All five eventually recovered and resumed racing. Sometimes, mushers don't take enough personal gear to endure the worst weather, opting instead to carry dog-care equipment or lighten their sleds. The survival gear required by race rules is usually packed in the sled, unavailable to mushers who lose their teams and end up afoot. Some less experienced racers even wear town clothing under their parkas. I watch these guys go out there with such tunnel vision, focusing on the care of their dog team, and then they go and take off across the heart of alaska in blue jeans.
Sheer exhaustion puts mushers at risk for hypothermia, which can hit veterans and rookies alike.
Former Iditarod champ Rick Mackey was found racing back toward Anchorage during a 1980s race, chilled and dioriented. More recently, rookie Bill Peele nearly died while crossing the desolate territory between McGrath and the Yukon River in 1991. His ordeal began when he started slipping snow down his suit to stay awake. Later he took off his gloves, hoping the pain would keep him awake. As his temperature dropped and his judgment evaporated, Peele's hands froze, ruined by frostbite.