Our favorite photos from the Iditarod ceremonial start in Anchorage

Under bluebird skies, the mushers competing in the 2023 Iditarod waved to spectators and were cheered on by fans during their 11-mile tour through Anchorage.

By Emily Mesner, Loren Holmes, Bob Hallinen, Anne Raup

Updated: March 5, 2023 Published: March 5, 2023

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Mille Porsild, from Denmark, makes the Cordova Corner during the ceremonial start of the 2023 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage on Saturday, March 4, 2023. (Bob Hallinen Photo)

Under bluebird skies Saturday, the 33 mushers competing in the 2023 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race drove their dog teams along city streets and wooded trails for the race’s ceremonial start, waving to spectators and receiving cheers and high-fives from fans during their 11-mile tour through Anchorage.

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Why this year’s smallest-ever Iditarod field might not be a bad thing

Teen who bested some of mushing’s big dogs tops junior field to earn spot at Iditarod ceremonial start

Emily Mesner

Emily Mesner is a multimedia journalist for the Anchorage Daily News. She previously worked for the National Park Service at Denali National Park and Preserve and the Western Arctic National Parklands in Kotzebue, at the Cordova Times and at the Jackson Citizen Patriot in Jackson, Michigan.

Loren Holmes

Loren Holmes is a staff photojournalist at the Anchorage Daily News. Contact him at loren@adn.com.

Bob Hallinen

Bob Hallinen has been a photojournalist in Alaska since the 1980s and has traveled extensively all over the state. He retired from the ADN in November 2018 after 33 years at the newspaper.

Anne Raup

Multimedia editor Anne Raup has been with ADN for 26 years, both as a staff shooter and an editor.