it ain't over til it's over...iditarod craziness

 King has scratched, i repeat, King has scratched.  he is just 4 miles from Safety but has been unable to move.  his team got blown over along with his sled by a large gust of wind and that must have spooked the hell out of them.  King managed to keep the dogs all together, get the sled righted and attempted to move, but the dogs would not go.

 he waited with them for over an hour and a half, but the conditions worsened rather than get better.  winds are blowing at 40-60+ mph.  there is no coverage out there, no protection.

 King finally requested assistance. they are getting him and his team to Safety now.  this is all very dangerous out there with these winds.  visibility is horrible.

 Aily never saw Jeff out there and passed him to be the first into Safety. she has opted to stay put as the winds are supposed to get even worse between Safety and Nome.

 Dallas Seavey made good time despite the wind and looks to have just arrived in Safety himself.  will he stay or will he risk it for those last 22 miles?

 waiting to see what Dallas does.  he is very competitive and i can see him heading off to Nome.  i can also see Aily playing it safe and sticking out this wind in Safety.

 so no winner yet.

 the elder Seavey, Mitch, is en route and closing in on Safety.

 behind him is Joar Ulsom of Norway.  as far as i can see nobody else has left White Mountain. i'm sure some of them could so perhaps they've been told of storm and opting to wait it out.  if you aren't going to win why risk it i'd guess. it's a time to be sensible.

 nope, i was wrong...just looked and Lindner has just left Whilte Mountain.  Buser is next to be able to leave White Mountain and he could have left at 0100 and hasn't yet.  everyone must be thinking hard about these decisions for themselves and their team.  have they got word of Kings troubles out there?

 Maximer scratched yesterday as well

 Dallas has left for nome from Safety.  there will no doubt be a winner this year and it will probably be Dallas.

 generally this last part of the race is all decided by now and it's just a matter of time.  this year has been nuts, but fun to watch.

 poor Aily.  she'll settle for less than first again.  Dallas is just that competitive and confident that he's going for it. his speeds coming from White Mountain were actually really good 7-10mph even with the wind.  his team thrives in crap alaskan weather i guess.

 she had the chance and she opted out.  i don't think she'll regret it for herself though.  i think Dallas would regret it if he sat and waited.

 hopefully they have gotten King  and his team to Safety safely.

 thank you MT for texting and keeping me updated as you find stuff.  i have my lap top by my desk top to keep updated on the iditarod site.

 Aily may be on the move too.

 Buser is out of White Mountain

 Dallas above....no guts no glory. even if she has left, i'm not sure she'll be able to catch him.  she hesitated and that is never good, especially with someone as competitve as Dallas.  so much has happened since they all left White Mountain, won't Mitch Seavey be surprised when he does get to Safety!!

 so it is back on...Aily Vs Dallas.  this is so exciting!!

 Dallas is two miles ahead of Aily. he has 7 dogs to her 10 dog team.  she is currently moving faster than he is

 i can see that i will not be getting any sleep tonight.

 i must say the ending to this race is rarely this exciting. so happy i'm not at work for this and can watch this crazy race unfold.

 may post later with more updates...but hopefully with a winner

 enjoy the dogs, these are all still from the restart in willow with friends.

off to watch more james herriot while watching this great race