Opinion Forum -- dog team vs snowmachine:

~ from Joan G - No one at fault, yet dogs injured?

~ from Linda D. - and what about the Moose that died for the meat?  Why do these sports have to harm animals.  If a person wants to be harmed they make the conscious decision to do so - do the animals get that same choice.  No they just do what the owner wants because they trust that individual....

~ from Joyce - hey Tina Fey this might be new material for Saturday Night Live.

~ from mackey13 - as for the one who stated that mushers think they own these trails its people like you with that thought that are out on these trails riding reckless not paying attention that are running in to these dog teams .it don't matter if it was a jr musher or an adult musher the snowmachiner was at fault and FYI it is a heck of a lot easier stopping a machine than it is stopping a dog team. And how many stories do we read about dog teams hitting snow machines its snowmachines hitting dogteams.... why don't everyone just ride &drive with caution......????????

~ from manderdog1 - You can sometimes be right, or you can sometimes be DEAD RIGHT, But to be smart right is best. Insist on a marked trail. The fact is, there was only one way to avoid this incident, and many more likely to follow, and that is for the States OFFICIAL Sport since 1972, to wise up! and FLAG IT'S RACE COURSES with orange pie plates with black X'S on them, like all other non official state sports do when they are using multi-use trails to hold their events on.. Then everyone would know to be aware and possibly slow or to stop. But with the laughable superior ? attitudes displayed on here, I think you can look forward to a new State designation, Dog sled racing.....Alaska' s deadliest sport. And the Iron Dog Race doesn't use the Iditarod mushing trail? It uses a series of multi use trails to Nome and then to Fairbanks, I believe they actually break trail for the Iditarod Race, that's why they leave earlier, and they both flag the trail...What a concept, flagging ! ! !

~ from anonymous - Last I checked, dog mushing was Alaska's Official State Sport, not snowmachining. Kudos to choctawdogmusher - you're right. Snowmachines are required to yield to mushers. The mushing/skijoring rules of etiquette require the smaller team yield to the larger - it's a matter of who has better control. akangler85 - mushing made this land, not snowmachines. The Iron DOG uses the Iditarod MUSHING trail, not the other way 'round. Why don't YOU study the rules of trail use and etiquette.

~ from mo1612 - Kudos to the Reddingtons and Smyth and everyone else who stopped racing to help out. Great show of Outstanding Sportsmanship. I am grateful no human was injured. I hope Miss Mapes' pups are doing okay. Snowmachiners, please slow down and share the trail. There are plenty of open trails, away from where mushers train, you can go kill yourselves on. Where there are mushers please don't risk injuring others or pups. SLOW DOWN when you know you are in a heavily used area. Not just for mushers but for other snowmachiners too. AKangler, seriously, dog teams are going under 10 mph. When is the last time you slowed to under 20 for an intersection?? You speak of road ethics but don't even know who has the right of way.

~ from choctawdogmusher - Akangler, dog teams DO have the right of way on trails. Stopping at every intersection can be difficult for dog teams. Stopping a team takes much more time and effort than stopping a snowmachine (you have to stand on the brake, slow them down, yell whoa and hope they stop, set a hook, etc.) Even then, your gangline is long enough that you may not be able to see through the intersection unless your lead dogs are already through it. A snowmachine does not have that problem. I agree with mush4dogs- it could have easily been anything else. He was going too fast for conditions.

~ from akangler85 - these musher just run on these trails like they own the thing don't stop at intersections at all they think they have the right of way you have to be considerate and stop if u are crossing a main trail road one that is used more then the one you are on. this hole deal is out of inexperience on the mushers part kids doesn't even have a drivers licence so he doesn't understand road ethics.

~ from mush4dogs - It doesn't have as much to do with snowmachiners and mushers sharing the trail as it has to do with poor driving. There seems to be a big assumption that people driving the snowmachines are just driving at a higher rate of speed than the dogsleds and that causes the accidents. On our trails, children much too young to be operating machinery are out driving at break-neck speed, taking jumps and fishtailing around corners. A lot of people old enough to know better race between villages and brag about how fast they got from point A to point B. And alcohol is always a problem. It really is driving irresponsibly versus driving safely. You cannot equate it to riding a bike on a freeway where high rates of speed are expected. It is easy to be surprised by a dog team looming up in front of you, but it could just as easily be a moose, a downed tree, or someone walking because their own snowmachine broke down. Just because you can go fast, doesn't mean you should.

~ from sedna101 - I know most of us, and Alaskans in particular, don't like being told what to do, or having tons of laws. But as I said, laws are agreements of how we behave towards each other. Laws are made when people do not take responsibility for their own actions. And how great is it that Erin Redington SCRATCHED to help? THAT shows real character and strength. Many kudos to her! Same goes for Ryan, who took Porkchop in his sled, back to the clubhouse. That is one FINE family with excellent values. And Cim Smyth, who is always a class act, does it again: splits his winnings with Erin! WOW. You know, you don't hear about this kind of behavior in other sports; one of MANY reasons why I love the sled dog races. These are truly people to admire, and for young people to emulate!

~ from seahorse - New laws need to be set for this. We couldn't believe all the deaths of the Iditarod dogs because driving on a frozen river doesn't count as drunk driving. Maybe it is time to start protecting the dogs as with such high irresponsible snowmachiners will kill a person and many more dogs--is that what it will take?

~ from kelley_g - Be aware that RACES ARE NOT THE ONLY TIME dog teams and others are out there. I've nearly been hit while racing (Iditarod) but more often my close calls were during the day while training. A dog team can be 75 feet long, traveling 8 to 18 mph. It takes longer to clear an intersection than it takes for a machine to "show up out of nowhere". Consider too, that dog teams will most likely be found on a hard packed surface, while machines can be anywhere. Snowmachine drivers cannot hear a musher yelling (I know), people wearing hats and parka hoods can't hear well either. Peripheral vision is impaired by clothing and helmets. The timing of this kind of thing happens all the time, not just once in a million years. Please ride only as fast as you can see and react. Trails and back country are not like roads with visibility designed into them. And I would like to thank all the snowmachiners that have seen me in time to avoid collisions in the past and future! Happy Trails to All!

Below is the article

Competing mushers help after snowmachine hits dog team

By RINDI WHITE rwhite@adn.com

Published: December 31st, 2008 09:57 PM

WASILLA Alaska -- A dog team-snowmachine collision at a trail intersection near the Little Susitna River left two dogs injured, a 15-year-old musher shaken, the machine damaged, a good Samaritan rewarded and everyone involved calling for more awareness on local trails as winter activity ramps up.

Knik resident Meredith Mapes, who competed last year in the Junior Iditarod, was mushing Sunday afternoon in Day Two of the Aurora 50/50 race.

Mapes and her team of eight dogs were on the race route where it veers just off the historic Iditarod Trail, which runs from Knik to the Susitna River. Snowmachiner Dean Cherrier of Anchorage was running down an intersecting trail that links the state-owned Little Susitna Public Use Facility, about 34 miles south of Wasilla, to the Iditarod and other area trails.

Mapes said she heard a snowmachine approaching and slowed but couldn't stop. Cherrier said he didn't have time to swerve or even slow down when he saw Mapes. Trees and a small hill obscure the view of the intersection.

"The timing was something that would have never happened again in a million years," Cherrier said.

Cherrier's machine drove into the middle of the dog team and tangled in the cable gangline. The impact broke four of the dogs' leads and they got loose. One lead dog, Porkchop, was apparently pulled backward into the path of the machine and ended up with four fractured metatarsals on his right hind foot and cuts on his left hind leg. Another dog, Captain, bruised his eye.

Parts of Cherrier's snowmachine cowling and his windshield were ripped off when he slid through the gangline.

Neither Mapes nor Cherrier was hurt.

Musher Erin Redington was in third place in the race, but she scratched to help tow Mapes and her sled back to the Aurora Clubhouse near Big Lake. Another competitor, Ray Redington, also stopped. He loaded the injured dog, Porkchop, in his sled and continued racing back to the clubhouse. Three of the four loose dogs were rounded up and also carried back. One, Logo, eluded efforts to catch her and spent the night on the trail.

Other mushers, like winner Cim Smyth, had tried to stop but couldn't keep their teams still. Smyth and his team won the race but he split his $500 in winnings with Erin Redington as a thank-you for helping Mapes.

Back at the clubhouse, Meredith's mom was anxiously waiting. Amid the chaos at the intersection, Meredith had taken time for a quick cell phone call.

"I tried to call her and say 'Mom, my team got hit by a snowmachine.' She heard 'Mom, hit, snowmachine,' " Meredith said.

Fortunately, her daughter's calm tone on the phone indicated the situation wasn't dire, said Marilyn Mapes, the mom.

Alaska State Troopers were called, but no charges were pressed. Trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said unless a human is injured, the snowmachiner drinking or the incident was a deliberate attack, troopers generally don't get involved.

Aurora organizers say they plan to put up more and bigger signs at trailheads and intersections in hopes of preventing another run-in. It's unclear whether signs were visible at this intersection on race day.

Marilyn Mapes said all trail users should be on the watch for others, especially at busy intersections.

"A lot of races use the same trail that this race was on. There are other races coming up. And there are a lot of us that train out on those trails," she said.

Back at home Monday night, Meredith Mapes was on the floor with a groggy Porkchop, who had returned from the vet after treatment. A few hours before, her father, John Mapes, had picked up Logo on the Iditarod Trail.

After a night spent on the trail, the elusive dog proved unable to resist the lure of a stick of moose meat that John Mapes offered.

Reference:

Anchorage Daily News