Slow Going.....

With all the snow it appears the overall speed of the race is definitely slower.  Im seeing a lot of 7 - 7.5 mph on the tracker instead of 8+ mph.  There were reports it was snowing 3 inches an hour at the Restart, making for packing the sled without getting all your gear wet somewhat challenging.  I see Kaiser rested for a few hours on the trail and has now blown through the checkpoint of Skwentna...right after he blew through it looks like he stopped to snack his dogs but is now leading the race (its SO early yet, so there is not a lot of meaning when I say that) traveling about 9 mph!  His average moving speed is impressive.....8.1 mph!  Richie Diehl has also left the checkpoint in pursuit. 

Nic Petit is running a bit slower than the other favorites of the race....not sure if that is strategy or something else.  He has always tried to be out front early as he does not like to be around other Teams at all.  His bib number is 17, so comparatively speaking its a relatively low bib number.

Pre-Restart interviews had folks chatting about their snowy training conditions....so Alaska overall has gotten a lot of snow.  Brent Sass was noted as having the most snowy training conditions in Eureka...he is presently hanging back and looks to have rested on the trail towards Skwentna. 

Burmeister and Royer are some miles ahead of Sass and resting....Mitch was with them but is now moving....look for these Teams to blow through the Skwentna checkpoint like Kaiser did.  Most Teams did this leg in 3 to 3.5 hours.  Those who rested on the trail will do it in 5 hours.  Must be enough room to get off the trail to rest teams, and it looks as though there is room to make passes too. 

It will be interesting to hear some interviews from the Teams in Skwentna once Iditarod posts some.....Im very curious of trail conditions with the storm!