Trail Map and Checkpoints

 1997 Musher Roster

 Chronicles of the 1973 Iditarod

 Race History

 Trail Trivia

 Prior Year's Results

 Trail Tech

 Current Weather and Trail Conditions

 Other Sled Dog Links

 Iditarod Events Calendar

 iDog Sponsors

 Read Previous Editions

 Send Us Your Comments

 

In 1973, Cotter served as the checker in Knik, a spot on the map now, but once Cook Inlet's biggest port. From roughly 1909 to 1920, a boomtown existed by the long-gone docks of Knik, which served as a supply center for Interior gold mines accessed by way of the Iditarod Trail, a winter dog-team route after which the modern-day race was named. 

That 1973 race was a pioneering venture, no 1,000-mile sled dog race had ever been attempted and some said it couldn't be done. By the time it was over, some 20 days later, Dick Wilmarth, of Red Devil, the first champion, and his fellow competitors proved the naysayers wrong and launched what has become one of the world's great sporting events. 

A quarter century later, Cotter gazed up Fourth Avenue in Anchorage the first Saturday in March. The former checker, now making his 12th Iditarod bid, was cast as one of the favorites in the event he helped launch. 

In addition to the former Knik checker, the 1997 Iditarod field featured three participants from the original 1973 race: Seward's Dan Seavey, Anvik's Ken Chase and Raymie Redington, whose father, Joe Redington Sr., is the musher credited with dreaming up the idea of mushing dogs to Nome in a grand 1,000-mile race. 

Redington Sr., missed out on the first year's trip. In the years that followed, however, he entered his Iditarod 18 times, finishing as high as fifth four times. For the first time since 1992, Old Joe, too, had signed up for the Silver Anniversary race. In honor of his contributions to the sport, he was given the No. 1 starting position. <continued> 

1. Martin Buser 09:08:30:45 
2. Doug Swingley 09:11:41:15 
3. Jeff King 09:15:35:15 
4. DeeDee Jonrowe 09:18:26:10 
5. Vern Halter 09:20:58:44 
6. Lavon Barve 09:21:06:37 
7. Bill Cotter 09:21:37:28 
8. Ramy Brooks 09:21:51:09 
9. Peryll Kyzer 09:22:20:49 
10. Tim Osmar 09:22:59:28 
11. John Baker 09:23:09:36 
12. Sven Engholm 09:23:24:08 
13. Charlie Boulding 09:23:49:25 
14. Paul Gebhardt 10:08:59:25 
15. Ramey Smyth 10:14:11:20 
16. Mitch Seavey 10:14:31:55 
17. Linwood Fiedler 10:14:58:20 
18. Mike Williams 10:15:45:02 
19. David Sawatzky 10:17:54:00 
20. Kris Swanguarin 10:19:26:01 
21. Nick Pattaroni 11:01:28:01 
22. Michael Nosko 11:01:49:22 
23. Jack Berry 11:06:42:22 
24. Krista Maciolek 11:17:59:54 
25. Raymie Redington 11:18:00:21 
26. Harry Caldwell 12:00:48:48 
27. Robert Bundtzen 12:01:32:43 
28. Jean Lacroix 12:08:46:50 
29. Randy Adkins 12:12:59:06 
30. Keli Mahoney 12:15:31:52 
31. Ross Adam 13:00:24:26 
32. Mark Lindstrom 13:00:24:49 
33. Al Hardman 13:00:58:40 
34. Shawn Sidelinger 13:03:30:30 
35. Dan Seavey 13:04:03:10 
36. Joe Redington 13:04:18:57 
37. Wayne Curtis 13:04:23:05 
38. Bill Bass 13:10:57:31 
39. Bob Hickel 13:10:58:47 
40. Don Bowers 14:04:54:03 
41. Suzan Amundsen 14:04:55:02 
42. Sonny King 14:04:58:05 
43. Jerome Longo 14:12:23:11 
44. Ken Chase 15:09:19:22 

Dogs weren't for sport...  Read the full story

Franklin Madros, a 77-year-old Athabaskan elder and past traditional chief in Kaltag, strolls past the Iditarod teams camping in the snow behins his village community center, reflecting on the smaller builds seen in the sled dogs of today, as compared to those Madros once used on his trapline. The elder, who recalls the arrival of teams during the first Iditarod, 25 years ago, also pays tribute to fellow Athabaskan Bobby Vent, who mushed a small trapline team to a fourth place finish in the 1973 race.  iDog97 Radio uses RealAudio, get your copy at WWW.REALAUDIO.COM