HUMAN

Name: Billie Dobstaff

Residence: Orchard Park, New York, near Buffalo

Age: 74

Occupation: Retired

Years involved with Iditarod: Since 2011

Iditarod Role: I’m working security this year.

Current Location: Lakefront Hotel, Anchorage, Alaska
Date of Photo: March 3, 2022

Temperature: 68 F Indoors

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

This is my third year at Iditarod. That’s it. I first became involved with the Iditarod back in the summer of 2011. My husband and I came up to Alaska on a cruise and we went out to Talkeetna and we went on a sled dog ride with Jerry Sousa. And after that I was hooked.

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

I’m here today and involved with the Iditarod, because I love Alaska and I love the dogs.

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

One of my most memorable Iditarod experiences was back in, I think it was 2019. There was no snow in Anchorage, so we had to move the official startup to Fairbanks. And I just remembered it was 37 below and it was so cold. We only went out of the hotel to see one musher: Hugh Neff.

What do you know for sure?:

What do I know for sure in life? Well, you got to live for today. You don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. None of us do.