by John Wallace
Photos by John Wallace
Nome, AK- A resurgence of dogsled mushing got a serious boost early Wednesday morning as Bethel musher Pete Kaiser crossed under the Burled Arch in Nome to win the 2019 Iditarod Trail race. Kaiser arrived into the Finish Line at 3:39 am just 12 minutes before 2018 Champion Joar Leifseth-Ulsom. Good friends, but fierce competitors, both young men have battled many times before in races in Alaska.
A crowd of many hundreds were gathered at the Finish Line to welcome Pete and his Team of 8 dogs and celebrate his victory and the realization of his childhood dream. Over 70 people from Bethel had made their way to Nome in anticipation of the win and were in a special section of the chute so they could gather together and cheer this incredible achievement.
A crowd of many hundreds were gathered at the Finish Line to welcome Pete and his Team of 8 dogs and celebrate his victory and the realization of his childhood dream. Over 70 people from Bethel had made their way to Nome in anticipation of the win and were in a special section of the chute so they could gather together and cheer this incredible achievement.
As the Team came into Nome, the town siren announced the Team entering Front Street. A small group of King Island dancers began drumming and soon the crowd could see the police escort and the Team pulling the sled into the chute. Iditarod announcer Greg Heister told the crowd that this was the biggest crowd he had seen from the Mackey years. Race manager Mark Nordman expressed later that it was the best Iditarod Finish he had ever seen.
After 9 previous attempts, in which his best finish was fifth, Kaiser pumped his fists to celebrate the victory as the crowd went wild. Stopping the sled, he ran up and hugged his wife Bethany and their two kids, Ari and Aylee. Overcome with emotion, his face wet with sweat and tears, he then looked to the crowd and his immediate family waiting at the Finish line.
After signing in, receiving the promotional check and keys to the new truck he saw the group of Bethel; his friends, neighbors, family and friends. It was an emotional scene as he ran to the edge of the chute and everyone wanted to hug this young hero to Southwest Alaska and all parts of Rural Alaska.
Kaiser, 32, has been “mushing dogs since he was a kid”, as his biography states, After giving college a try, he returned home and told his parents he wanted to be a professional dogsled musher. The kennel was started by his father, Ron and Bill Eisenbart. They competed in the early Kuskokwim 300 race and other races. Kaiser’s mushing roots go even farther back, as his Grandfather Alex Hately used dog teams for mining and transportation as well as in his role as a traveling Game Warden.
Kaiser has developed the kennel into a professional operation that now includes 45 dogs, each with their own custom deck to keep them out of water and mud. The Team of 14 dogs that started the race and 8 in harness were all born in the Kaiser Racing Kennel that Pete manages now.
The kennel has grown large enough that a dog handler has been part of the operation for several years. This year, Niklas Wikstrand, from Norway also ran a younger B Team in the Iditarod after helping Pete for the last three years. Unfortunately, Niklas decided to scratch in Kaltag in the best interest of the young team.
Kaiser was in the lead pack for most of the race. He was joined by Nicolas Petit, Joar Leifseth-Ulsom, and Jessie Royer. Much of the race action was dominated by Petit, Ulsom, and Kaiser.
As the Teams made their way up the coast out of Unalakleet, Petit’s Team faltered and the race to Nome was on between Kaiser and Ulsom.
After leaving White Mountain for the next 55 mile run to Safety 42 minutes before Ulsom, the two Teams passed through the final checkpoint with the same interval– 42 minutes.
In the last 22 miles from Safety to Nome, Joar was able to make up over 30 minutes to arrive 12 minutes behind Kaiser. In the end it became the 7th closest race in the 47 runs of the race.
The 998 mile race from Willow to Nome began on Saturday, March 2 with the Ceremonial Start in Anchorage. On March 3, Teams were restarted in Willow. Kaiser finished with an elapsed time of 9 days 12 hours 39 minutes and 6 seconds. He wins a $51241 check and a $40000 Dodge Truck. He also won two other trail awards, the Bristol Bay Native Corporation’s FISH FIRST ($2000 and Artwork) for being first to Kaltag, and the Northrim Bank Achieve More Award ($2000) for being first to Koyuk.
His leader, Morrow, was awarded the Golden Harness award. This award is voted upon by the mushers, and is given to the most outstanding lead dog in the race. Morrow is a 7 year old female who has 3 Iditarods under her belt.
On Sunday at the awards banquet in Nome, Kaiser was formally presented with his winnings and prizes. He thanked his sponsors, family, and shared that he was grateful for all of their support and then spoke to the crowd about the importance of his win to others in Rural Alaska by showing that dreams can be achieved with hard work and perseverance.
Kaiser Racing Kennel has a large web and facebook community that is active anytime Pete and the Team are on the trail that includes photos, articles, and other videos and media. It can be found at www.kaiserracing.com
Kaiser will return to Bethel in the coming week and a community celebration is being planned.
photos by Diana Haecker
