Little Things
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One of the strangest things I've ever heard of in the Iditarod happened today. Doug Swingley, who has won the race four times scratched because of frozen corneas.

From the Cabela's website:

A small mental slip by one of the greatest minds in distance mushing, Doug Swingley, snowballed into a condition that threatened his vision and forced him to scratch from the 2004 Iditarod early Wednesday morning. ...

The four-time Iditarod champion, known as a mastermind of strategy, a brilliant dog breeder and exceptional trainer, made one mistake way back in the Dalzell Gorge that triggered the chain of events. Swingley had recently undergone corrective laser eye surgery. Apparently, the corneas are sensitive to cold temperatures for months after this type of surgery. Swingely knew he was supposed to wear a pair of goggles when it got cold. But he just didn't reach into his pocket and slap them on as he descended the hairy, winding chute down the Dalzell Gorge. As his fast team drove headlong into the wind, his corneas quickly froze, clouding his sight before he reached Rohn. "Right now I can only see a blur," he said back at Nikolai.

 

Update/Correction:

I discovered an Iditarod update show on the Outdoor Life Channel tonight and got to see an interview with Mr. Swingley. In his TV interview, he said that the Dalzell Gorge was really treacherous and it was somewhere around 25 below zero. He said he didn't think he could afford to take a chance on the goggles fogging up under those conditions. At the time of the interview today he said his left eye was in pretty good shape but his right eye was still blurred.

by Cziltang 
Posted: Wednesday, March 10 2004 08:45:11 PM

Go Dogs, Go!
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It is Iditarod time again. If you are familiar with the Iditarod, you know what that means, if not, it is a sled dog race across Alaska covering something over 1000 miles. The best mushers and their dog teams will complete the race in around 9 days. It is a combination of training, skill, strategy and stamina for both human and dogs. (Currently, I'm having trouble viewing the official site, so I'm getting my information from the Cabela's web site.)

As I'm writing this, Kjetil Backen from Norway is in the lead after about 400 miles. Also of note, Charlie Boulding, who is in his 60's is currently in 4th. Out of 87 starters, 85 are still in the race.

I started following the Iditarod a few years ago after my aunt got me interested. In her travels, she had been to Alaska and had met some of the prominent participants. She was the kind of person who would get up at 4:00 AM here and call the Race Headquarters (1:00 AM their time) to talk to the staff out there in the middle of the night to get the insider details on which teams looked good and which mushers were struggling and little details that (at the time) didn't get reported like who had broken a sled and things like that. I used to print out the race update sheets and take them to her sometimes when we were going to cross paths.

My aunt died about 16 months ago. I spend more time checking the race now than I did when she was alive. Every time I check the standings I think about her. The Iditarod was one of the things she enjoyed most in life.

When I started writing this, I had intended to talk about my aunt and how much she influenced me and how much I admired her. Now, I just can't seem to find the words and I don't have a way to end this entry with the kind of style she deserves. Maybe its enough to say that I've checked 20 times today on a race I'll probably never see and can't watch on television in a place I'll probably never get to visit because she introduced me to it and it was important to her.

by Cziltang 
Posted: Tuesday, March 09 2004 11:16:55 PM