The 2016 BLM Alaska Idita-Chat was a resounding success, and sled dogs from all around Alaska answered dozens of questions with the capable assistance of their mushers and the ‘Tweet cadre’ which typed in answers as quickly as they appeared onscreen.Joining us in the Fitzgerald Federal Building in Anchorage were two of Bonnie Foster’s veteran racing sled dogs, ‘Denali’ and ‘Skunk.’ The two hour event took place via Twitter, with schools and individuals checking in and taking part in the online conversation from around the world. The entire discussion, complete with photos, can be viewed at this link.
Leonhard Seppala, who would, like Scotty Allan, win three Sweepstakes championships, became a living legend in Alaska, and in his own autobiography, Seppala, Alaskan Dog Driver, written with Elizabeth Ricker, he described a harrowing event which took place during his first Sweepstakes race: “The wind drove us on at a great rate of speed. The snow was whirling in front of my face, suffocating me so that I could hardly get my breath at times. Judging by the time we had been on our way, I figured we ought now to be close to the coast, but I knew that unless I hit Allen Creek and Topkok cabin I should run a chance of falling over the cliffs which ran in succession along the shore.
“We were racing southward at a breakneck speed when suddenly there came a lull between puffs of wind and I saw that I was very close to some high, steep place, and as I peered ahead I could see way down below the ice hummocks of the Bering Sea. Suggen was close to the edge of the precipice. I jammed both feet on the brake as we sped downward headed for destruction, but the crust was icy and smooth and I was not able to hold the team. I brought out my emergency steel bar and rammed it into the crust through the hole in my brake made for that purpose, bringing the dogs to a standstill. By that time we were on a steep incline close to the edge of the cliff. I tried to call Suggen back to turn the team, but the wind, which was now blowing furiously again, made it hard for him to hear.
“I spoke again to Suggen, still trying to call him back to me. He did his best to respond, making several efforts to turn, but still the young dogs refused. I kept shouting, and finally the four dogs behind him got the idea, and as Suggen turned the others followed. To my great relief I saw that little by little the whole team was turning, scrambling back up the hillside, digging their claws into the crust, headed toward safety. By some miraculous chance they were able to pull the sled and me up the incline, but I had no feeling of safety until I reached the top, for it seemed that at any moment the strong wind blowing against them might send them sliding back over the precipice. I kept shouting words of encouragement as every dog scratched and pulled, while I used my steel bar to push the sled along–and at that it was slow progress.”
The Anchorage Press features a 
“She tells us as much about the travelers who foraged from one roadhouse to the next as the roadhouses themselves. These pioneers were beyond hearty. Braving sub-arctic temps and trails that defied logic, they walked along with, or ahead of their dog teams, 20 to 30 miles per day, without surcease. They pushed past blistered feet (treated with coal oil) twisted ankles and fingers and toes frosted just this side of hypothermia. What shines through—one indelible portrait after another—is their sheer exuberance for life. Their words leap from the page, so vibrant their zeal for life you can hear them as you read their words.”
You can ask sled dogs what they really think and experience, translated by the person who knows them best — their musher.
An in-depth and interesting series of articles about the history of mushing in Alaska can be found at the BLM Alaska web site, including the article, 
In conjunction with their caretaking responsibilities, BLM Alaska maintains a wonderful page relating to the 
The section on 
All eleven of the books published by Northern Light Media are available at your local independent bookstore or bookseller, easily found through the online search engine at 
The colorful history and the enduring legacy of the All Alaska Sweepstakes, the oldest organized distance sled dog race in the world, includes records kept by the 
Northern Light Media 