Iditarod Glory

Known as the Last Great Race, the Iditarod Sled Dog Race ignites the spirit of adventure in people throughout the world each March. As the Iditarod s official photographer since 1981, Jeff Schultz has documented this amazing combination of frontier spirit, physical endurance, and human-dog connection in a stunningly beautiful and sometimes brutal landscape. In this fascinating new book, we see the best photos from a man who has dedicated himself to this race for twenty-five years.

For sled dog–racing fans worldwide, the most important calendar day is the first Saturday in March, when teams convene for the start of mushing’s Superbowl—the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race®. Every year, as it has since 1973, this ultimate challenge begins in the state’s most populated city, Anchorage, and then dives into the Alaska Bush on a historic trail that wends over mountain ranges, along frozen rivers, and onto the Bering Sea ice. The finish line lies 1,000-plus miles away in Nome, beneath a giant, burled archway. There, dogs and their drivers are greeted by masses of locals, vacationing fans, officials, media, and other mushers who intimately know what that team has just endured. To simply finish is the goal for entrants; to win is the accomplishment of a rare few. Indeed, more people have climbed Mount Everest than have finished the Iditarod®.

“Moderow’s dedication and love for the Huskies that accompany her from Anchorage to Nome is the soul that drives this insightful and touching memoir.”—Cowgirl Magazine At age forty-seven, a mother of two, Debbie Moderow was not your average musher in the Iditarod, but that’s where she found herself when, less than 200 miles from the finish line, her dogs decided they didn’t want to run anymore. After all her preparation, after all the careful management of her team, and after their running so well for over a week, the huskies balked. But the sting of not completing the race after coming so far was nothing compared to the disappointment Moderow felt in having lost touch with her dogs. Fast into the Night is the gripping story of Moderow’s journeys along the Iditarod trail with her team of spunky huskies: Taiga and Su, Piney and Creek, Nacho and Zeppy, Juliet and the headstrong leader, Kanga. The first failed attempt crushed Moderow’s confidence, but after reconnecting with her dogs she returned and ventured again to Nome, pushing through injuries, hallucinations, epic storms, flipped sleds, and clashing personalities, both human and canine. And she prevailed. A tale of survival, loyalty, and the mysterious connection between humans and dogs, Fast into the Night is “what may be the quintessential Iditarod story . . . a great Alaskan adventure well told” (Dave Atcheson, author of Dead Reckoning). “When a memoir magically materializes before your eyes, striking all the right chords, it’s a wonder to behold—truly beautiful. In Fast into the Night that is precisely what Debbie Clarke Moderow graces us with.”—Anchorage Press

“Adrenaline-pumping . . . [A] polished action mystery . . . [with] dazzling Arctic sights.” —Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review Winner of the Macavity Award and the Anthony Award Murder on the Iditarod Trail is a gripping mystery set during Alaska’s world-famous Iditarod: a grueling eleven-hundred-mile dogsled race across hazardous Arctic terrain. It is an arduous sport, but not a deadly one. But suddenly the top Iditarod contestants are dying in bizarre ways: first a veteran musher smashes into a tree, then competitors begin turning up dead, with each murder more brutal than the last. State trooper Alex Jensen begins a homicide investigation, determined to track down the killer before more blood stains the pristine Alaskan snow. Meanwhile, Jessie Arnold, Alaska’s premier female musher, has a shot at winning for the first time. But as her position in the race improves, so do her chances of being the killer’s next target. As the mushers thread their way through the treacherous trails, Jessie and Jensen are drawn deep into the frozen heart of the perilous wild: where nature can kill as easily as a bullet and only the Arctic night can hear your final screams. “Engrossing . . . The howling winds, the snow, the ice, the dancing away from wolves, the crazing fatigue, the welcome heat and food, are almost palpable.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review “Excellent . . . well-paced, well-conceived, engrossing . . . moves along like a healthy, well-trained dog team.” —The Anchorage Times “A book that will give you a feel for how the Iditarod is . . . Sue Henry has a genius for characterization, plot, and setting.” —Mystery News

Over beer and hamburgers at the Two Rivers Lodge near Fairbanks, Alaska, a small group of mushers conceived a gutsy idea for a new sled dog race that would be more challenging than any other marathon race in the Far North. In 1984, mushers organized the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race between Fairbanks and Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. Soon, mushers adopted an unofficial race motto, "Survive first, race second." The Quest trail boasts fewer checkpoints, longer wilderness runs, and more campouts. The trail crosses three mountain passes, including the dreaded 3,685-foot Eagle Summit, a killer of mushers' dreams. Outdoor survival skills and self reliance are on a par with commercial sponsorships and high-tech sleds and mushing gear. Yukon Quest is an exciting, inspirational story full of bigger-than-life characters told by Lew Freedman, best-selling author of eight books about sled-dog racing. Includes a list of race champions, names of all finishers, and 16 pages of photos.

Describes the characteristics and training of dogs worthy of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Alaska, and presents a collection of color photos of husky puppies and racing adults.

In 1978, Dick Mackey claimed the most dramatic victory ever in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, crossing the finish line in Nome a mere one second ahead of Rick Swenson after a two-week, 1,149 mile-run from Anchorage. Many years later Alaskans still shake their heads in amazement. In One Second to Glory, Mackey shares this and many other adventures: Making a home in the forntier state in the heady first day s of Statehood; Surviving the 1964 earthquake and helping rebuild Alaska; Mushing against "Doc" Lombard and George Attla in the heyday of sprint racing; Helping Joe Redington organize the Iditarod Trail SLed Dog Race; Experience 82 degrees below zero at Coldfoot, his famous Arctic Circle truck stop; Mackey's colorful stories are told in his own words in interviews with Lew Freedman, outdoor adventure writer for the Chicago Tribune and longtime former sports editor of the Anchorage Daily News. Freedman has written seventeen books about Alaska.