When the 1985 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race began, Libby Riddles was a virtually unknown musher living in Teller. When the race ended, she was an international celebrity. By braving a storm that no other musher challenged, Riddles became the first woman to win the world\u2019s most significant dog sled race.<\/p>\n
During a year of terrible storms that periodically interrupted the event, the leading mushers halted in a village checkpoint. Only Riddles seized the moment and set out on the iffy trail beyond Shaktoolik. Taking over first place, Riddles and her dogs negotiated a path through blowing snow in numbing cold. When visibility vanished she zipped herself into her sled bag and spent an anxious night alone in the wilderness.<\/p>\n
When the storm ceased, Riddles maintained her lead all of the way into Nome, finishing in 18 days, 20 minutes, 17 seconds. Riddles was instantly hailed as a woman of spirit and courage.<\/p>\n
It is widely acknowledged that Riddles\u2019 electrifying triumph was one of the race\u2019s pivotal moments, broadening the Iditarod\u2019s fan base while inspiring women and the creation of T-shirts reading, \u201cAlaska: Where Men Are Men and Women Win the Iditarod.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Lew Freedman<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When the 1985 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race began Libby Riddles was a virtually unknown musher living in Teller. When the race ended, she was an international celebrity. By braving a storm that no other musher challenged, Riddles became the first woman to win the world\u2019s most significant dog sled race.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"hof-type":[150],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n