Musher Ramey Smyth to build new Iditarod burled arch
The Iditarod Trail Committee announced last week that longtime Iditarod musher Ramey Smyth will construct the new burled arch that marks the end of the race in Nome.
After 24 years of use, the arch crumbled due to wood rot in Nome’s Anvil City Square on April 27.
“When we first started discussing a new build for the Nome Arch a couple years ago, of course my first choice was Ramey Smyth,” Race Director Mark Nordman said in a statement from the Iditarod Trail Committee. “The current arch will be dearly missed by tourists and locals alike this summer, but we are so excited to see what Ramey builds for the next phase of Iditarod history.”
Nordman explained that Smyth’s family has been “entrenched” in the Iditarod since he was a boy. His father, Bud Smyth, raced in the first Iditarod, and his mother, Lolly Medley, raced in the second Iditarod. The Lolly Medley golden harness award, given to outstanding lead dogs, commemorates heår involvement.
Smyth has finished the Iditarod 26 times since 1994. He arrived in Nome among the top 10 racers twelve times.
His family also has a long connection to woodworking. Smyth, who lives in Willow, works full time as a log home builder when he’s not out on the trail with his dogs. According to the website of Smyth Logwork and Construction, the family has been building log homes in Alaska since the 1950s.
Race organizers and Nome officials knew that the arch would have to be replaced soon. The previous arch had a similar lifespan—it stood for 25 years—and this one was showing signs of rot.
“We had pointed out to the folks that we dealt with at the Iditarod that the arch was really reaching the end of its life,” said City Manager Glenn Steckman. “We were even concerned this past Iditarod that the arch may not survive because there was rot in the poles that we knew of. I will say the crossbar [disintegration] was a little bit of a surprise, but we knew the arch was having serious problems.”
Because the Iditarod is such an important event for Nome, the City had already set aside $20,000 to assist in replacing the arch, Steckman said.
Confirming the rumors about his selection for the rebuild, Smyth told Mushing Magazine that for him, the arch symbolizes “teamwork, dreams, sacrifices, challenges on a trail of hardships, storms, sweat and tears.”
He said he plans to use Sitka spruce or white spruce to create the new arch, though it could take months to find the right material as spruce beetles are wiping out so many trees in Alaska. Smyth told the magazine he hoped property owners with healthy trees might reach out to him.