This week's episode of "Flying Wild Alaska" -- the Discovery Channel's show about Alaska bush pilots -- continues to play havoc with the timeline of winter. Last week, Western Alaska was supposedly thawing out as spring arrived; this week, it's all about the Iditarod, which takes place in early March every year, and during which much of Alaska is still in winter's lockdown.
Nonetheless, DJ Sam kicks off the episode with a note that everyone in the community of Unalakleet is getting excited for the Iditarod, "arguably the toughest race on earth." Unalakleet is but one of the stops along the more than 1,000-mile-long race course, and all those stops mean that business will be booming for Era Alaska, one of the biggest air carriers in rural Alaska.
Some tourists looking to follow the race will be carried in Era planes. But it's more than just tourists who need Era's help.
"Mushers rely on Era Alaska pilots to transport racing dogs, sleds, survival supplies and over 86,000 pounds of dog food to the 24 checkpoints along the trail," the narrator tells us.
"The Iditarod's the Super Bowl of Alaska," Jim Tweto, COO of Era Alaska, says. "We'll have 30 airplanes parked where there's normally like, five."
In the Unalakleet terminal, Jim gets a call from Lance Mackey, four-time Iditarod champ, who needs a smaller sled delivered to McGrath for the leg of the race out of that community. Mackey plays heavily into this episode, as he pursues his fifth consecutive Iditarod title, which would be a record. Fans of the race already know if he accomplished the goal, but I won't spoil it for those who don't.
Meanwhile, Jim's wife, Ferno Tweto, and daughters Ariel and Ayla are in Anchorage for the ceremonial start during the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous winter carnival, and to participate in the annual "Running of the Reindeer," Alaska's version of Pamplona, Spain's running of the bulls. Jim stays behind in Unalakleet.
"They like all the social stuff," Jim says. "They can have that. I don't need to get gored by a reindeer."
Ariel and Ayla say hi to Mackey, who looks particularly Alaskan in his puffy down jacket with duct tape over spots where the jacket has ripped and feathers could escape. They wish him luck in the race.
"We'll be there in our fur bikinis," Ariel tells him.
"I'll get there as fast as I can," Mackey replies.
Meanwhile, Ariel's nursing a wicked crush on Cain Carter, Mackey's stepson who's running the race for the first time. She's not exactly subtle about it, either. "No shame," she tells us early on, before calling Cain "my future husband."
Ariel and Ayla gear up for the Running of the Reindeer. Ferno's running too, despite having previously made fun of those taking part.
"These people are fools, man," she says. "They're gonna have a horn right up their ass."
Before the race, ominous music plays and close-ups of wild-eyed reindeer set the scene. So far as I know, no one's ever been injured during the Running of the Reindeer, but the most likely injury would come if you stumble too early coming out of the starting gate and get trampled -- by both reindeer and the other participants.
They count it down, and the participants take off as the reindeer are released. One of the reindeer has a GoPro camera strapped to its head, its pointy horns framing the shot as people scamper away in front of it.
The run eventually peters out, the danger over. "I was really, actually scared," Ayla says.
They swing by a downtown store to stock up on winter gear to take back to Unalakleet. Ariel and Ayla get a little out of order, donning puffy coats and starting a wrestling match. Ariel tells us that the winner of the roughhousing gets to wear a fur bikini for Cain Carter at the finish line of the Iditarod in Nome. Just as I was thinking that sounds more like something the loser would have to do -- since it's still in the single digits in Nome at that time of year -- Ayla wins and Ariel confirms my suspicion.
"Actually," Ariel says, "I won, because she's gonna be freezing out there."
Racing against the racers
Back in Unalakleet, Jim's concerned about a Beechcraft 1900 that was supposed to head for Nome -- and drop off Mackey's extra sled in McGrath on the way. It's been grounded by the FAA for a mandatory inspection in Anchorage, and Jim's worried it won't arrive in McGrath before Mackey, which could cost him the race if he pulled in to that checkpoint with a shot at winning. There's a remarkable amount of strategy involved in sled dog racing, so a different sled or the wrong supplies could mean the difference between first and last place.
The 1900 waits four days for the inspection, enough time for the ceremonial start in Anchorage, the official start in Willow, and the race is well under way.
Fortunately, the FAA clears the 1900 to fly as Mackey is just hours outside of McGrath, allowing Era pilot Doug Doherty to get in the air and land in McGrath, delivering the sled just in the nick of time to the McGrath checkpoint, with a little help from a snowmachine that tows him there.
Also in Unlakleet, pilot Christian Clark is in for a dicey flight to Nome, even if he doesn't know it yet. As Christian gets under way, he notices that strong winds have pushed the sea ice farther from the shore line than the previous day, making his usual shortcut a little less short. The narrator tells us that single-engine aircraft like the one Christian is flying is required to stay within gliding distance of a landing site in case the engine cuts out. In the winter, the sea ice provides a convenient landing surface for an airplane in distress, allowing pilots to cut across open water.
Right on cue after Christian notices he's getting too far from a solid surface, an alarm goes off in the cockpit.
"What the hell?" is Christian's first reaction.
An indicator tells him that the trim on the tail of the plane has gone out and is pitching itself downward. To combat the problem, Christian has to pull harder on the yoke (like a steering wheel for planes) to compensate. He finds his way back on to solid ground and not far from Nome, but now he has to make a landing in winds gusting up to 40 mph.
This has the feel of a genuinely dicey situation. Sometimes "Flying Wild Alaska" plays up relatively routine situations for dramatic effect, but watching Christian fight the controls while simultaneously trying to hold the trim control (it's like a black wheel with bumps on it) in place with his knee is cause for concern. He pulls on the yoke hard as he comes in to land, but touches down safely and gets a mechanic to look at his malfunctioning aircraft.
Meanwhile, Doug Stewart, who we've met in the previous season, is headed to Shishmaref to pick up some Alaska Native crafts for Ferno. Accompanying him is Nick Stone, a new pilot who is serving as Stewart's first officer. Stone's a bit of a character -- he doesn't wear a jacket because he'd rather be cold than hot, and has an interesting interpretation of the captain/first officer relationship.
"To break it down into layman's terms," he tells us, "my captain is like Aquaman, and I'm like a shark. He has the power, but I'm always there to back him up."
In Shishmaref, they meet Ferno's friends, who have made footwear and mittens from spotted seal fur, as well as ivory jewelry and other crafts. Ferno's going to sell them to tourists passing through Unalakleet for the Iditarod.
Dennis, their host in Shishmaref, offers Stone and Stewart some traditional native foods. Stewart hangs his head.
"You gonna make me do that?" he asks.
Stone tells us he's managed to avoid most Native foods, but today he'll have to "man up" and try some. So they bring it out -- it looks like a plate of raw, foreign meat.
"Do we have some hot sauce? Or some tequila?" Stone asks.
The meat is mostly bearded seal -- including the intestines -- as well as some fermented walrus. If you ever have the honor of visiting an Alaska village, and of being hosted by true Alaska Natives, they'll probably offer you some traditional foods -- and then they'll have a good time watching you try to eat it. Some of it is pretty delicious -- others are so unusual that it's hard to stand. After taking a bite of the walrus, Stewart asks their host a question.
"How often do you eat this, Dennis?"
"Hardly ever," Dennis replies.
They pack up and bring some of the delicacies to Ferno, who's very excited to get them, packed in a jar of seal oil.
Tsunami warnings and fur bikinis
The rest of the episode is a blur. Ariel gets to do some flying in her family's Super Cub, in order to make an off-airport landing to replace some missing Iditarod trail markers, which are supposed to be placed every 20 feet in order to keep mushers on the trail during whiteout conditions. She has a hard time getting the flaps all the way down, and makes a bouncing landing on skis. Even Jim, a seasoned pilot who hardly ever shows much emotion, gets a little wide-eyed right before they touch down.
Lance Mackey passes through Unalakleet, having had to drop seven of his 16 dogs along the way. Cain passes through too, disappointed to discover that Ariel and Ayla are back at work at the Era terminal.
"You're leading me on, that's what it is," Cain says to Ariel and Ayla through the camera.
In the middle of all this rigmarole, Western Alaska awoke on the morning of March 11 to warnings across the coast that there may be tsunamis hitting the shores of the state following the massive Japan earthquake. Doug Stewart is tasked with the unfortunate job of delivering supplies to Gambell on St. Lawrence Island, a site on the western side of the island and only 15 feet above sea level -- to arrive about a half hour before the tsunami is due to hit.
I won't keep you in suspense here -- there were only moderate sea swells in Alaska following the Japan quake, so Doug lands and gets off the ground just fine, and the village of Gambell survives.
Ariel and Ayla take the trip to Nome to watch the finish and see John Baker, the first ever Inupiaq winner of the Iditarod, cross the finish line in record time. Ariel dances a bit with the tribal funk band Pamyua, who also provides some of the excellent music for "Flying Wild Alaska."
Mackey finishes 16th due to his downsized team. Cain doesn't arrive until the 11th day of the race, and "Ayla still has to own up for the bet," Ariel says, so they wait for him in Nome. As he comes down the street, Ayla takes off her coat in seven-degree weather, revealing her fur bikini.
They may not have taken into account the fact that the Iditarod is among the most grueling races on earth. Cain was probably happy to see Ariel and Ayla, but exhaustion precluded any real excitement.
In the end, it doesn't matter to Ariel. "Cain finished; Ayla shimmied," she says.
While Ariel and Ayla are in Nome, Jim mans the terminal in Unalakleet, none too pleased about doing paperwork during a nice day with low winds and high visibility. Ben Pedersen heads out to the hangar through the office.
"You're the luckiest guy alive," Jim tells him as he goes.
"I'm stuck in the office, Ben gets to go flying -- it just ain't right," he says to himself.
Contact Ben Anderson at ben(at)alaskadispatch.com