Dusty Whittemore

Dusty Whittemore competed in the Junior Iditarod.The first one he lost and the second and third ones he won. He lost his first race by getting lost on the trail and he finished in fourth place. He also had trouble during his first race when his glasses were fogged. Dusty owned 17 sled dogs but used only ten in his first victory in 1995 and his lead dogs' names were Annie and QT. He would have used his dog named Ozone but he was injured. Upon winning his first race he stated, "I would have had a smile on my face for last place but victory feels good." Dusty lived in Cantwell, Alaska which only had 4 high school students. He was the only boy in his HS class and was often teased for his involvement in sled dog racing. Early in his life he lived in a school bus with his sled dogs and parents until they moved into a log cabin. The first time he won he waited until the rest of the mushers came to the finish line.