Tre West wins Nome-Golovin snowmachine race
Amid strong north winds, snow machine riders and spectators gathered outside of Nome for the 56th annual Nome-Golovin snowmachine race.
Tre West of Nome won the open division, traveling 200 miles in just over two hours.
The race kicked off at noon on the sea ice across from the old country store. Spectators huddled behind the long line of parked cars to get out of the 20 mile per hour winds, which were gusting as high at 38 miles per hour in the morning. Temperatures were warm in the mid 20s°F, and the sun was shining in a clear sky.
Locals and visitors alike came out for the start of the race, a marked increase from the last year when COVID-19 discouraged travel. Volunteers with the Covenant Church, in town for Iditarod, were giving out hot chocolate to onlookers.
The trail itself – which runs about 100 miles along the coast from Nome to Golovin, passing through White Mountain on the way – was stripped down to the glare ice due to recent wind.
“Everything has made a lot of bumps in the trail, making it very rough” said Race Manager Kevin Bahnke. “It’s going to be pretty tough on those guys.”
He added that even Iron Dog racers, who came through a few weeks ago, commented on the bumpy trail. “Most of the trail is pretty tough, and from Topkok to Golovin it’s very rough,” Bahnke said.
Forty-eigth racers lined up in the pen for the start on Saturday – 20 in the open class, 15 in the 600cc class, five in the fan-cooled class and eight in the women’s class that turned around at Solomon.
Among them was Mike Morgan of Nome, a former Iron Dog champion who won the Nome-Golovin in 2021. He said he was anticipating an icy, bumpy ride, but that he wasn’t concerned.
“You’ve just got to be smart about it,” he said. “It’s going to be a good race.”
Just under two hours and six minutes later, though, Tre West came screaming by the checkered flag to claim first place overall in the open C class. He won $2,000 and two ounces of gold.
George Lewis came in second place in just over two hours and nine minutes, winning $1,200. Mike Morgan won $800 in third with a time of two hours and 14 minutes.
In the 600cc B class, George Lambert won first place with a time of two hours and 12 minutes. Jordan Miller came in three minutes behind him for second, and Casey Sherman finished just ten seconds behind Miller for a close third.
Gabe Schaeffer won the fancooled A class with a time of two hours and 13 minutes, followed by Charles Peterson with two hours and 20 minutes and Bethany Horton with 2 hours and 26 minutes.
The women’s-only D class followed a shortened route, going from the start to Solomon and then turning around. Sharla Kalerak won the division in one hour and seven minutes, beating Mary Hyatt by just 32 seconds. Dawn Wehde came in third with a time of one hour and 13 minutes.
Shantah Esparza in the C class won this year’s newest award: the “first scratch” trophy, which features a custom bird’s foot back scratcher. He was among the 11 out of 20 racers in the C class to not finish the race because of mechanical issues.
In the C class, seven of the 15 racers scratched. Two of five scratched in the A class, and four of eight scratched in the D class.
Race Manager Bahnke said that about half of the racers scratching was to be expected, as competitors push their machines to the limits in pursuit of the fastest possible time.
CLUES ACROSS
1. Type of footwear
5. Studies a lot all at once
10. Adventure story
14. Hundred thousand
15. Former U.S. Vice President
16. Ruler
17. Indian city
18. Similar
19. Ship as cargo
20. Volcanic craters
22. Boxing’s “GOAT”
23. Bullfighting maneuvers
24. London soccer team
27. Score perfectly
30. No (Scottish)
31. SoCal hoops team (abbr.)
32. Woman (French)
35. Unwanted attic “decor”
37. Peter Griffin’s daughter
38. Broad, shallow crater
39. Large instruments
40. Low bank or reef
41. __ and Venzetti
42. Oil group
43. Father
44. Aggressive men
45. Pairs well with green
46. Travelers need it
47. Digital audiotape
48. Midway between northeast and east
49. Chemistry descriptor
52. S. China seaport
55. Sound unit
56. Heavy cavalry sword
60. Thick piece of something
61. Spa town in Austria
63. Boyfriend
64. Norse personification of old age
65. Type of box
66. Tie together
67. Fiber from the coconut
68. Chicago mayor
69. Old English letters
CLUES DOWN
1. Type of sauce
2. Pattern of notes
3. Plant with long seedpods
4. Map out
5. Numbers cruncher
6. Make a mental connection
7. Italian tenor
8. N. America’s highest mountain peak
9. Witness
10. Arabic given name
11. Music awards
12. “The Immoralist” author
13. Area units
21. Units of loudness
23. Political action committee
25. Bar bill
26. Witch
27. A theatrical performer
28. 2-door car
29. __ and flowed
32. Papier-__, art medium
33. City in Georgia
34. Irregular
36. College sports conference
37. Angry
38. Partner to cheese
40. S. American mammal
41. Self-immolation by fire rituals
43. Split pulses
44. Disfigure
46. Cow noise
47. Erase
49. Chadic language
50. Reward for doing well
51. Paid TV
52. Millisecond
53. Other
54. Colombian city
57. Necklace part
58. Every one of two or more people
59. Regrets
61. They come after “A”
62. Horse noise