Arnold, CA…We had the chance to speak with local snowmobile racer David Wagner.  On February 19th David and Eric Wellman the other half of Team 11 will cross the starting line in Wasilla, Alaska to take on the Iron Dog the Longest, Toughest Snowmobile Race in the world.  This will be Dave’s third crack at this race.  The first year they literally crashed and burned losing a sled to fire which ended Team 11’s run.  Last year a high speed encounter with an ice shelf took off the front of one of their snowmobile’s front end.  This year David and his new partner and Iron Dog racer will take all they have learned from past campaigns give it another go.  Our interview and a bit more about the Iron Dog is below. He is already up in Alaska and completed a 265 mile training ride today. A few photos from his training ride today are below as well…

The World’s Longest, Toughest Snowmobile Race is slated to leave Wasilla, Alaska in February 2022. Expedition Class starting on February 17, 2022 followed by a Pro Class on February 19, 2022.  The first Iron Dog event started in 1984 and followed the Northern Route of the Historic Iditarod Trail to Nome. Since then it has had multiple incarnations ranging from 1,049 miles in 1984 to over 2,600 miles in 2021.

Today’s Iron Dog course distance is more than 2,600 miles, starting in Big Lake, with a halfway stop in Nome, then around the Kotzebue Loop, before returning to Big Lake. Participants cover some of Alaska’s most remote and rugged terrain, passing through 22+ communities, while confronting some of the harshest winter conditions. Survival skills are essential, all Pro Class teams comprise two racers on two snowmobiles for safety.

The Iron Dog offers a non-competitive Expedition class giving adventure seekers an opportunity to travel 1,049 miles on the Northern Route of Historic Iditarod Trail to Nome. These teams of two or more travel on a portion of the same trail as the Pro Class Teams.

Race participation typically averages (30) thirty Pro Class teams with around (30) thirty or more Expedition Class riders for a total number of from 90-100 participants on the trail each year. Iron Dog is a proud leader in the snowmobile community, promoting snowmobile safety and outdoor education through trade shows, seminars, and community events.