When Frank works with the dogs, he wears light gloves, but mushing requires serious protection for his hands and forearms. This photo was made before the ceremonial parade on Saturday in Anchorage.
Hours before his starting time on Sunday on Willow Lake, Frank's gear is laid out on the ice ready to be packed and repacked so that the sled is balanced. The dogs have been fed and returned to their boxes for now, and Frank has gone to lunch.
The sled is packed. A rope in back holds a snowhook to keep the dogs, stretched out in front, from pulling the sled away. When Frank was ready, the rope around the snowhook was sliced and the team moved to the starting line.
The brushbar curves around the front of the sled to protect it against when the sled bangs into trees and willows.
The brake, made of snowmachine tread improved with ice-gripping spikes, goes between the runners so the musher can put his full weight on it.
Gunner, left, and Chinook are in harness and booties. After this, their insulated coats will be put on to protect them against the wind.
It's a handler's "work" to stay with a pair of dogs and keep them happy and out of trouble.
As the starting time comes closer, Frank puts on snowpants and removes his parka to slip on a vest. The temperature is falling and it's windy. Claudia doublechecks the sled bag.
Washed for the Iditarod trips to Anchorage and Willow, Frank's F-250 shines in the late-winter sun.
Frank doublechecks Cannon's harness and gangline connections.
Larry Stremikis, a model of calm demeanor, keeps Green Pea and Clarence at ease.
The team carves a wide arc as the handlers move it toward the starting line.
The shadows are long at 4:18 p.m. on March 4 at 61.7 degrees north latitude.
Larry, a sponsor from Virginia, leads Green Pea and Clarence toward the starting gate.
Frank chats with a marshal, in green, and Claudia.
The crowd on Willow Lake gathers along the chute and staging area to see the teams.
The flags, including the flag of Frank and Claudia's native Germany, are stiff in the wind during the countdown.
After the team has left, it's time to clean up and drive home to Wasilla.
|
Frank's fine; the dogs are home
March 7 Claudia called this morning (Wednesday) with an update on Frank.
"Frank is still stuck in Finger Lake. He cannot be picked up," she said. "He is safe and sound. Everything's fine and the dogs are all out and I have the dogs already."
The bad weather at Finger Lake, on this side of the Alaska Range, is keeping the planes on the ground. Claudia says Frank won't be able to get a ride out Wednesday and maybe not even Thursday.
We're with you, Frank
March 7 Frank Sihler laid a lot on the line before his dogs ripped across Willow Lake last Sunday. He put in years of selecting and training his dogs, of answering questions over and over about when he was going to run the Iditarod again, of thinking about what he'd do differently next time.
He practiced and prepared, and when the countdown was called he was there with Clarence and Green Pea and 14 other huskies who trusted him.
There was more to it, too. Frank let his volunteers share his dream. We held his dogs on the gangline, or we contributed money and goods and time, or we wrote about him. Some of the volunteers were mushers themselves, and some got to know him through his wife's dog-training classes. Frank, and Claudia, welcomed us all into his trip.
We're all disappointed that Frank didn't make it to Nome this year, but we know that by pulling out of the race in the Alaska Range he was protecting his team from the extremely harsh trail that caused so many other teams serious problems. Frank, who has finished the Iditarod twice, is the kind of musher who will not force his dogs beyond their limits. "You don't train a dog for failure," he has said.
Frank, thanks for letting us ride with you.
The race is over
9:45 a.m. March 6 Frank has pulled his team out of the Iditarod, according to the standings issued by the Iditarod Trail Committee. His last checkpoint was Finger Lake, and he had been trying to reach Rainy Pass.
This is from the Anchorage Daily News' online update published minutes ago:
"Brutal winds and 20 degree cold were terrorizing those who hadn't yet made it through Rainy Pass. Checkers at Puntilla Lake at the entrance to the Pass were warning mushers that it was blowing so hard out on the long treeless plain that starts the climb to the summit that the trail markers had blown away. Wind chill temperatures were pushing down to 55 to 60 degrees below zero." (See all of Craig Medred's story.)
The race, over an unusually icy trail, has brought trouble to several mushers, including Doug Swingley and DeeDee Jonrowe, who also scratched in the early stages.
Meanwhile, the Daily News has posted its recent Iditarod section story about Frank. Read it here.
Race map | Archive
|
