Because of poor snow conditions, Iditarod route altered

Iditarod mushers began their 1,000-mile trek across Alaska along a new route Monday after poor trail conditions forced organizers to push the race’s start north, bypassing a mountain range. Canadian rookie Rob Cooke, who hails from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, was the first musher to leave Fairbanks as fans looked on from the starting gate and along the expressway. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race usually kicks off 225 miles south in Willow. But because of a lack of snow this year, officials shifted the entire route around the Alaska Range and an area that left many mushers bruised and bloodied last year. This is only the second time Fairbanks has hosted the official start; similar low-snow conditions moved the Iditarod there in 2003. The finish line remains in Nome, on the state’s wind-whipped western coast. – AP