The Iditarod officially came to a close yesterday in Alaska after 15 days, 14 hrs., 6 minutes and 22 seconds of dogs pulling their musher to the finish line.
For those of you unfamiliar with this yearly event in Alaska, here are some basic facts. This event consists of a musher (person navigating the sled) with 12-16 dogs pulling the sled across 1000 miles of scenic and the most extreme terrain in Alaska. The terrain includes moutain ranges, frozen rivers, dense forests, desolate tundra and under the most extreme weather conditions.
The mushers and the dogs are exposed to subzero temperatures, blizzards and gale-force winds. Although different breeds of dogs have been used for this race, the dog primarily of choice is the Husky.