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Iditarod abandons Happy River steps. Has Last Great Race gone soft?The strange whirring heard in Alaska this week was Joe Redington, the late founder of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, spinning in his grave according to many old hands from The Last Great Race, or at least what used to be called The Last Great Race. The disconcerting event that could cause this reaction? Abandonment of the so-called Happy River Steps, a signature rugged stretch along the 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail from Willow to Nome. The Steps are to be detoured in favor of a new, smoother, faster, safer mining road that bypasses the three ledges dropping down to the mouth of the Happy River. This has long been the Iditarod's signature stretch of trail. For almost four decades, it shattered the dreams of legions of Iditarod rookies and knocked more than a few top competitors out of contention. Four-time champ Doug Swingley of Lincoln, Mont., finally called it quits for good after taking a pounding from Happy River all the way to the Puntilla Lake checkpoint in 2007. Over the years, he was the most notable of many mushers beaten by the stretch of trail leading north from Finger Lake through miles of beaver swamps into the thick spruce forest along the Happy before beginning the race's first serious climb into the Range. Almost all of the iconic video of Iditarod sleds tumbling down steep slopes comes from Happy River. "There's Happy River highlights in just about every year's race (special)," said Burt Bomhoff, a retired top-15 finisher and former director of the race. Bomhoff's view of dumping the Steps for a new, better, less-challenging trail is simple: "I think it sucks," he said. Iditarod going soft?Imagine The Masters played on some course other than Augusta National or the Tour de France sans the Alpe d'Huez, and you'll get the picture. The Happy River Steps are more than just a hazard along the trail, they're part of Iditarod history. Eliminating the Steps won't necessarily make the trail easy, but it will make the race less demanding. It will remain a long way to from Willow to Nome. The weather will still turn brutal at times. There will still be places where things can go wrong. But the Happy was a demarcation point, an obstacle to separate those who can handle a dogsled from those who merely ride one. There have been more and more of the latter on the trail ever since four-time champ Jeff King of Denali Park invented the sit-down sled -- or "tail dragger" as it is now called -- to avoid the suggestion that mushers just ride to Nome, which increasingly they do. Crotchety old-timers have noticed. Mushers who remember what it was like to strap on a pair of snowshoes and break trail for the dogs are beginning to wonder if maybe the Iditarod is going just a little too, well, "soft." Dick Mackey, the 1978 champ and father of two other winners including four-time champ Lance Mackey, was moved to fire off this missive summing his thoughts on the subject: "Boo-Hoo! If it's getting too tough, retire. If it's too hard for the rookies, then you're not ready for the big time. Guess we could bring in a snowmaking machine for the (Farewell) Burn, beg the man upstairs for no wind in the (Topkok Hills) 'blowhole', (add a) volunteer at every rough spot with a hankie and comforting words. Joe is rolling over and I suspect most veterans are not in favor of the dumbing down. The Quest really is the toughest race for sure with this latest move." Mackey, it should be noted, won by beating beat four-time champ Rick Swenson in a footrace in front of their dog teams down Nome's Front Street after 14 days, 18 hours, 52 minutes and 24 seconds on the trail. Those were 14 tough days in which the lead teams regularly shared trail breaking duties as they fought their way north. Nobody breaks trail anymore. Only one way to solve this. Determine what the trail was, the level of support and equipment that was used on the first "Last Great Race" and be done with it. Or maybe start in Nenana instead of the middle of Anchorage. I don't see any whining about that. Craig is right on with his assesment, it is a dumbing down of the Iditarod. If you can't scratch with the big cats stay out of the sand box.The Iditarod is what it is as Joe Sr. meant it to be. I am certainly not happy about this.... Sheesh... Safer isn't always better.... It isn't the Last Safe Race... Even for sprint races our club has a disclaimer that the musher signs acknowledging that they know Dog Sledding is an inherently dangerous sport.... If you can handle the trail as it is then go to Hawaii and sit on the beach.... So much for me ever having a chance at The Steps.....or even dreaming of having a chance.... The Steps don't go down a cliff. They go down a steep slope. Snow machines in the Iron Dog go right down it. So why not have the dogs go right down it too? Cause the Steps are safer. There have been lots of changes made to the trail which have made it safer. This change is a good idea. It's still a long cold trail to Nome.... <--[Green Run Trail] || [Iditarod Trail]--> Perhaps offer two options before the steps. Take the Steps and you gain 1 to 2 hours off your time at the next check point. Take the Green Run, you win a box of aloe soft tissue ;) Kidding aside, I believe the trail should be left unchanged. The modern Iditarod Race bears but little resemblance to the one envisioned by Dorothy Page and made real by Joe Redington. The race began as a celebration of the mushing lifestyle, with the emphasis put squarely upon survival. With the advent of worldwide recognition followed by a flood of corporate sponsorship dollars, the spirit of the race was polluted, and this latest "trail improvement" should come as no surprise. Just as the death of the canary foretells the presence of a lethal substance, so does the debasement of the Iditarod presage an Alaska where the spirit of the land and its people slowly succumbs to the false lures of contemporary society, one in which speed, growth and modernization are valued above all else. Alaska, we hardly knew ye. Sounds like a good idea to me. Make the trail safer for the dogs. And for the old geezers like swenson and jonrowe who can't get down the steps without busting up their shoulders anymore. I can't believe it, remove the steps from the trail, terrible idea. The next thing you know there will be a road to Nome and support crews will follow the teams in vans like over the road bike races. As long time follower of the Iditarod, I have always wondered why everyone is so hung up on it being "The Last Great Race". If it is, why do they keep on running it? Right on Craig, you got it right. Cheers to Bill and the ITI! I will be helping putting the trail down the Steps! |
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