KNOM on the Trail

Rohn Buser is the 2012 K300 Champion

Matthew F. Smith — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:19:41 +0000

Crossing the finish line in Bethel at 11:42 this morning, 22-year old Rohn Buser is the 2012 Kuskokwim 300 champion. Rohn Buser, son of Iditarod legend Martin Buser, won the race with a team of 10 dogs. Marking his third attempt at the K300, the young Buser said he knew he had control of the race fairly early on. “I felt pretty good at the the six hour [layover] at Kalskag,” he said at the finish, adding that his “dogs were just doing their thing and kept it up the whole way.”

Coming in second place was Kotzebue’s John Baker, the 2011 Iditarod champion and 2010 K300 winner. Baker finished at 12:13pm with his team of 12 dogs. Third place went to Kasilof musher Paul Gebhardt, last year’s K300 champ, who crossed the finish line at 12:29pm with his team of 10 dogs.

Stay tuned for more updates from the K300 as more mushers make their way into Bethel.

6 p.m. Update – Mackey and Company in Front.

Ben Matheson — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 03:19:45 +0000

14 teams are out of Aniak moving through Whitefish Lake area. After completing their 6-hour rest in Kalskag, the top teams blazed through the Aniak checkpoint to begin the second half of the race.

Lance Mackey was first out of Aniak, but two other mushers—Rohn Buser, and defending champion Paul Gebhardt— were within 10 minutes. The next 4 teams: Ray Redington Jr, Pete Kaiser, Ramey Smyth, and Ken Anderson all left within an hour of Mackey.

The front of the pack is still tight, but there is beginning to be some separation as they make their way through punchy snow. The leaders may make it back to Kalskag by 8 or 9 o’clock tonight.

As of 6 p.m., GPS tracking showed Mackey, Gebhart, and Rohn Buser running close together as they turned north (into the wind) to reconnect with the river at Kalskag.

Scott Smith is finishing up his rest in Aniak. Smith was eligible to depart at 5:16. Louie Ambrose took his 6-hour in Kalskag, and opted to spend a few extra hours in Aniak. All mushers have a mandatory 4-hour rest at Tuluksak before beginning the final sprint into Bethel.

Martin Buser, Aaron Burmeister, and Rohn Buser in Kalskag

Ben Matheson — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:58:29 +0000

KNOM’s Laureli Kinneen spoke with Martin Buser, Aaron Burmeister, and Rohn Buser Saturday morning in Kalskag.

Photos: Kalskag on Saturday

knomlvkinneen — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 02:17:54 +0000

Saturday morning at the Kuskokwim 300 checkpoint.

Local Kuskokwim 300 spectators at the Kalskag checkpoint, photographed Saturday morning.

Video: Lance Mackey Departs Kalskag (Saturday)

knomlvkinneen — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 00:43:30 +0000

Kuskokwim 300 musher Lance Mackey departs the Kalskag checkpoint Saturday morning with his sled dog team. Mackey is a veteran sled dog musher and a four-time champion of both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod.

Laureli’s On the Trail Update (12pm from Kalskag)

Matthew F. Smith — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:01:25 +0000

Laureli Kinneen’s 12pm update from Kalskag:

In at Kalskag, a Waiting Game

Matthew F. Smith — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:04:48 +0000

This morning saw a full house at Kalskag: all mushers save one (Scott Smith) appeared to be taking their 6 hour rest, and so it was a waiting game to see who would be leaving when. KNOM’s Laureli Kinneen called in to update us on when the mushers should be leaving (with their times adjusted for the staggered start). Looking at each dog team’s performance since leaving Bethel, and going on what Laureli could tell us in Kalskag, it looks like the real race will be underway soon. On their way to Aniak, the half-way point, with most mushers having taken their 6 hour layover, means it’s going to be an exciting second half of the race.

Last year Paul Gebhardt had a lead coming out of Aniak that he kept all the way to Bethel. He barreled through a 145-mile shot straight to Tuluksak, taking the mandatory 4 hour layover. Will he try a similar move this year? Will Mackey’s dogs, fresh from a strong Knik 200 performance, take him to a first-ever K300 win? Will one of the Busers unleash that trademark speed? Will local boys like Mike Williams Jr and Pete Kasier – two mushers with strong performances last year – find themselves at the head of the pack? And what about John Baker, sitting in position 14 out of Kalskag? It’s all too early to tell.The second half of this race is going to be interesting.

Races like this are so much fun to follow because no matter how closely you look at the online leader boards or how often you refresh the GPS tracking, you’ve got to use your imagination to see these dog teams in your head, to imagine how the musher is pushing his dogs and pacing his team, until you get another update of time in/time out at the next checkpoint.

Based on the estimated times out, adjusted for the staggered start, Lance Mackey, Rohn Buser, Paul Gebhardt, Ray Redington Jr, and Mike Williams Jr. should be back on the trail. It’s going to be an exciting race to Aniak, to Tuluksak, and on to Bethel.

Ready to Cover the Kusko 300!

David Dodman — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 01:38:17 +0000

On the large window of KNOM's main broadcast studio - Studio A - we've drawn a map of the Kuskokwim 300 route. We're ready for the race!

It’s race season once again in Western Alaska, and at KNOM, we’re excited to be reporting on the sled-dog and snowmachine teams that will be racing across our region in the coming months.

This weekend (January 20-22), we’ll be bringing you special coverage of the 2012 Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race, which – as seen in KNOM’s own map, drawn on our studio window – both starts and ends in the southwestern Alaskan city of Bethel.

Join us on KNOM (96.1fm, 780am) for kickoff K300 coverage on Friday, January 20th at 6:30pm, with race updates throughout Saturday and Sunday, January 21st and 22nd: at 9am, 12noon, 5pm, and 8pm.

Listen for regular, live updates from our reporter on the trail, as well as the live finish of the K300 on Sunday, January 22nd.

Here’s the promotional spot we’ve produced, summarizing our K300 race coverage:

If possible, we’ll also post on this blog during the race. Stay tuned!

In Photos: The Iditarod 2011 Awards Banquet

KNOM — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 18:19:55 +0000

photos by David Dodman

The Iditarod 2011 Red Lantern: Ellen Halverson

KNOM — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 01:34:26 +0000

photos and text by David Dodman

Iditarod 2011 has officially concluded! The last-place finisher, or Red Lantern, arrived into Nome on Sunday morning.

The Red Lantern of Iditarod 2011 was Wasilla, Alaska’s Ellen Halverson, who passed under the Burled Arch at 10:45am Sunday. Halverson is the first musher in Iditarod history to win the Red Lantern twice; she also placed last in 2007, although her finish time this year was more than two days and 16 hours faster.

Here’s a few shots of Halverson’s Red Lantern finish. KNOM reporter Ben Matheson caught up with Halverson under the Burled Arch; he also spoke with US Senator Lisa Murkowski, who was on hand to see the conclusion of Iditarod 2011.

The Iditarod 2011 Red Lantern (last-place finisher), Ellen Halverson, pulling to the finish line on Sunday.

As she pulled to a stop, one of Halverson's dogs got tangled in her tow line.

Ellen Halverson.

Red Lantern Ellen Halverson talks with Iditarod official Leo Rasmussen (in the red hat) and KNOM's Ben Matheson.

Ben Matheson chats a bit with US Senator Lisa Murkowski, who was on hand - and bundled up - to see Ellen Halverson's Red Lantern finish.

Murkowski talked about her excitement at being back in Nome to witness the conclusion of Iditarod 2011.