Mushers double up for King's new race

After all, King's paw prints are already on a dizzying array of innovations and surprises.

There's the sit-down sled called the tail-dragger that centers weight in the middle of the sled; there's a new style of hooking up dogs that avoids necklines and affords the animals more freedom; there's his idea training dogs on hot summer days by letting them swim to build shoulder muscles; there's the $50,000 check he wrote to the Iditarod last month to bolster a slipping purse.

Next week, King debuts a new style of racing. His 260-mile Denali Doubles race begins Feb. 11 in Cantwell, and except for a roster of veteran mushers, it will look and feel different than most races. For instance:

• Each team consists of two humans and one team of dogs, up to 20 animals.

• King expects most mushers to use a tandem sled, a set-up familiar to Anchorage mushing fans who watch Iditarod mushers pass through town on the first Saturday of March. A variety of other configurations are possible, including, most intriguingly, a marathon skier attached to sled.

• To enter, a musher must have placed in the top 5 at another race or won the award as top rookie or best humanitarian.

• "Dead dogs are not allowed" and "any action of inaction on the party of any team that results in the suffering of a dog will result in disqualification."

• A $75 fine for whining.

• A one-hour penalty for littering.

Many new races take time to gain traction, especially unusual ones. But the Denali Doubles field is capped at 20 teams and several top-flight mushers have already signed up. Among them are Sebastian Schnuelle of Whitehorse, the Yukon Quest defending champion and runner-up in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race; Mitch Seavey of Sterling, the 2004 Iditarod champion; Dean Osmar of Soldotna, the 1984 Iditarod champion; Aliy Zirkle of Two Rivers, the 2000 Yukon Quest champion; and Paul Gebhardt of Kasilof, a two-time Iditarod runner-up.

The purse is heavily weighted toward the winner, with a top prize of $10,000 rapidly descending to $500 for fifth.

Why two sleds?

"There's a very deep tradition in Alaska of using two people in a dog sled," King said. "It's a great way to interact with a friend, for a musher to share his or her expertise and just have more fun. Plus, it's fairly common to train with two sleds."

So who's hooking up?

• Linwood Fiedler of Willow and son Dalton.

• Allen Moore of Two Rivers and daughter Bridgett Watkins.

• Schnuelle and a mushing friend, Klaus Klein of Australia.

• Seavey and his daughter-in-law, Tekla Seavey.

• Gebhardt and his dog handler Kristy Berington, who's entered several races this season, including the Tustumena 200.

"There's a whole assortment of opportunities," King said.

His ideal is a mix of pairings -- some designed for fun, some to win.

"I want to get new mushers or people who want to participate but couldn't otherwise," King said. "I want to see not only Mitch (Seavey) and his daughter in law. I want to see two super mushers doing a super job. The purse is heavy enough on the front end so the best teams in the state could justify the effort and expense to get here.

"After all, there's not much else that turns me on like watching a great dog musher handle a great team."

The $10,000 first-place prize provides some instant credibility. Among Alaska distance races, only the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race ($69,000 and a new truck), the Yukon Quest ($28,400) and the Kuskokwim 300 ($20,000) pay more.

"It's a great idea," said Fieldler, the 2001 Iditarod runner-up. "The obvious appeal is you have two drivers. It's a neat way of bringing along a second person. Mostly, it's just fun for us. "

Fiedler's not alone.

"I like it," said Schnuelle. "Yesterday I put the sled together for that race and thought, 'Damn, I wish I'd done that in October. I would have used it all winter long."

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Reach reporter Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.