The First 300

Rudy Demoski will be racing in his second Kuskokwim 300 this week, and it has been 33 years since his first race in 1980.  He is the only racer this year from that first race, and as cold as it was, no wonder  Rudy waited so long to come back.  I was in that first race as well, and it might be time to dust off the story  of the  first K300 for folks who have never heard it.

January of 1980 was a very cold month, with stiff north breezes dropping the wind chill  most of the month.  Those temps  reduced the number  of teams taking part.  21 teams took part, and 17 finished. Many more teams had expressed  interest  but the weather  kept them away.  The race started  from in front of town on the river at  22 below. There was a light breeze, and  bright sun made the weather tolerable, at least for a while.

By late afternoon most of the teams were in Tuluksak, the first food drop checkpoint.  Gathered in Joe Demantle’s yard were some of the most famous names in mushing, including  Rick Swenson, Susan Butcher  and Joe Redington.  The temps started to drop rapidly at sundown, and by  the time teams started departing,  the thermometer in Joe’s yard read -45.  At that location, the north wind was blocked by trees on the Tuluksak River, but  it was still plenty cold.  Rookie racer Dee Jonrowe had struggled a bit getting to  Tuluksak, and I remember she was apprehensive about striking out for Kalskag in the cold and dark.

Present day racers have perfected their clothing and equipment to deal with extreme cold, but in that era,  basic clothes were the norm. I remember my outfit included a down parka over a Carhartt suit. Swenson, who always kept up with the latest  trends in gear, mentioned  to me that I could  have done better for cold weather gear.  He was right.

I left Tuluksak about 11 pm, and headed  for the river. There was a short portage from the village to the Kuskokwim, and when  we hit the river, a stiff north breeze turned the weather from really cold to miserable.  After a few minutes, it became clear that the only way to stay warm was by running behind the sled part of the time, but I needed to be careful not to run long enough to get damp inside.  Keeping  a peep hole  to see through my glasses was also an issue, and  several times I had to thaw a hole with my fingers just to see.

After a few hours of tough going, I spotted  a big fire up ahead.  It looked inviting.  When I arrived at the fire, I found my buddy Rudy Demoski charging around in the trees, breaking off  dry branches. His fire was high and hot, but there was a problem.  When I stood close enough to feel the heat, it  was close enough to catch  my  clothes on fire if I wasn’t careful.  At the same time,  my backside froze because of lack of movement.  “Nice fire Rudy, but I’m freezing, and have to  get going to  run a bit.”

The rest of the trip to Kalskag was long and  tough. We later learned that the weather service  recorded  the wind chill as -101, a personal worst  in my experience.   I never saw  another  team. I pulled into the village, fed the dogs, and retreated to the school for some rest. When I woke up,  there was a blizzard howling  in the village.   For some reason,  l left for Aniak anyway, traveling much of the day with Walter Williams.   The weather was warmer, but with snow  blowing in my face, it was hardly more  comfortable than the night before.  We arrived in Aniak after an all day slog in the snow,  and  the race marshall declared an emergency  24 layover because the trail to Whitefish Lake was  trashed by the storm.

I settled in with a couple of other teams at Steve Bush’s house to wait out the storm.  I  slept  many hours, waking to the strange sound of water dripping off the  roof.  It was raining.  The decision was made to reverse our trail and head back to Bethel through Kalskag.  The trail was slow at the start but improved through the night. I traveled the whole way from Aniak  to Bethel with Warner  Vent. He said  we  could do it non-stop  after our 24 layover, so  we did.  He  gave me the slip coming out of Akiak and finished a few minutes ahead of me in 8^th place.  Swenson won, Rudy got 14^th  after an unusually long rest in Kalskag, and 17 teams finished.  Dee  was rescued on the river above Tulusak  where she stalled that first night. She stayed in her sleeping  bag  many hours waiting in her sled. Searchers found her when a snowmachine accidently ran into her snow covered sled, off the trail.

The racers assembled for out first ever award ceremony looking like survivors.  Frost bite was common,  and tales from the trail were harrowing.  That race started  the lore of the K300, and  34 years later there have been many more tales of woe from the trail.  But that first race was special for all who took part. Many of the racers are no longer alive.  Of the  17 finishers,  7 have passed away.  Rudy will be the oldest racer this year at  age 67.    For us old timers,  memories of that first night of the Kuskokwim 300 will  be part of the  fun of this year’s race.