Race Report: Zach Anderson’s Iditarod Trail Invitational 350
It was 7 years ago my dream of riding my bike through the historic Iditarod Trail was ignited after completing my first winter ultra, the Tuscobia 80 miler. This year, I got my opportunity and I was finally able to put to the test the past years of gear testing and experimentation.
When I received confirmation of my acceptance into the 350 mile Iditarod Trail Invitational I knew there would be a big road ahead to prepare and ensure all my gear was ready for this epic back country ride against the elements. In ITI history the race has seen all kinds of weather and it is not unheard of to see temps down to -30f. I began making checklists of gear that was still needed and took the opportunity whenever able to test gear at home, like sleeping in the back yard whenever the thermometer dipped below -15f. With months of trainer workouts completed and final gear tests wrapped up I finally felt prepared and ready to hop on a plane to Alaska to begin my journey.
“ I began making checklists of gear that was still needed and took the opportunity whenever able to test gear at home, like sleeping in the back yard whenever the thermometer dipped below -15f. ”
I landed in Anchorage on Thursday evening 2/19 , and found myself immediately visiting and enjoying the company of other participants. The community that surrounds this event is absolutely amazing and the comradery is unlike any other event I have been a part of. Saturday quickly came and the race director reminded us of how remote this trail is and how important everyone understood that we are on our own out there during the final race meeting. These words echoed in my mind throughout the race.
There was so much excitement and anxious energy come Sunday that all I wanted to do was start pedaling my bike. At 2pm the gun went off at Knik Lake and I finally felt relaxed. My self navigated 300+ mile journey had begun.
For the first day, I rode with familiar faces Ryan Haug (Fargo) and Andy Weirzel (Duluth) until we settled into our own rhythms and parted ways. I took advantage of the Yetna Station to sleep a few hours at mile 55. Still not used to the time difference and with the late start, I am glad I got some good rest that first night. The following day, I linked up with Kenneth Jorgensen from Denmark and we found ourselves enjoying the company and the pace of the trail. Along with others we made our way to the 3rd checkpoint on Finger lake (mile 125) before getting some rest. The terrain the first couple days consisted of rivers, swamp, and lakes with mostly good trails and some big drifts that would suck you in if you didn’t keep focused.
We were very lucky to be joined by trail veteran Jaimie Hollingsworth (Fairbanks) who had completed the 1000 a couple years prior. With bad weather on its way, Jamie helped convince us to make a big push to get over Rainy pass the following day to avoid getting stuck in -40f and windy conditions. This would mean that the next day we would have 65 miles of hard trail to cover which we knew would include breaking trail as we got over the pass, but with the extreme temps coming our way we had no choice.
That third day was eventful to say the least. We took off at 4am to help give us extra time, and by lunch we were at the halfway point for the day. As we began approaching the pass the wind began to kick up, but we continued to push our bikes and ride whenever possible. Just before sundown we had made it to the infamous Rainy Pass sign. After a few selfies we quickly moved on knowing there was still plenty of trail to cover before the end of the day.
The descent from the top of the pass was absolutely amazing, with beautiful scenery and flowing singletrack that was effortless on our 70 pound bikes leading to the water crossing at the bottom. Keneth and I pulled out our Waders and safely navigated the crossing. Kenneth tossed his over to Jamie who pulled them on to prepare his crossing. Right as I looked away, I heard cursing behind and I turned around to see Jamie and his bike halfway in the water. At this point it was around -15f outside, Kenneth and Jamie quickly set to getting him dry clothes. Their teamwork and efficiency paid off and Jamie was able to continue on to the next checkpoint. We hit the river near the Rohn Checkpoint that night and the weather was really starting to ramp up. Not quite white out conditions but the wind was going crazy, the snow was flying and the temperature drop was noticeable once hitting the river. The trail entrance off the river had been blown over, which caused a lot of confusion from other riders including myself. The search for the checkpoint was on. When I spotted lights ahead of me, I biked toward them only to find a racer who looked like a zombie. When I asked if he was okay, he could barely answer. I later found out he had been lost on the river for a couple hours.
I knew I had to find the checkpoint right away. After studying the GPS I was able to find where the trail exited the woods and backtracked to find the checkpoint. Once I found the location, I was able to signal a couple riders over using my headlamp and we rode into the location to enjoy 2 hot brats and a good 5 hours of sleep.
The next morning Kenneth and I were set to make it to the midway point between Rohn and Nikolai, a small safety cabin that would allow us to dry gear and sleep out of the elements which was important given the daily forecast showed a low of -35. Jamie decided to stay back for a couple hours to get more rest and ensure all his gear was dried out. We later found out after finishing he had quite the scary adventure which involved frozen hubs and pushing his bike for 40 miles. He is a tough man.
The temps were very cold when we set out on the river and we found ourselves off the main trail, but after talking it through we decided we could continue to navigate the frozen river until a little creek would lead us back on track. This likely caused a few hours of delay; however being surrounded by beautiful mountains it was hard to feel disappointed by route errors.
The next 30 miles were crazy, full of steep hike-a-bikes and fast downhills. We were pushing the pace pretty hard and probably neglected eating enough that day which came to bite us about 5 miles away from the cabin. 5 miles doesn’t sound like much but at the pace of this part of the trail it could be an hour and a half or more. All of a sudden Kenneth dropped to one knee and said, “Zach I am done”. I was taken off guard but checked in with my riding companion and suggested we set up bivies right away in which he agreed. As we were getting our gear out and ready, Kenneth was grabbing gear out of his packs with no gloves at what we later found to be -45. His finger tips turned white and we knew we had to do something quick. While he attempted to warm them with hand warmers I grabbed my stove and fired it up in hopes this would also help quickly fix the situation. Ultimately, Kenneth got on top of the issue right away and avoided any major long term frost bite damage. Thankfully. We both agreed the next day's push would need to be smart and that we would need to ensure we stopped to fuel ourselves often to avoid any repeat situations. We were extremely lucky that we stayed warm that night and were able to get going the following day after consuming some decent calories.
On our way to Nikolai we were treated to beautiful lakes filled with pine and aspen portages. These portages were also filled with constant rollers that basically sucked away your momentum. We pedalled consistently stopping along the way to eat and drink with our hopes set on getting to Nikolai before sundown. The final 5 mile stretch we both put our heads down and hammered our way to the warmth of the Nikolai Community Center where there were two cheeseburgers, tang, and a beautiful cot was waiting for us. This is also where we got our first glimpse and chatter about the toll the cold (frostbite) was having on racers. This confirmed to us that we made the right decision getting over the Pass before the extreme weather hit. This checkpoint was a great place to catch up with other racers and text Rachel to let her know we were all good since they had wifi. I took advantage of the many clotheslines to dry all my frozen wet gear from the past two days.
Kenneth and I decided to wait until the sun was starting to rise for our final 47 mile stretch to Mcgrath. With -40 temps we figured we would attempt to ride in as much of the daylight as possible, not knowing how the trail would be moving forward. Some folks said it was a 12-14 hour push so we were ready for another big day ahead of us. I have experienced squeaky slow snow in the past, but the first 5 miles out of Nikolai was the slowest trail I have ever ridden. I was in my granny gear working hard just to maintain 3 miles an hour. As soon as the sun hit the trail the snow began much easier to pedal and it was game on. Kenneth led the charge most of the final day pacing with perfection. We ensured we stopped to eat and hydrate along the trail to help keep the bonk at bay. The hours flew by as we travelled through lakes and forests and then we reached higher country near the mining area. Our saddles bounced from the divots left behind on moose trafficked slow rollers that stretched on for what felt like miles of this section of trail. These rollers also lead to the only real road I had seen since beginning this journey on Sunday. We knew we were getting close. After riding about 5 miles of road we turned the corner and we could finally see the finish. It took us 5 days and 4 hours to complete this journey with a total of 64 hours in the saddle.
The lodge welcomed us where we relaxed for a couple days, ate well and shared stories while we waited for the small plane to take us back to Anchorage. I absolutely loved the experiences I took in from the trail during this adventure and I can now see why so many people are drawn to Anchorage every year to write a new epic.
