Skiers who have skied the Iditarod to Nome

Adventurers wanting to ski the Iditarod Trail generally need to follow the trail set each winter by the Iditarod Dog-sled Race.  In even years that is a Northern Route, in odd years it is normally a Southern route, and in low-snow or warm winters it is a route starting in or near Fairbanks (the "Serum Route").  This map has a general outline of the three routes (Note, In 2003 the skiers started in Nenana and did not take the detour to Shageluk that the mushers took--they went straight from Kaltag to Unalakleet). There may be other variations from year-to-year based on conditions each winter.  

Here is a list of the known folks who have skied one of the three routes.  The source of the data through 1991 is Tim Kelley and his excellent book, Trails that Never End.  The newer data comes from the Iditarod Trail invitational (the “ITI”) website.  As far as I can tell, only eleven people have made the trip on skis: eight on the Northern Route (including one who started in Nome and skied to Southcentral Alaska), two on the Serum Route, and one on the Southern Route.

Name	Year	(day:hr:min)	Event	Approximate Distance	Route
Christian Sterr	2003	30:00:00	ITI	800	Serum
Barbara Schwarzmann	2003	30:00:00	ITI	800	Serum
Dave Norona	2000	33:04:30	Iditasport	950	Northern
Kevin Vallely	2000	33:04:30	Iditasport	950	Northern
Andy Sterns	2000	44:00:00	Iditasport	950	Northern
Bo Fusco	1991	53:00:00	Expedition	1050*	Southern
Bob Baker	1990	23:05:04	Nome Odyssey	980**	Northern
Tim Kelley	1990	23:05:04	Nome Odyssey	980**	Northern
Jan Kralik	1986	42:00:00	Expedition	950	Northern (Nome to Knik)
Dolly Lafever	1980	40:00:00	Expedition	950	Northern
Mike Sallee	1980	40:00:00	Expedition	950	Northern

*Included a 10-day stop to recover from food poisoning in the vicinity of Grayling and a 78-mile detour from Solomon to Council and back. 

** Bob and Tim started in Anchorage and Skied to Eagle River, they then drove to Wasilla and skied from there to the start of the Iditarod in Knik. 

One question you might ask is: how many might have done it and not recorded it in the early days of Alaska adventures?  If there were any ski expeditions 50-100 years ago, I think they would have taken the Yukon River from Fairbanks. However, if you google "Gold Rush Alaska" and "bicycle" or "walk" you get a lot of responses, but if you try "ski", there aren't any pictures of Alaska gold rush folks with skis on. Without modern skis (or even with modern skis) it is not an easy trip. 

As to more modern, off-the-radar attempts, Tim Kelley had this to say:  "You covered the skiers I know of. That could be it. But ... there could possibly be more. The reason I say this ... is due to having a cabin and recreating in the Susitna and Yentna drainages for 25+ years. It seems that often in late winter you can be skiing or snowmobiling down the river trails and you come across a lone skier or walker pulling a sled, or a lone fat biker. You stop and chat with them. They are from out of state or Europe and attempting to do the Iditarod on their own, and not with an organized event like ITI. You give them advice and encouragement and off they go. But you never hear if they made it to Nome or not. So there is a pretty good chance that there is someone out there that skied the trail in the days before social media, where it would have been "unnoticed" by most. But that is just a guess. As for the "official" ski list ... I think you have it."

If you know of one of those mystery skiers or if you have any questions or thoughts, please leave me a comment below.