Helen Hegener

OPINION: Nellie Lawing, whose exploits at her Kenai Lake lodge were once the talk of the town around the world, deserves to have a tombstone that matches her stalwart demonstration of Alaska's best spirit.

Though many mushers have already arrived in Fairbanks to revel in the glory of finishing the grueling Yukon Quest, mushers are still trickling in, chasing some glory of their own.

The Northern Lights 300 is using a new trail this year thanks to sloppy snow conditions, and this means snowmachiners should be careful in several Mat-Su riding spots.

The Denali Doubles, a unique sled dog race utilizing two-person teams and unusual sled configurations, makes a comeback in 2013 after being absent for the past two years.

Even as mushers and race organizers contend with continued low snow cover around Alaska, a few races kicked off in December and gave spectators a thrill.

The Yukon Quest, what might be the world's toughest sled-dog race, will again see world-class coverage by a team of photographers and filmmakers tracking mushers' progress.

A new book by a former Californian fashion photographer looks to put the lens on some of mushing's hardest-working athletes: Iditarod dogs.

The vibe at Moon Run Kennels is relaxed, welcoming, and dog-friendly (“We don’t need no stinkin’ leashes!”). Now they can claim a Yukon Quest finishing team.

A British media company is making waves on the Yukon Quest trail this year for dynamic, riveting video and photography.

Yukon Quest and Iditarod veteran Sebastian Schnuelle may have retired from mushing, but the mushing spirit is alive and well in his expert analysis of this year's 1,000-mile Quest.

A wacky season of mushing continued over the weekend when extreme cold and deep snow forced the cancellation of the Copper Basin 300.

This weekend's Knik 200 Sled Dog Race was a squeaker, offering a crowd-pleasing -- though ultimately confusing -- finish between mushers Lance Mackey and Jake Berkowitz.

The upcoming Knik 200-Joe Redington Sr. Memorial Dog Race may be a shorter race than the Iditarod and Yukon Quest, but it's an important step for several high-profile mushers looking to qualify for those longer races.

The sled dog racing season kicked off in grand fashion over the weekend, with the Sheep Mountain 150, the Alaska Excursions 120 and the Two Rivers Dog Mushers Solstice 100 providing crowd-pleasingly close races.

Before Ray Mala became the biggest movie star to ever come from Alaska, he became famous in another, less likely way: by filming an iconic newsreel of the 1925 Serum Run to Nome.