KASILOF — It may be tough to see the parallels between running sled dogs and riding a snowmachine, but five-time Iron Dog champion Dusty VanMeter says the two sports have more in common than one might think, particularly when it comes to racing.
"There are a lot of similarities. You approach them both with the same mentality of monitoring them closely, not beating them up, and paying attention to every little detail the whole way through — or you're not going to win," he said.
VanMeter should know. In addition to wins the 46-year-old has earned in the 2,000-mile snowmachine race from Big Lake to Nome to Fairbanks, he also chalked up first-place finishes in the Tustumena 200 and Junior Iditarod sled dog races in his younger days.
That puts VanMeter at the center of one of Alaska's great sporting oddities. Never has the winner of the 39-year Junior Iditarod gone on to win the big race, even though the race for teenagers is littered with some of sled dog racing's biggest names: Seavey, Redington, Osmar, Buser, King and Smyth. And only VanMeter has claimed a Junior Iditarod title and an Iron Dog victory.
Making switch to snowmachines
Racing dogs as a young man, VanMeter learned and honed the skills necessary to become a champion snowmachiner.
"People always ask me how I could have done (mushing) since it is so much slower, but picking the right dogs for your team is a lot like picking the right snowmachine," he said. "You look for a good one, try to figure out if there's anything wrong or that could go wrong with it, then you try to train on it and go as fast as you can," he said.
Looking back, VanMeter said he remembers mushing as being a lot of fun. He got out of it for two reasons. One was financial, given that feeding dozens of sled dogs was a lot more expensive than filling the tank of his Ski-Doo. And it turned out that mushing sponsors were harder to come by and more frugal than snowmachine sponsors.
"I was doing everything out of pocket then and fishing was poor around that time, so it just made monetary sense," he said.
The other reason VanMeter made the switch from huskies to the horsepower of a 600 cubic centimeter engine is that he got married and was starting a family, and a snowmachine gave him more time with those he loved most.
"At the end of the day, I can just shut off the snowmachine. Dogs still had to be fed and cleaned and all that," he said.
Despite making the switch, there are some things VanMeter hasn't been able to leave behind. Living in Kasilof, experiencing what is essentially a third consecutive non-winter, VanMeter – like all the professional dog mushers in the area – has had to chase snow by trekking to northern areas of the state.
"The lack of snow isn't good. There's no cushion, so it's really bad on the equipment, like riding on concrete. I've had to travel back and forth to Big Lake nearly all season," he said.
VanMeter works at the Tesoro Kenai Refinery, and his schedule is one week on and one week off, so he travels whenever he's not at work. But the fuel costs add up, and the commute takes him away from his family.
"Driving so far to train, it takes it out of you, but I've made the most of it. I've been able to get in a couple hundred miles every time, and I'm up to 2,600 miles of training so far this season," he said.
New partner for 2016
Those miles have helped keep VanMeter's sled skills sharp, but more importantly this year, they've helped him build up muscle to rehabilitate his left leg, which was injured in a cataclysmic training crash in 2013.
"I had to have two major knee surgeries to repair the cartilage in my knee, which blew apart. I was able to ride with it and still win (with partner Marc McKenna), but I was in a lot of pain, living on Advil to get through the race," he said.
VanMeter and McKenna rode to a second-place finish in 2014, but the nagging injury had to be dealt with, so VanMeter sat out the 2015 race. In the interim, McKenna switched over to Polaris and picked up a new partner for that year's race, leaving VanMeter open to riding with someone new for 2016. That person is Chad Gueco, 32, of Wasilla.
"I had several people wanting to ride with me, but with something like this, you want to take your time and find someone compatible. I've know Chad since he was a kid. He's a good rider, so it was an easy decision," VanMeter said.
Only time will tell if VanMeter is strong enough to pull off a sixth win this year, which would leave him one shy of the Iron Dog record of seven, jointly held by Scott Davis and John Faeo. He likes the odds.
"I'm still recovering and the muscles in my leg are still building because it just takes a long time, but I plan on riding hard. Chad and I have a good set-up, and the machines are running well, so I think we have a good chance," he said.
Joseph Robertia is a freelance writer living in Kasilof with his wife, Colleen, and daughter, Lynx, where they operate Rogues Gallery Kennel and have run several mid-distance mushing races, including Colleen running the Iditarod and Yukon Quest.
IRON DOG
• Course: 2,000 miles on the Iditarod Trail from Big Lake to Nome and then to Fairbanks.
• Field: 41 pro class teams
• Defending champion: Scott Faeo, with new partner Marc McKenna this year.
• Machines: Polaris machines have won the last two Iron Dogs and five of the last seven. Ski-Doo won the 2012-13 races.
TIMELINE
• Thursday: Banquet and racer drawing, 6 p.m., Hotel Captain Cook
• Friday: Start of recreational class race at Big Lake, 10 a.m.
• Saturday: Ceremonial start of pro class at Fourth Avenue and F Street in Anchorage with 10 a.m. meet and greet and teams leaving at 12:10 p.m.
• Saturday: Flying Iron freestyle show, 2 p.m. at Third Avenue and E Street
• Sunday: Big Lake start at 11 a.m.
• Wednesday Feb. 24: Halfway ceremonies, Nome Recreation Center, 6 p.m.