Dog Mushing

Fur Rondy Festival. World-championship dog-mushing races are run in February, with three consecutive 25-mile heats through Downtown Anchorage, out into the foothills, and back. People line the route with cups of coffee in hand to cheer on their favorite mushers. The three-day races are part of the annual Fur Rendezvous Festival, one of the largest winter festivals in the United States. Other cabin fever–kicking attractions include the running of the reindeer (yes, just like Pamplona but with reindeer), a snow-sculpture competition, Alaska Native blanket toss (a holdover from earlier days when dozens of people would launch a hunter high into the air, trampoline-style, in an effort to spot distant seals, walrus, and whales), a carnival, and even snowshoe softball. Fur Rondy events start in late February, culminating ten days later with the ceremonial Iditarod start on 4th Avenue in early March. Anchorage, Alaska. www.furrondy.net.

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The 1,049-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race commemorates the delivery of serum to Nome by dog mushers during the diphtheria epidemic of 1925. In early March, dog teams leave the mushing hub of Willow, about 70 miles northeast of Anchorage, and wind through the Alaska Range, across the Interior, out to the Bering Sea coast, and on to Nome. Depending on weather and trail conditions, winners can complete the race in less than nine days. Anchorage, Alaska. 907/376–5155; www.iditarod.com.