Nick+Marsh

My Iditaclub page

My musher is **Martin Buser** **Iditarod Montage** Here is a link to Martin´s website: Martin Buser´s Website Here is a video of Martin Buser's DVD:

Alaska Weather Conditions
=== The reason I join the Iditaclub is because I really like the Iditaclub and I felt it would be good to be in the Iditaclub and make a page that tells what musher I have and has news from the Iditarod. This year my musher is Martin Buser because I feel that he is going to win. But also because almost everyone else has Martin Buser because they also feel that he is going to win. === I hope Martin Buser wins this year. You go Martin!

Biography
Born in Winterthur, Switzerland in 1958, Martin became fascinated with sled dogs while still a teen. He came to Alaska in 1979 to enhance his knowledge of care and training of sled dogs. He began working and training with long-time Alaskan mushers Earl and Natalie Norris and ran his first Iditarod in 1980. Martin, wife Kathy Chapoton, a retired teacher, and sons Nikolai and Rohn (both named after Iditarod checkpoints), formally reside in Big Lake, Alaska, where the family owns and manages Happy Trails Kennel. Nikolai recently graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle. Rohn is pursuing college courses and commercial fishes in Bristol Bay with Mike Jonrowe. Rohn completed the 2008 Iditarod.

Martin spends a large percentage of his personal time speaking with youth on the humanitarian care of animals and the spirit of the Iditarod. A favorite celebrity of the children of Alaska, Martin treats them with surprise visits from his dogs and puppies during many of these appearances.

Martin runs the race each year with his dogs to test the success of their breeding, training and physical endurance. He regards his racers as true competitive athletes and prides his team on their longevity and spirit of competition. Says Martin, “I run the Iditarod to prove that my dogs, bred, trained and raced by Happy Trails Kennels, are the best amongst the world’s long distance athletes.”

As tribute to his treatment of his racers, Martin was awarded the coveted Leonhard Seppala Award in 1988, 1993, 1995, and again in 1997 for the most humanitarian care of his dogs. The award was named for the most famous Alaskan musher who ran the longest and most dangerous stretch of the 1925, 674-mile diphtheria serum run from Nenana to Nome, which saved hundreds of lives.

Following Martin’s 2002 Iditarod victory, the process for his becoming a naturalized citizen of the United States was completed under the burled monument. He then turned around in Nome and made the trip from Nome to Big Lake with his family by snow machine.

Upon completion of the 2005 Iditarod after a woodworking accident 4 days prior to the race start resulting in the amputation of a part of his finger; he was awarded both the Sportsmanship and Most Inspirational Awards by his fellow mushers.

Martin is an honorary member of Rotary. He is always involved with some project around the kennel or house. While he and Kathy moved into the retirement home that Martin built, they are still working on finishing all the details, your typical Alaskan self-built home that is never quite finished.

In the summer, Martin and his family give tours of their working kennel. The tour begins with a DVD trip from Anchorage to Nome narrated by Buser and includes his unique anecdotal stories gathered over 23 Iditarods. Visitors are offered a glimpse of a mockup of the Cripple Checkpoint complete with campfire and wall tent. Veterinary and dog care topics are discussed and of course, there's the cuddling of puppies. The tour ends with a riotous symphony of dogs barking as a team is hooked up and taken on a demo run to show folks the dogs in action.

Sprocketheads, LLC produced a DVD featuring the unique lifestyle made possible by training and racing sled dogs. The DVD captures a sled dog’s life from puppyhood to racing and Martin’s interaction with his athletic friends.

Mile by Mile: Martin Buser’s Iditarod is a new release DVD. In partnership with Jeff Schultz and Sprocketheads, LLC, a unique journey from Anchorage to Nome with some of the most spectacular imagines ever assembled in a DVD was created. With a combined 54 years on the trail, Jeff’s photos and Martin’s trail stories make it possible for you to “be there” on the back of the sled!

Martin is currently the musher with the most consecutive Iditarod finishes, 26 races completed in row, 28 total finishes. “We are looking forward to many more and working diligently toward a fifth Iditarod win. While the race is always the final exam, the year round interaction and relationship with the dogs is the most valuable aspect of this lifestyle. On a daily basis, we are amazed by the stamina, loyalty, honesty, and joy of our dogs. Author Brain Jacques went on a ride with Martin and the team many years ago and described the dogs as “eternal children.” We couldn’t agree more. It is our good fortune to be able to take care of them.”

2012 Current Standings
Martin and Rohn got in 19th place and won $9,900.
 * ~ Checkpoint ||~ Time In ||~ Dogs In ||~ Time Out ||~ Dogs Out ||~ Rest Time ||||~ Previous ||||~ Layover ||~ Status ||~ Distance ||
 * ^  ||^   ||^   ||^   ||^   ||^   ||~ Enroute Time ||~ Speed (mph) ||~ 8hr ||~ 24hr ||^   ||^   ||
 * = [|Anchorage] ||=  ||=   ||= 03/03/2012 11:25:00 ||= 12 ||=   ||=   ||=   ||=   ||=   ||=   ||=   ||
 * = [|Willow] ||=  ||=   ||= 03/04/2012 15:18:00 ||= 16 ||=   ||=   ||=   ||=   ||=   ||=   ||=   ||
 * = [|Yentna Station] ||= 03/04/2012 19:21:00 ||= 16 ||= 03/04/2012 19:24:00 ||= 16 ||= 0h 3m ||= 4h 3m ||= 10.37 ||=  ||=   ||=   ||= 42 ||
 * = [|Skwentna] ||= 03/04/2012 22:31:00 ||= 16 ||= 03/05/2012 03:07:00 ||= 16 ||= 4h 36m ||= 3h 7m ||= 9.63 ||=  ||=   ||=   ||= 30 ||
 * = [|Finger Lake] ||= 03/05/2012 07:48:00 ||= 16 ||= 03/05/2012 11:38:00 ||= 15 ||= 3h 50m ||= 4h 41m ||= 8.54 ||=  ||=   ||=   ||= 40 ||
 * = [|Rainy Pass] ||= 03/05/2012 15:06:00 ||= 15 ||= 03/05/2012 19:21:00 ||= 15 ||= 4h 15m ||= 3h 28m ||= 8.65 ||=  ||=   ||=   ||= 30 ||
 * = [|Rohn] ||= 03/05/2012 23:22:00 ||= 15 ||= 03/06/2012 05:22:00 ||= 15 ||= 6h 0m ||= 4h 1m ||= 8.71 ||=  ||=   ||=   ||= 35 ||
 * = [|Nikolai] ||= 03/06/2012 15:23:00 ||= 15 ||= 03/06/2012 19:50:00 ||= 15 ||= 4h 27m ||= 10h 1m ||= 7.49 ||=  ||=   ||=   ||= 75 ||
 * = [|McGrath] ||= 03/07/2012 03:29:00 ||= 15 ||= 03/07/2012 05:36:00 ||= 15 ||= 2h 7m ||= 7h 39m ||= 6.27 ||=  ||=   ||=   ||= 48 ||
 * = [|Takotna] ||= 03/07/2012 08:29:00 ||= 15 ||= 03/07/2012 08:31:00 ||= 15 ||= 0h 2m ||= 2h 53m ||= 6.24 ||=  ||=   ||=   ||= 18 ||
 * = [|Ophir] ||= 03/07/2012 12:19:00 ||= 15 ||= 03/08/2012 13:11:00 ||= 15 ||= 24h 52m ||= 3h 48m ||= 6.05 ||=  ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||=   ||= 23 ||
 * = [|Cripple] ||= 03/09/2012 00:31:00 ||= 15 ||= 03/09/2012 07:20:00 ||= 12 ||= 6h 49m ||= 11h 20m ||= 6.44 ||=  ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||=   ||= 73 ||
 * = [|Ruby] ||= 03/09/2012 17:31:00 ||= 12 ||= 03/10/2012 01:31:00 ||= 11 ||= 8h 0m ||= 10h 11m ||= 6.87 ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||=  ||= 70 ||
 * = [|Galena] ||= 03/10/2012 07:50:00 ||= 11 ||= 03/10/2012 11:26:00 ||= 11 ||= 3h 36m ||= 6h 19m ||= 7.92 ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||=  ||= 50 ||
 * = [|Nulato] ||= 03/10/2012 18:05:00 ||= 11 ||= 03/11/2012 00:32:00 ||= 11 ||= 6h 27m ||= 6h 39m ||= 5.56 ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||=  ||= 37 ||
 * = [|Kaltag] ||= 03/11/2012 06:18:00 ||= 11 ||= 03/11/2012 06:30:00 ||= 11 ||= 0h 12m ||= 4h 46m ||= 9.86 ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||=  ||= 47 ||
 * = [|Unalakleet] ||= 03/12/2012 00:27:00 ||= 11 ||= 03/12/2012 09:38:00 ||= 10 ||= 9h 11m ||= 17h 57m ||= 4.74 ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||=  ||= 85 ||
 * = [|Shaktoolik] ||= 03/12/2012 15:34:00 ||= 10 ||= 03/13/2012 05:33:00 ||= 10 ||= 13h 59m ||= 5h 56m ||= 6.74 ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||=  ||= 40 ||
 * = [|Koyuk] ||= 03/13/2012 13:42:00 ||= 10 ||= 03/13/2012 20:43:00 ||= 10 ||= 7h 1m ||= 8h 9m ||= 6.13 ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||=  ||= 50 ||
 * = [|Elim] ||= 03/14/2012 02:58:00 ||= 10 ||= 03/14/2012 07:39:00 ||= 10 ||= 4h 41m ||= 6h 15m ||= 7.68 ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||=  ||= 48 ||
 * = [|White Mountain] ||= 03/14/2012 14:11:00 ||= 10 ||= 03/14/2012 22:12:00 ||= 10 ||= 8h 1m ||= 6h 32m ||= 7.04 ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||=  ||= 46 ||
 * = [|Safety] ||= 03/15/2012 05:34:00 ||= 10 ||= 03/15/2012 05:39:00 ||= 10 ||= 0h 5m ||= 7h 22m ||= 7.47 ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||=  ||= 55 ||
 * = [|Nome] ||= 03/15/2012 09:10:13 ||= 10 ||=  ||=   ||=   ||= 3h 31m ||= 6.26 ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||= [[image:http://d3r6t1k4mqz5i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/themes/iditarod/images/icon-tick.png caption="✔"]] ||=   ||= 22 ||