Get Your Mush on with the IditaRide Auction

Have you ever wanted to mush with an Iditarod dogsled team? Well here's your chance: On December 1, the bidding begins for the annual IditaRide Auction. The event is in its 15th year, and is one of the main fundraisers for the famous Iditarod Trail Ride Dog Sled Race. A winning bid will let you ride along with a team through 11 miles of Anchorage parkland and "a screaming crowd of spectators," says Deby Trosper, the auction coordinator. It all takes place on the day before the official Iditarod begins in March, and gets you an inside glimpse of the "Last Great Race on Earth." Given, it's a small glimpse (the actual race covers 1,100 miles and typically takes nine days), but it sounds like a fantastic time.

Trosper says bids average about $1,400, but if you want to lock in a spot, you can secure one for $7,500. So what exactly, can you expect if you get a winning bid? You most likely won't get to drive the sled, she says, as the experienced drivers will handle that. But you will get to sit in the front, right behind the dogs, and get showered with hotdogs and muffins, offered by cheering fans along the route. "We encourage folks to bring pillows" to sit on, she adds. "You're in a birch sled about five inches off the ground." It's best to wear warm clothing (layers), boots, hats and gloves, and watch out for moose ("A lot of times there's an opportunity to get a taste of the Big Wild," Trosper notes). The entire trip takes about an hour to complete, and when they're done, the mushers-to-be get off their sleds looking "like little kids at Christmas." She says that many of the IditaRiders often get pretty attached to their mushers, and will try to get to the Iditarod finish line in Nome, Alaska, to see them win. If you can get up there for the winning celebration, it's like "Alaska's Mardi Gras." But take note: hotels are hard to come by, and often book up a year in advance.