Nome
On the Seward Peninsula, Nome is the judicial and commercial center of northwestern Alaska and the main supply point for nearby mining districts and Eskimo villages. The city is accessible daily by plane from Anchorage. Regularly scheduled and charter flights are available to various Eskimo villages.
Cruise ships serve Nome during the summer, and rental cars provide visitors with opportunities for self-guiding trips to nearby villages.
When a diphtheria epidemic threatened the town in 1925, the necessary serum was delivered by dog team. The annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race commemorates this emergency mission. The race, which begins in Anchorage the first Saturday in March, encompasses treacherous climbs, river passages and bone-chilling blizzards. Mushers cross the finish line in Nome after traveling roughly 1,112 miles, exhausted but invigorated by cheers from supporters lining the chute on Front Street.
One of the activities during the final week of the race is the Bering Sea Ice Classic, a six-hole golf tournament played on frozen Norton Sound. The golf balls are green; the tees are miniature, inverted liquor bottles; the holes are coffee cans in the ice and one is usually found in “Nome National Forest,” a forest of dead Christmas trees stuck into the ice; and there’s a three-stroke penalty for hitting a polar bear.
The Midnight Sun Folk Fest celebrates the summer solstice, the longest day of the year with almost 24 hours of sunlight. The mid-June festival lasts several days and includes a parade, live music and The Nome River Raft Race.
Visitor Centers
Nome Convention and Visitors Bureau 301 Front St. Nome, AK 99762. Phone:(907)443-6555
Insider Info
The Last Great Race
To commemorate the 1925 event in which 20 mushers relayed serum to Nome to save children who contracted diphtheria, the first Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race took place on Mar. 3, 1973.Beginning in Anchorage and culminating in Nome, the race trail covers some 1,112 miles of rugged terrain, takes between 9-17 days to complete and can reach temperatures of minus 60 F.
In preparation for the great race, the trail is broken and marked with reflector tape, and checkpoints are chosen where teams stop to eat and rest. Since it's not feasible for mushers to carry all of their provisions in their sleds, the bulk of food and supplies is shipped to the checkpoints prior to the race.
To aid in endurance, dogs ingest 5,000 calories or more each day, gobbling such delicacies as moose, caribou or even seal meat. Concern for the dogs' health is strong: Booties are worn for paw protection, and about 25 veterinarians man the checkpoints to examine each dog.
While teams may begin the race with as many as 16 dogs, some drop from the race. “Dropped dogs”—dogs that do not finish the race due to dehydration, flu or fatigue—are carried to the nearest checkpoint and flown back to Anchorage. A musher must finish the race with at least five dogs.
Teams travel at night as well as during the day, and dogs rest about 10-12 hours per 24-hour period. But mushers don't enjoy that luxury: Responsible for feeding and caring for the dogs (including changing their booties every 100 miles), they rarely sleep more than 2 hours per night.
The goal? Nome's Burled Arch on Front Street. At this finish line, teams are greeted by cheering crowds and the sounding of the city's fire siren.