for another female to win. <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
Hi, Have fun following the race. Dee Dee’s last name is Jonrowe. Gypsy
Keep going people. Josh
I thought it was really interesting when Gypsy showed the time graph. I always wanted to know how military time worked. Jane
Thanks Jane, I’m glad it helped. Gypsy
Hi Gypsy, I’m a kid from Ms. Belle’s second grade. When people run marathons, they get their energy from eating pasta. Do dogs need to eat pasta to get ready for the Iditarod? DeeDee Jonroe by accident steered into a ditch and the ropes from her dogs to her sled got detached. But the dogs only listen to their musher’s orders and she didn’t say anything about stopping so they kept on running! Soon they were out of sight and there was a blizzard, that turned into a white out. She tried to find the dogs and soon she saw a few ropes. I didn’t hear what happened after that from my teacher.
Goodbye Gypsy!
Alec
Hi Alec, Sled dogs need a diet higher in fat and protein. This is gotten through meat and fish. I don’t know about eating pasta. I sometimes get rice in the soup mixture my human makes for me. Dee Dee found her team and was able to hook them back up and continue the race. Look at the race updates to see how she’s doing. Thanks for writing. Gypsy
Dear Gypsy,
I am tracking mushers at school and my teacher doesn’t know all my questions so,
I have to ask you. Well, my first question is what if a musher goes off trail but still finishes the race on a different trail? My second question is what does a musher get if he or she wins the race? Well, got go, BYE!!!
Lots of smiles,
Regan
Dear Gypsy,
We are a second grade class at Walnut Trails School in Illinois. We are studying the Iditarod with our teacher, Mrs. Hyzy and we are wondering, what was wrong with Jessica Hendrick’s dogs that made her scratch? How could the warm weather affect the dogs?
Love,
Mrs. Hyzy’s students
P.S. Are you sad that you have to stay at home instead of being at Iditarod Headquarters?
Hi, Warm weather affects the dogs because they are better suited to be in cold weather. I answered another question about this. Read through the comments and find the one where I explain about a dogs coat affecting them in warm weather. Yes I am very sad not to be at Iditarod headquarters this year. My human says that hopefully we will be there next year and I can’t wait. Thanks for writing and enjoy the race. Gypsy
Very interesting, I hope you guys win and have lots of fun! Yeah! Damien
Could you please tell me where to go on the Iditarod website that tells me prize amounts for all the different finishes for the mushers this year?
Hello,
You can find the list of prizes in the media guide. Go to the Press and Media tab that is found on the front page of the website. Click on the Media Guide.
Lots of Tail Wags,
Zuma
Hi Gypsy. I am a 7 year old girl from Oklahoma. My 2nd grade class has been following the race. My musher is Kelly Griffin. I think that the race is very neat and exciting. I never knew there was an Iditarod before now.
Adyson
P.S. write back please when you can…Good Luck!!!
Hi Adyson, Thanks for writing. Have fun following the race. Gypsy
Hi Gypsy it’s Nathan from South Hill School. I am wondering if those booties are uncomfortable for the dogs to run in or do they slow them down at all? Thank you.
Hi Nathan, We get use to the booties just like you got use to wearing shoes. They are not uncomfortable, in fact they help protect our feet. They do not slow dogs down. The first time I put on booties, I thought WOW what is this and get them off. But once I started running I forgot all about having them on. That was a good question. Thanks for reading and writing. Gypsy
Hi gypsy,This is Kaelyn a 2nd grader from Shorewood Illiosnois. I’ve been following youre progress through the race. I’m cheering for Rohn Buser! Who are you cheering for? I heard that G.B. Jones scratched at Cambell airstrip,and that was his good bye to the race. About Zuma? We heard that you were Zumas new K.9 reporter. How old are you,Libby,Sanka and Zuma? Who’s the oldest? Go Rohn Go!!!!!! Love Kaelyn P.S. YOU ROCK!!!!!
Hi Kaelyn, I am one of the new K-9 reporters working with Zuma. Zuma is the oldest, then Libby, and Sanka and I are about the same age. Thanks for writing. Gypsy
HHHiii Gypsy,Do dogs like all of people food because when I was a babby I liked dog food? Love your friend Kaelyn! P.S I have 2 dogs! P.P.S GO ROHN GO!
Hi Kaelyn, I don’t get a lot of people food to eat but what I have gotten is pretty good! Gypsy
I’m learning about the iditarod in school and who in invented the Iditarod?
Great question. You can find the answer by going to: http://www.iditarod.com/learn/history.html
Hope that helps. Gypsy
Is it sometimes higher than 70 degrees in Alaska?
Good question. In the summer it can get warmer than 70 degrees in many parts of Alaska. Thanks for writing. Gypsy