Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race was suspended for the first time for safety reasons when weather prevented the Iditarod Air Force from delivering supplies to Rohn and Nikolai, the first two checkpoints in the Alaska Interior. Fifty-eight mushers and 508 dogs congregated at the small lodge in Rainy Pass for three days, while emergency shipments of food were flown in from Anchorage. Weather also halted the race later at McGrath, and the two stops added almost a week to the winning time. The race starts on the first Saturday in March, at the first checkpoint on Fourth Avenue in downtown Anchorage. A five-block section of
Alpirod no sponsor emerged. The Alpirod was a pioneer in the use of dog microchip identification, requiring it several years before the Yukon Quest or Iditarod made the process mandatory. The unofficial successor to the Alpirod is the AlpenTrail, a sled dog race in the Alps started by several of the Alpirod's organizers. Alpirod The Alpirod is a defunct sled dog stage race in Southern Europe. Its name comes from a combination of the Alps, where the race took place, and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, upon which the race was based. The competition consisted of a 14-day stage race