HUMAN

Name: Art Aldrich 

Age: 52
Residence: New York State
Occupation: TV producer
Years involved with Iditarod: This is my 14th year

Iditarod Role: TV producer
Current Location: Downtown Anchorage, Alaska
Date of Photo: March 7, 2020
Temperature: 10F/Outdoors 60F/Indoors

What, who or how and when did you first get involved with the Iditarod?

I got involved with the Iditarod back in 2007. I was brought up here as a TV production consultant with Panasonic. The race was testing out some new technology. I was helping Iditarod transition to that new technology, and it was a blast for me being from New York not having much knowledge of Iditarod. It was really an eye-opening experience and I was impressed with the whole process. The whole race was amazing to me.

What is your Why? Why are you here TODAY and involved with the Iditarod?

So I’m here today because I’m producing the live coverage that is seen on iditarod.com. That is my role now with Iditarod and like I said, I’ve been doing it for about 14 years and we’re streaming everything that we’re doing, everything the fans see on the web that’s coming through my fingers.

Tell me about just one of your most memorable Iditarod experiences.

So one of the most memorable experiences for me on the Iditarod Trail was probably in my third year with the race. We weren’t doing a lot of live streaming at that point because the technology wasn’t really ready for Alaska, rural interior Alaska. So I would go out on the trail and I would help film and edit little stories that were going to the website. And this was my first time going out and I was going out by myself to a checkpoint that was in the middle of nowhere. It was the Rohn Roadhouse. And, again, a little city boy from New York being sent out on a bush plane and dropped in Rohn. And Rohn, I don’t know if you’ve ever been, but Rohn is very small. There’s no town, there’s no village. It’s really just a shelter cabin and it’s very small and there were no beds for me. There were no… There was a tent with no heater and it was about 20 below zero, and I had to sleep in my bag and my coat and hat and it was hard. It was like I was really asking myself, “Is this really what I want to be doing?”

What do you know for sure?:

Well, I don’t know a lot, but I know for sure that life is meant to be lived. Doing what I do, I love what I do. I get to see places and meet people from all over the world. I really know that if you’re not in love with what you’re doing for your job, then it’s truly work.