2006 Iditarod 2006 Iditarod The ceremonial start of the 34th annual (XXXIV) Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across the U.S. state of Alaska began amidst the crowds of Anchorage on March 4, 2006, and the start of the competitive race, or "restart", began the next day in Willow. The race followed a modified version of the northern route for 1,151 mi (1,852 km) across the Alaska Range, through the sparsely inhabited Interior, along the Yukon River, and then up the coast of the Bering Sea to the city of Nome. Unlike in previous years, where the teams had to deal with unseasonably
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race of those in the back of the pack. After Ophir, the trail diverges into a northern and a southern route, which rejoin at Kaltag. In "even"-numbered years ("e.g." 2016, 2018) the "northern" route is used; in "odd"-numbered years ("e.g." 2017, 2019) the "southern" route is used. During the first few Iditarods only the northern trail was used. In the late 1970s, the southern leg of the route was added. It gave the southern villages a chance to host the Iditarod race and also allowed the route to pass through the trail's namesake, the historical town of Iditarod. The two routes