HUMAN

Name: Robert Bundtzen 
Age: 70
Residence: Anchorage, Alaska.
Occupation: Practice infectious disease consultation.

Years involved with Iditarod: Well, I ran the Iditarod the first time in 1995.

Iditarod Role: Musher
Current Location: Lakefront Hotel, Anchorage, Alaska
Date of Photo: March 4, 2020
Temperature: 10 F outside/ 68 F inside

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

I got involved with the Iditarod in 1995 and ran it for the first time then. I started running dogs a couple of years before with Jim Lanier. And I was helping him run his teams. And then I actually inherited his team, and ended up using those dogs to run the first Iditarod.

What is your Why?.. Why are you here today and involved in Iditarod?

Well, I’m here today doing the Iditarod again because I just love running the dogs, and like ‘em working. It’s a challenge both physically and mentally, and it’s just fun, running a good team of dogs.

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

One of my most memorable experiences running the Iditarod is out there on the ice just outside of safety in a windstorm. It was just an unbelievably bad windstorm. I couldn’t see anything. I was really lucky that year because I had actually leased a leader from Louie Ambrose, who was able to run in that weather. And if it wasn’t for that leader, Baker, I don’t know if I ever would’ve gotten home.

What do you know for sure?:

What do I know for sure in life? Life is completely and absolutely unpredictable. And you’ve got to just do what you can, and do what you want, and not wait. Because you never know what’s going to happen.