Feb 17, 2008 - 04:05:40 CST
The moose charged.It ran right at her through the snow, a flailing bundle of legs and antlers. Mean.
Sixteen barking dogs, mad as hell, couldn't derail the big fella as he bore down on Heather Siirtola with singular purpose.
Snap your fingers.
That's how fast 30 yards became 15; became nothing. Siirtola dove from her dog sled as the moose ran into her, knocking her to the ground. He spun around for a second pass, but she was already aiming her pistol.
It took five shots.
"I got this call, and it's Heather, and she wants to know how to skin a moose," Jim Siirtola of Mandan said.
His daughter can take care of herself.
Heather Siirtola proved that last year, when she mushed her dog team across 1,150 miles of Alaskan wilderness to a 56th-place finish in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. More people have climbed Mt. Everest than have completed "The Last Great Race."
Siirtola, a 30-year-old Bismarck native, will race in her second Iditarod in a couple of weeks.
She's out practicing now, making five-hour runs with her dogs near her home in Talkeetna. It was out on the practice trail last year that Siirtola encountered the moose. The big guy couldn't have met a more compassionate person, but when it comes to protecting herself and her dogs, Siirtola will do what she needs to.
Her Finnish ancestors called that grit and determination "sisu." Siirtola's relatives say she's inherited her share of it.
"She's a very determined young lady," her grandfather, Dale Ennen, said. "When she sets her mind to doing something, she'll do it. That's what it takes for the Iditarod. You need to have a lot of fortitude to even contemplate doing it."
Thirty percent of the field didn't finish last year's Iditarod. But as soon as Siirtola completed the trek from Anchorage to Nome, she said she'd be ready to do it again this year.
She'll be at the starting line March 1 when a record number of mushers gather for the 35th annual Iditarod.
"Finishing gave me a feeling I'd never experienced before," Siirtola said. "It's a really good sense of accomplishment. We went village to village, and Imet so many people who were inspired by (the Iditarod). That was not going to be my last race, that's for sure."
Ninety-eight other mushers have registered for this year's race, including 2007 winner Lance Mackey. He finished in nine days, almost exactly a week better than Siirtola.
Her goal this year - other than finishing with healthy dogs - is to shave a considerable amount of time off the 16 days it took her to complete her rookie race. Siirtola wants to finish in a dozen days.
"She'll do it, too, if her dogs are healthy," Jim Siirtola said. "Heather will go as far as her dogs go. Those dogs are like gold to her. She gives morning hugs to every one of them, every day."
Like Siirtola, most of her canine competitors have Iditarod experience. Fourteen of the 16 dogs she plans to race with were on her team last year.
"There are moments when I start thinking about the trail and get a little intimidated, but my head is stronger because of the experience I have, knowing Ican take care of things when they happen," Siirtola said. "Being out there last year for 16 days, I really learned a lot. I didn't realize how much, until I picked it up again this year. Everything seems easier now. I know when I get out there that there will be other challenges to meet, but that's what makes you a musher - overcoming new challenges with your dogs."
Siirtola said the first half of last year's race was the toughest for her. The trail was dry and rocky in patches, and she ran into open water near the Rohn checkpoint - about 200 miles into the race. A handful of her dogs also got sick early, forcing her to leave them at checkpoints and race with fewer animals. Siirtola said she cared more about her dogs' health than her own, so it was a hard time.
"I was pretty emotional the first half of the race,"she said. "I had ups and downs every day. I had to drop dogs. It was tough. I never got to the point where I wanted to quit, but it was tough."
About 150 miles further down the trail and down to 10 dogs, the team found its rhythm.
"It was neat seeing them stick it out. Ifound my strongest dogs,"Siirtola said. "Ilearned from that to stay calm, cool and collected when things get tough. It's easier now to deal with things when they get thrown at you, and they will get thrown at you out there."
Siirtola was in the rear of the pack last year, along with Grand Forks native Ellen Halvorson. Halvorson isn't competing this year.
Siirtola said that after this year's race, she'll likely take a couple of years off, too. She wants to buy her own place - she's renting from fellow musher Jerry Sousa - and concentrate on training a new batch of puppies.
Siirtola moved to Alaska in 2003 and has been able to build a solid kennel since then. But sled-dog racing is an expensive hobby.
"That's the only bad part of it," she said. "I'm pressing the limits right now, financially. Ballpark, it costs about 20 grand a year for my small kennel. And they just raised the fee to enter the race to $3,000. That keeps out a lot of smaller teams. It's a big financial burden."
But don't expect to see her around town anytime soon. Alaska is where Heather Siirtola wants to be.
"This feels like home, sweet home," she said from her house near Talkeetna. "I don't see myself leaving here anytime soon."
(Reach reporter Tony Spilde at 250-8260 or tony.spilde@bismarcktribune.com.)
‘The Last Great Race’
To follow Siirtola’s progress in the race, visit www.iditarod.com. You also can learn more about
her and her dogs at www.hardcorehuskies.com.
The Iditarod began in 1973 to commemorate the 1925 delivery by sled dogs of lifesaving diphtheria serum to Nome. This year’s race starts March 1 in Anchorage.
If you’d like to support Heather Siirtola’s dog team, you can buy a Hardcore Huskies sweatshirt ($30) or T-shirt or hat ($20). To get one, call Jim at 258-5922, Dale at 258-4303 or Joanne at 701-943-2446.
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