Fairbanks provides a frosty sendoff for Iditarod racers

FAIRBANKS — The thing you have to remember about the weather in March here is that a 30-degree temperature swing is not uncommon from the morning chill to the heat of the afternoon.

That's what competitors in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race looked forward to after gathering near the Chena River early this morning, a mile or so from the airport where the official low was 38 below at 8 a.m..

Hours before it began to warm, dozens of dog trucks, trailers and hundreds of dogs assembled in a large plowed field more than a quarter-mile from the start.

Not bad weather for dogs, but tough on some machinery. One dog truck broke down and was towed into position by one of the Seavey family trucks.

Dallas Seavey and his father, Mitch, have won the race for five years in a row, a streak they hope to continue and one that a wide range of other top Iditarod finishers hope to end.

The dogs stayed calm in their beds, but once the small army of handlers began putting them in the team as the sun climbed, the dogs started a nonstop racket that continued for hours.

At two-minute intervals, racers left the start line at 11 a.m. under cold blue skies and brilliant sunshine, made all the more intense by the reflection off the snow. Thousands of people spent the morning and mid-day hours watching racers take off, applauding in mittens and watching their cell phone cameras freeze. Among them were an estimated 2,700 school kids.

Spectators, at least those who stayed comfortable, were bundled up like mushers, fashionably attired in bunny boots, hooded parkas or insulated coveralls. People who have lived in Fairbanks for more than a few minutes are used to this kind of weather and they know that temperature readings can be misleading.

When the nightly temperatures edge close to 40 below in December and January, the sun doesn't get much above the treeline and it doesn't warm up during the day. But by the time March rolls around, with 11 hours of sunshine, you need sunglasses to deal with the welcome glare.

While the official airport temperature showed 19 below, the airport sign across from Pike's Landing flashed a hint of warmer weather. By 11:30 a.m., when defending champion Dallas Seavey left the starting line with his foot hard on the brakes, the airport sign claimed it was 7 below.

By most accounts, the logistics for the thousands of fans who gathered to watch the 2017 restart showed the benefits of lessons learned from two years ago, when the race last started along the Chena River because of poor trail conditions.

Most of the spectators who stood alongside the chute that stretched from near Airport Way down to the Chena River traveled to the start area by shuttle buses, as most private traffic was restricted to ease congestion.

There is always congestion and commotion that has to be dealt with at the start and managed by the mushers. The veterans took it all in stride.

Jeff King, who is among three mushers in the race looking for that elusive fifth victory, said he likes the challenges, one of which will be minus-35 temperatures at night.

"If you haven't traveled by dog team on the Yukon River under a full moon, you haven't lived yet," said King.

"Being in a hurry is what's hard," he said. "We're trying to walk that line of going as fast as we can without tipping over and getting exhausted."

"It's a thousand miles on a dog sled, there's so many things that can happen."