Native Alaskan's Dog Team Sets the Winning Record on the Iditarod Trail

Musher John Baker and his amazing 11 dog team crossed the finish line in first place at the famous Iditarod race Tuesday March 15, 2011. Not just first place, but also the first time a native Alaskan has won this race since 1976, and the first team ever to trot in under the burled arch in Nome Alaska in 8 days, 18 hours and 46 seconds, shaving four hours off the previous record.

Baker, of Kotzebue Alaska, was greeted at the finish line by cheers, drummers and dancers from his native Inipiat tribe. Musher Paul Johnson, watching it on the video feed, softly said "He's the first Eskimo to win," and you could hear the pride in Johnson's voice, according to Sanka in an Iditarod blog. ("Eskimo" is a term still used in Alaska, along with the more politically correct "Native Alaskan.")

This is not the story of a lightning-fast racing dog in the lead, burning up the miles. This is the story of an old-style musher using simple voice commands to send his dog team relentlessly and steadily up the trail from Anchorage to Nome. Rather reminiscent of the tortoise and the hare, if the tortoise could cover seven to nine miles an hour.

It's reminiscent, too, of the historic "Great Race of Mercy" of 1925 when 20 mushers raced dog teams against the spread of diphtheria. The relay teams ran over sea ice in 40-below-zero weather to bring lifesaving serum to Nome. This Serum Run of 1925 is commemorated every year on the Iditarod Trail. from Anchorage.

In 2011 when the Baker team loped over that finish line at 9:46 am March 15 to win the Iditarod Championship, the race was by no means over. Second place musher Ramey Smyth, clocking in only an hour behind Baker, had been ahead at one point, but was outraced by Baker's consistent performance. Forty-six other mushers and their teams followed.

At the Nome Awards Banquet on March 20, John Baker received the winner's purse of $50,400, and two of his dogs, Velvet and Snickers, won the Golden Harness Award for the best lead dogs. The traditional Red Lantern Award for the last team to reach Front Street in Nome went to Ellen Halverson in 2011. But all 47 teams competing in the Iditarod XXXIX are considered among the elite and are to be congratulated.

Sources:

http://iditarodblogs.com/news/2011/03/15/the-iditarod-has-a-new-champion-kotzebue-alaska%E2%80%99s-john-baker/

http://www.aaanativearts.com/alaskan-natives/eskimo.htm

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/usa/news/article_1626473.php/Alaska-native-wins-Iditarod-in-record-time

http://iditarodblogs.com/news/2011/03/15/insider-analyst-bruce-leethe-passing-of-the-torch/

http://iditarodblogs.com/zuma/

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2816204/dogs_who_save_lives_sled_dogs_togo.html