We here at BangShift.com are all about events that pit man and machine against the elements, but the Iron Dog snowmobile race, held in Alaska, is sado-masochism. Riders traverse 2,000 miles of Alaska in winter, facing temps of 50 below, with no marked route aside from latitude and longitude points where check stations are located. Race organizers claim that no one has died during the race, which seems like a miracle to us.
We first heard of the race when reading a news story from the Bismark Tribune. The story profiled a local man who was getting ready to cheat death compete in his second Iron Dog. Last year he finished in 10th place with a time of 58 hours, 22 minutes, and 19 seconds. Remember, that’s sitting in the breeze on a snowmobile, in frigging Alaska, in frigging February.
The guy tells some horrifying stories like being on his sled five minutes into the race and driving off a 15 foot cliff at 65 mph. We would have quit right there, but he kept on. Fifty miles later he rolled his sled over three or four times down a hillside. He taped the bastard up and kept on rolling.
Riders are limited to 600cc machines and must take the course in tandem with another rider on his own machine. If one guy or machine cannot finish the race, both riders are out.
We love the fact that the two classes in the race are Pro and, get this, recreational. Oh, there’s LOTS of recreation happening during this event, we’re sure. We actually kind of dig the snow, but there is not one aspect of this event that appeals to any part of our psyche. Anyone who competes in this thing should be put on some kind of list.
Source — BismarkTribune.com — Bismark man competes in second Alaskan race
Source — IronDog.org — The official Iron Dog website
