HUMAN
Name: Burt Bomhoff
Age: 86
Residence: Anchorage, Alaska
Occupation: I’m retired. I’m an engineer by profession. Engineer land surveyor.
Years involved with Iditarod: I got involved in 1980.
Past Iditarod Roles: I was president of the Official Finishers Club for six years. I was president of Iditarod in ’86. I was executive director in ’93, for the ’93 race. Served on the board for many years of Iditarod. Have handled and lived a life. I lived up in the hills for a few years. I retired from my engineering business and moved up into the Peters Hills Country and Norman Vaughan and Joe Redington were my neighbors. And it was very rewarding. I had a lot of fun. Very memorable. The Iditarod in 1980, actually 1987 is when I began training for the 1980 race, and the 1980 race was my first Iditarod race.
Current Location: Settler’s Bay Lodge in Wasilla, Alaska
Date of Photo: March 1, 2022
Temperature: 68 F Indoors
What, who or how and when did you first get involved with the Iditarod?
I was on the Burn, mushing toward Nikoli, and I got derailed. I followed some tracks of a musher ahead of me that had gotten off the trail. And I ended up on the south fork of the Kuskokwim River. And my team and I went through the ice. I was completely submerged, not a soul around because I was off the trail and it gave me something to think about at the time and something to remember later. Obviously I survived.
What does the 50th running of the Iditarod mean to you?
I’m happy that it’s the 50th year. I’m a little bit concerned about the condition of Iditarod. The race I don’t think is as healthy as it could be. I think there are some reasons for that. The board of directors elects itself. We always put the election of board members out to the membership, because we believe that it kept the members involved. So now everything is so closed that there’s not a lot of communication between the management and the membership. That concerns me, because Iditarod needs its volunteers and its supporters and fans. And I think that you lose them when you create an impersonal situation. So I’m not really happy with the board at the present time.
What do you know for sure?:
I’ve done a lot of things in my life that have put me at great risk. Climbing mountains and cliffs and a lot of different things including racing Iditarod, which can have its hazards. I have three basic rules for doing something that’s risky, that I’ve always followed since I was a little boy. One is, be competent. Don’t be doing stuff that’s beyond your capability if it’s hazardous or risky. Be careful. Pay attention all the time if you’re in a tough situation. And I’m a Christian, I believe in my Christian faith. Those are my three C’s of dealing with things in life. And I’m absolutely sure of them because with the life I’ve led, I’m actually in pretty good shape. So I’m happy.