Roberto in the Iditasport

March 2 - 3, 2002

In late February, a friend rented a couple of our snowmachines to guide an Italian film crew along the Iditarod Trail for the Iditasport, a 1000-mile winter wilderness race from Anchorage to Nome for runners, bikers, and cross-country skiers. It takes place each year prior to the famed Iditarod Sled Dog Race, along the same trail.

We saw the racers and film crew off on February 24. Six days later we got a call. They needed parts. Two snowmachines had crashed into the same tree descending from Rainy Pass, not to mention several dogsleds. It might have been wise to chop down that particular tree before someone got hurt!

We ran all over town to round up parts, then got a late start for Farewell in the plane. We landed and dropped off the parts. It was too late to return to Anchorage before dark so we flew on to McGrath, 350 miles into the race. There we met Roberto Ghidoni, the subject of the documentary. He's an extraordinary man, 6'5" tall, 56 years old at the time, with just one eye. He's a goat farmer from Italy who'd won this grueling race every time he entered. His secret is tenacity! The other racers leave him far behind initially, but they eventually tire. He walks an average of 22 hours and 50 miles a day, pulling a small sled. He's not fast out of the gate, but he has unbelievable tenacity!

I always hoped to view the documentary made by the Italians who rented our machines, even though we don't speak Italian.