Watching the Iditarod start

The 2002 Iditarod gets under way at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 2 with the ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage. The racing begins on Sunday at 10 a.m. in Wasilla.

Quest wraps up

The final pack of four mushers crept into Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, late Saturday to complete the running of the 2002 Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.

Junior Iditarod

Cali King might be a teenage girl, but she sure looked a lot like her dad Jeff on Sunday when she was the first musher to cross the finish line of the Junior Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Wasilla.

Iditarod Air Force

The small waiting room at Spernak's Airways was crowded with more than a dozen pilots drinking coffee, eating donuts and watching fat snowflakes swirl down from a milky white sky onto the runway at Merrill Field.

Sled dog racing

Three more finish Quest

Gaining ground

Perhaps it's time to revive an old saying about this state, but with a few modifications: Alaska, where boys are boys and girls outnumber them in the Junior Iditarod.

10 more mushers reach Whitehorse

Mushers and dog teams continued to trickle across the finish line of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race in Whitehorse, Yukon territory, on Thursday.

Gatt Quest? Yes, indeed

Whitehorse, Yukon -- One of Hans Gatt's hobbies is running, and the musher from Atlin, British Columbia, drove his dog team to an impressive finishing kick Wednesday to capture the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.

Second canine death

Carmacks -- Peter Butteri of Tok held onto his lead Tuesday in the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race and another dog died on the trail, marking the second dog to die in the 1,000-mile race from Fairbanks to Whitehorse.

Yukon Quest

Pelly Crossing, Yukon -- Peter Butteri of Tok remained on top of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race on Monday evening when he was the first to leave Pelly Crossing.

Tok's Butteri retains lead

Stewart River, Yukon -- Peter Butteri of Tok remained on top of the Yukon Quest as the leaders went through Stewart River, 99 miles past the halfway point at Dawson.

No new trail for iron dogs

What looked good on paper for the organizers of the world's longest snowmobile race has proven impossible in the rugged terrain of the 49th state.

Butteri leaves Dawson City with lead

Dawson City, Yukon Territory -- About the only person calling Peter Butteri the surprise leader of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race is -- Peter Butteri.

Time for a break

Dawson City, Yukon Territory -- Tok musher Peter Butteri holds a two-hour cushion at the halfway point of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, as racers take a mandatory 36-hour break in this historic mining town.

Fairbanks' Freeman jumps ahead of the Quest pack

Fairbanks -- Peter Butteri was the first Yukon Quest musher to reach Slaven's Cabin early Tuesday, while Joran Freeman jumped ahead of the pack and was the first to leave.

Buser, King jockey for Kusko lead

A pair of former Iditarod champions set the early pace on a fast and icy trail Saturday in the Kusko 300 sled dog race, but they had a pack of teams hard on their heels.

41 break trail on a 1,000-mile quest

Fairbanks -- Former champion Dave Monson was the early afternoon leader as the 2002 Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race got under way Saturday.

Mushers hit a rough road

The short history of the Klondike 300 is full of weather-related horror stories -- or make that lack-of-weather-related horror stories.

King beats Buser in Kusko 300

Jeff King was sure his team of dogs had it in them. And he was pretty sure Martin Buser's team didn't.

Smyth overcomes late start, King for victory

Kasilof Big Lake musher Ramey Smyth clinched the Tustumena 200 Sled Dog Race Sunday, crossing the finish line just two minutes before two-time defending champion Jeff King rolled in.

Snowmachine rider helps out dogs

Scott Duby
Age: 47
Occupation/profession: Heavy-equipment operator in the summer; owner and operator of Alaska Snowmobile Salvage in Anchorage, which buys, sells and repairs snowmachines.