The race committee pays for gas, oil, and insurance and provides food and warm places to throw a sleeping bag at night. On the one hand, flying for the race can be a lot of fun. In the history of the IAF and its tens of thousands of hours in the air, a few airplanes have been damaged or lost. But, no IAF pilots or passengers have ever been seriously injured, which is just short of amazing considering the abysmal conditions that often prevail. In any case, the informal selection process usually limits the IAF to experienced Alaskan pilots.
Canines make particularly interesting passengers.
A Cessna 185 or 206 with the seats removed can hold 18 or even 20 dogs, and race pilots have developed unique tricks and techniques to ensure harmony during flights that could otherwise be, well, eventful. One ubiquitous commodity in IAF planes is dog food. The dogs dine like kings during the race, wolfing down 5,000 calories or more each day. Their food includes lots of protein, fat, and other high energy stuff. Some mushers make their own concoctions from ingredients like fish, hamburger, beef, horse meat, lamb, beaver, moose, caribou, and sometimes even seal meat.