The ceremonial start of the 33rd annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across the US state of Alaska began in Anchorage on March 5, 2005, at 10 am AKST (19:00 UTC), and restarted in Willow the next day at 2 pm (23:00 UTC). After covering of wilderness, musher Robert Sørlie, an airport firefighter from Norway, crossed the finish line under the "burled arch" in Nome on March 16 at 8:39 am AKST (17:39 UTC). After taking care of his dogs, and an inspection to make sure all the mandatory equipment was in his sled, Sørlie was declared the winner by Race Marshal Mark Norman, with a time of 9 days, 18 hours, 39 minutes, and 31 seconds and won US$72,066.67 and a new truck. When asked how it felt to win a second time, Sørlie said "it feels good, I'm ready for breakfast." His team of dogs averaged 4.65 mi/h (7.58 km/h). The Red Lantern in last was Phil Morgan, an Alaska Airlines pilot, and when he crossed the finish line on March 21 at 8:02 pm AKST (March 22, 5:02 UTC), the Widow's Lantern hanging on the burled arch was extinguished, which signaled the end of the race.
Sørlie became the first non-U.S. resident to win the race in 2003, and the similarities between his two victories are striking. In both races he was plagued by insomnia, pulled ahead by the halfway point of the race, managed to hold on to a sizeable but diminishing lead, and was reduced to 8 of 16 dogs by the finish. Both races were also slowed by poor trail conditions, which was caused by unseasonably warm weather with daily highs that hovered just above freezing.
The finishers banquet was held on March 20, and 62 of 63 mushers had crossed the finish line and were able to attend. Bjørnar Andersen won the Rookie of the Year Award, with the best place by a rookie since 1976. Martin Buser, who lost part of a finger in a table-saw accident less than a week before the race and had exposed nerves trimmed by a veterinarian, finished 12th, winning both the Sportsmanship and the Most Inspirational Musher awards. The Golden Harness was given to Whitestock, one of Sørlie's lead dogs. (ITC, March 21, 2005)
Sixteen other mushers scratched, including the only five-time champion of the Iditarod, Rick Swenson, and the legally blind Rachael Scdoris, who caused a media sensation at the start of the race. The top 30 arrived in Nome by the end of March 17 AKST. By the end of March 20 all but one musher had arrived in Nome. Note: All times are Alaska Standard Time/AKST (UTC-9).
March 5: Ceremonial start Ceremonial start Anchorage to Campbell Airstrip: Highway Campbell Airstrip to Willow: Restart Willow to Yetna: See Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race for rest of route Modified distance: Anchorage to Campbell Airstrip: The ceremonial start of the 33rd annual Iditarod race began at 10 am Alaska Standard Time on March 5, 2005, in Anchorage. The first "bib" position out of the starting chute on Fourth Avenue and D Street was reserved for honorary musher Jirdes Winther Baxter, the last known survivor of the children who were saved from a diphtheria epidemic by the historic 1925 serum run to Nome. Baxter rode out of the starting chute on Fourth Avenue and D Street in the sled of 15-year-old Melissa Owens, who won the 138-mile (222 km) Junior Iditarod on February 27, with a time of 1 day, 51 minutes, and 27 seconds. Earlier in the year, Owens also placed second in the Junior Yukon Quest.
Separated by intervals of at least two minutes, the competitors departed starting at 10:02 am. The last team left at 12:53 pm. In addition to the musher and the team of 12 dogs, each dog sled also carried a family member or friend, and an "Idita-Rider". The Idita-Riders seats were auctioned off in January, and raised a total of US$140,021, with an average bid of US$1,918.09. The auction was held entirely online for the first time in 2005.
The teams passed through of city streets lined with an estimated 100,000 people. The temperature was . Due to the warm weather and poor trail conditions, the first leg of the race was shortened by the Iditarod Trail Committee on February 27, and ended at Campbell Airstrip from Anchorage, instead of the traditional checkpoint away at Eagle River.
March 6: Restart in Willow Restart at Willow: From the Airstrip the teams were shipped by truck to the restart point, which is normally at the Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla. Due to inclement weather the restart was moved north to Willow, and the checkpoint at Knik was skipped.
The time to Nome is calculated from Sunday, March 6, at 2 pm when the first team departed from Willow Lake. The remaining teams left, staggered by two-minute intervals, until the last departed at 4:36 pm. Each departing team had up to the maximum of 16 dogs, and no more can be added during the race.
In 2004, the starting time of the race was pushed back from 10 am. Sled dogs perform better in temperatures close to , and this allows mushers to run their teams through the cold of the night until they cross the Alaska Range into the Interior. Among the last three to leave were previous Iditarod winners Martin Buser and Jeff King, who entered the race at the last minute in order to secure a late starting position.
An estimated 12,000 to 15,000 fans watched the restart, and the area was thronged by snowmobiles (snowmachines, in Alaska), bonfire parties, and between 4,000 and 5,000 cars. The chaos is hard on the dogs, who are accustomed to the wilderness; Kelly Griffin's team ran into the crowd before steering back on course.http://www.adn.com/sports/story/6241131p-6120220c.html
Yentna: Jessie Royer was the first to arrive at Yetna Station on March 6 at 5:37 pm, and Rachael Scdoris was the last at 9:34 pm. The top 10 mushers departed within an hour of each other, and the top 30 within two hours.
Skwentna: An early lead pack developed as Jessica Henricks, the 2003 Rookie of the Year,http://www.ktuu.com/CMS/templates/master.asp?articleid=12347&zoneid=8 became the first to arrive at Skwentna on March 6 at 8:59 pm, followed by DeeDee Jonrowe almost 30 minutes later, and then Phil Morgan, Rick Swenson, and Mike Williams. Scdoris was the last to arrive at 7:31 am the next day. Hans Gatt departed first, at 10:28 pm. The top 10 departed within 2 hours of each other, and the top 30 within 6 hours.
G. B. Jones became the first musher to scratch from the race, on March 7 in Skwentna. The Iditarod veteran indicated he had problems with sled quality, his lead dogs, and personal health ever since the restart in Willow.
March 7: Alaska Range The heat and soft snow slowed the race, and the glare off the snow was blinding during the day.
Finger Lake: Melanie Gould arrived first at Finger Lake on March 8 at 5:38 am, followed by Hendricks at 5:50 am, and then Swenson and Jonrowe an hour later. Dallas Seavey was the last to arrive at 6:59 pm. Jonrowe was the first depart, at 7:02 am, followed by Swenson a minute later, and Lance Mackey, Mike Williams, Robert Sørlie, and Buser within the hour. The top 10 (15) departed within 2 hours, and the top 30 within four hours.
Happy Valley Gorge leading up to Rainy Pass is hazardous in regular years, but in 2005 the trail conditions were miserable, especially for the mushers at the back. Snowmachines left frozen wakes, and the leading dogsleds riddled the trail with potholes, some more than deep.
Other notable crashes on the way to Rainy Pass: "Visual interpreter" Paul Ellering lost two-way communication with Scdoris when his radio was destroyed in a crash.http://www.adn.com/iditarod/news/story/6250940p-6128071c.html Jacques Philips caught his hand between a tree and the handle bar on his sled while coming up Happy Valley Gorge. His hand was either broken or dislocated, and required medical treatment so Philips scratched in Rainy Pass on March 7. In 1985, Philip was the first French musher to race in the Iditarod, and is a three-time winner of the European Alpirod dog sled race. Judy Merrit fell and was knocked unconscious while traversing the Happy Valley Gorge. She remained at Rainy Pass lodge for two days, before scratching on March 9, citing a concussion, persistent headaches, and fatigued dogs.http://www.iditarod.com/pdffiles/media/pr2005-03-09_1.pdf She later said "the steps and the gorge are my dragon".http://www.ktuu.com/CMS/templates/master.asp?articleid=12364&zoneid=8
Rainy Pass: While making the long climb to the Rainy Pass Lodge on Puntilla Lake, DeeDee Jonrowe hit a snowmobile sitting on the trail, and sheared off a bolt connecting the runner to her sled. She still arrived first, on March 7 at 10:27 am. Dallas Seavey, the last to arrive at 10:53 am the next day, lost two runners on the way in. Former runner-up Ramy Brooks was the first to depart, at 12:11 pm. The top 10 all left within 6 hours, and the top 30 within 8 hours.
From the lodge, the route crosses through Rainy Pass in the Alaska Range, then descends into the Interior. A helicopter observed a woman crashing multiple times along the steep descent known as the Dalzell Gorge.
Rohn: Sørlie starts to set the pace across the Interior. He is the first to arrive in Rohn, on March 7 at 7:08 pm, followed by Buser almost two hours later. Brooks is again the first to depart, at 10:42 pm, as the early leaders start to pull away from the pack. The top 10 depart in 6 hours, and the top 30 in about 9 hours.
On the way to Nikolai, Swingley broke a runner and lost a pad on his sled while negotiating the wildfire badlands of the Farewell Burn. Scdoris suffered scratches and a large bruise on her hip after crashing into a tree, after her snow hook snagged on the ground.
Sonny Lindner from Michigan became the third to scratch on March 8, citing health problems. Lindner was the 1984 winner of the Yukon Quest.
March 8 Nikolai: Sørlie continues to set the pace by arriving first at Nikolai on March 8 at 11:16 am, followed by Brooks and Jonrowe about an hour later. Sørlie is also the first to depart, at 5:09 pm. The 10 fastest mushers follow quickly, in just over 3 hours, but the top 30 now lag up to 11 hours apart. Sørlie has insomnia, just like he did when he won in 2003, though his dogs are resting well.
McGrath:. Sørlie wins the Spirit of Alaska Award when he arrives at the hub of the Interior first, on March 8 at 10:40 pm. He continued on just four minutes later. The top 10 are stretched over about hours, and the top 30 over about 21 hours.
On March 10 Rick Swenson, the only five-time winner of the race, scratched for the first time, citing concern for his dogs. He had left McGrath, arrived at Taknotna, and was on his way to Ophir when he returned all the way to McGrath, the central hub for dropped dogs in the Interior. Swenson reported he was down to 11 dogs, and needed to drop two, which would have left him with only 9 dogs in harness. Swenson was first "King of the Iditarod", with a string of three victories in five years in the 1970s, and wins in both the 1980s and the 1990s. From his first race, he has only missed two races in 31 years. Five dogs were injured when he arrived in McGrath before turning back.http://www.ktuu.com/CMS/templates/master.asp?articleid=12404&zoneid=8
Gary McKellar scratched at McGrath on March 12, after resting his team overnight. McKellar cited concerns about his team's performance and their well-being. McKellar was the Red Lantern in last place.
March 9 When arguing for stricter emission limits during the debate over the "Clear Skies" bill, Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) used the northerly shift of the restart location as an example of global warming.
Takotna: Sørlie became the first to arrive at Takotna on March 9 at 0:42 am, followed by Brooks, Jonrowe, and Ally Zirkle. Sørlie is the first to depart at 6:54 am. The top 10 follow within 8 hours, and the top 30 within 28 hours.
Andersen from Norway and Swingley from Montana began to travel together. Andersen was Swingley's dog handler in 2000, after meeting at a Norway convention.