HUMAN

Name: Wes Price
Age: 39 
Residence: Oregon
Occupation: I am a CPA, Certified Public Accountant, and business owner.
Years involved with Iditarod: This will be my fifth year being involved.
Iditarod Role: I am the Anchorage Assistant Chief Pilot or Swing Pilot.

Current Location: Lakefront Hotel, Anchorage, Alaska
Date of Photo: March 5, 2020
Temperature: 68 F inside

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

I got involved with Iditarod in 2008 when a friend, Danny Davidson, asked me if I’d be interested in flying because the rest of the pilots we’re getting so old they needed some new blood. So, it was a friend that asked me.

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

I am here today and involved with Iditarod because of the comradery and friendships that I’ve developed over the years. It’s a fun, neat Alaskan experience that is just so unique, and there’s so many beautiful things about it. Just being here, being involved with the people, with the dogs and the unique experience. It is inspiring and beautiful and just love being part of it. 

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

One of my most memorable Iditarod experiences was being a brand new pilot and flying into Finger Lake, a checkpoint there. I know they had warned me about overflow being on the ice, but I just decided to experience it for myself. I got my airplane stuck at the end of the strip there, which is landing on a lake. And I spent the next probably four hours digging out snow around my skis until I could free the airplane. I’m sure I was the laughing stock of a lot of people, but it was memorable and hard work and there’s many more experiences, but that’s one of the funny ones I do remember.

What do you know for sure?:

What I know for sure in life is that it’s delicate and it’s so important. I was involved in an airplane accident in 2010. And actually it’s amazing that I’m still here. I’m a quadriplegic, but I know that we can have hope in something more than this life. And I put my hope in Jesus Christ, who came to save us from all the sin that we can’t be saved from, except for a perfect sacrifice. So I thank God that I’m still alive, still able to be part of Iditarod, still be involved with people, and be able to love people. I thank Jesus that I’m able to do that. But I put my hope in heaven and eternity and something so much greater than what’s around us, and I hope you do too.