Emmitt Peters (born 1941 or 1942), known as the "Yukon Fox", is an American hunter, fisher, trapper, and dog musher. The last rookie to win the 1,049 mile Iditarod dog sled race (in 1975), he and his lead dogs Nugget and Digger shattered by the previous speed record by almost six days. For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... This article is about the year. ... A hunter on horseback shoots at deer or elk with a bow. ... Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Mushing is a general term for a sport or transport method powered by dogs, and includes carting, pulka, scootering, sled dog racing, skijoring, freighting, and weight pulling. ... To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 106 and 107 m (1,000 and 10,000 km). ... The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, usually called the Iditarod and known as the Last Great Race, is an annual dog sled race in Alaska, where mushers and teams of dogs cover more than 1,000 miles (1,584 km) in less than two weeks, frequently through blizzards causing whiteout... Dogsled racing is a winter dog sport involving the timed competition of teams of sleddogs that pull a sled, on the runners of which the dog driver or musher stands. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ...

Peters is an Athabaskan Native American who was born in Ruby, deep in the Alaska Interior. He became a hunter, fisher, and trapper, and grew up around sled dogs. Mushing was the primary means of transportation in the rural parts of the state, far from the road system that spans southern Alaska, but the advent of the snowmobile (known as snowmachines in Alaska) in the 1960s almost drove mushing into extinction. Areas in which Athabaskan languages and Eyak and Tlingit are traditionally spoken Athabaskan or Athabascan (also Athapascan or Athapaskan) is the name of a large group of distantly related Native American peoples, also known as the Athabasca Indians or Athapaskes, located in two main Southern and Northern groups in western... Alaska Natives are indigenous peoples who live in what is now the U.S. state of Alaska. ... Ruby is a city located in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska. ... Fall in Interior Alaska The interior of Alaska makes up most of the state. ... Sled dogs, known also as sleigh dogs, sledge dogs or sleddogs are dogs that are used to pull a wheel-less vehicle on runners (a sled or sleigh) over snow or ice, by means of harnesses and lines. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ...

Iditarod

Peters entered the Iditarod as a rookie in 1975, and won the race with a time of 14 days, 14 hours, 43 minutes, and 45 seconds. The two previous races in 1973 and 1974 were slower and more measured, and both were won in just over 20 days. The 1975 race was a close one, and he placed in the top 10 in the next five races. According to Peters, he earned the "Yukon Fox" nickname, "because I'd sneak away from all my competitors and have five or six teams chasing me" (Rozell, 2003). Even with a weak team of sled dogs, he regularly placed high in the standings. The hour (symbol: h) is a unit of time. ... A minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour and to 60 seconds. ... The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, usually called the Iditarod and known as the Last Great Race, is an annual dog sled race in Alaska, where mushers and teams of dogs cover more than 1,000 miles (1,584 km) in less than two weeks, frequently through blizzards causing whiteout... Sled dogs, known also as sleigh dogs, sledge dogs or sleddogs are dogs that are used to pull a wheel-less vehicle on runners (a sled or sleigh) over snow or ice, by means of harnesses and lines. ...

The race changed as corporate sponsors began to fund top competitors, who ran large kennels and bred faster dogs. Peters gradually fell behind, and until he broke his knee in a training accident in 1986 and stopped racing. He returned briefly in 1990 and 1991, but only placed 41st in the first year, and scratched in the second. To sponsor something is to support an event, activity, person or organization by providing money or other resources in exchange for something, usually advertising or publicity, and always access to an audience. ... The word kennel has several meanings in relation to dogs: The small shed in which a dog is kept; a doghouse. ... An x-ray of a human knee In human anatomy, the knee is the leg joint connecting the femur and the tibia. ...

Peters raced his final Iditarod in 2000, and finished in 12 days, 2 hours, and 42 minutes, which is his fastest time ever. He earned the Most Inspirational Musher Award, which is given based on a vote by the other finishers. Afterwards he said, "that's it. No one is going to talk me into anything else" (Pemberton, 2000).

Peters serves as a volunteer checker at Ruby, which is an official checkpoint of the Iditarod on even-numbered years, This group of political volunteers is working to promote voter turn-out. ...

Native Alaskan mushers

Peters had to sell his dogs to cover his debts after the races in the 1990s, and was only able to race his final race because two friends donated USD $10,000 each, and he leased a team from Rick Swenson. While Native Alaskans won the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Iditarods, and accounted for roughly a third of all the racers, by the 1980s the costs had become prohibitive and the native presence almost vanished from the race. The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ... This article is about general United States currency. ... Rick Swenson is an American dog-sledder, who won the Iditarod several times. ... The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. ...

Expenses faced by modern teams include lightweight gear including thousands of booties and quick-change runners, special high-energy dog foods, veterinary care, and breeding costs. According to Athabaskan musher Ken Chase, "the big expenses [for rural Alaskans] are the freight and having to buy dog food". (Hutchinson) Most modern teams cost $10,000 to $40,000, and the top 10 spend between $80,000 and $100,000 a year. Sponsors are hard to solicit without access to roads, and for most purposes snowmobiles are more economical. There are many varieties of dog food to choose from. ... Veterinary medicine is the application of medical diagnostic and therapeutic principles to companion, domestic, exotic, wildlife, and production animals. ... Breeding has several meanings related to procreation: In animal husbandry and in horticulture the selection of stock for propagation and the act of insemination by natural or artificial means is called breeding. ...

A recent minor resurgence saw Ramy Brooks and John Baker place 5th and 6th in the 2005 Iditarod. Ramy Brooks has placed 2nd twice, and his second place finish after Martin Buser's record-setting run in 2002 is the second fastest time in the history of the Iditarod. John Baker (born 1960 or 1961, in Kotzebue, Alaska) is self-employed American dog musher, pilot and motivational speaker of Inupiat descent who consistently places in the top 10 during the 1,000+ mi (1,600 km) Iditarod dog sled race. ... The ceremonial start of the 33rd annual Iditarod dog sled race across the U.S. state of Alaska began in Anchorage on March 5, 2005 at 10 AM AKST (19:00 UTC), and restarted in Willow the next day at 2 PM (23:00 UTC). ... Martin Buser (b. ...

Iditarod awards

References

• Anchorage Daily News (February 12, 2002). Participation of Native mushers falls as the cost of being a competitive Iditarod racer rises. Retrieved March 18, 2005.
• -- (February 24, 2005). A 'fox' behind a dog sled. Retrieved March 18, 2005.
• Kristan Hutchison. Fewer Native mushers in the race. Retrieved March 18, 2005.
• Mary Pemberton (March 19, 2000). Peters runs his best Iditarod: 1975 winner cuts previous mark set 20 years ago. Retrieved March 18, 2005.
• Ned Rozell (February 20, 2003). Evolution of gear makes Iditarod faster. University of Alaska Fairbanks. Retrieved March 18, 2005.