Iditarod: Toughest Race on Earth for proper care. During the race, only three rest points are mandatory: one 24-hour and two 8-hour rests. Apart from that, mushers usually try to feed their dogs at each checkpoint, even if it is just as snack, as the dogs can burn around 10,000 calories a day. Season 1 The show begins at the ceremonial start of the 2008 Iditarod in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 1, 2008. 110 participants entered to compete in the 2008 race, with 95 mushers and their dog teams starting. It then follows them to the official starting point in Willow where the race begins
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race narrow Happy River Gorge, where the trail balances on the side of a heavily forested incline. Rainy Pass is the most dangerous check point in the Iditarod. In 1985, Jerry Austin broke a hand and two of his dogs were injured when the sled went out of control and hit a stand of trees. Many others have suffered from this dangerous checkpoint. Rainy Pass is part of the Historic Iditarod Trail, but until 1976 the pass was inaccessible and route detoured through Ptarmigan Pass, also known as Hellsgate, because of the 1964 Good Friday earthquake. From Rainy Pass, the route