In 1973, a teenager from Wisconsin moved to Alaska, drawn by its wilderness, dogs and remote way of life. Twelve years later, Libby Riddles made history after taking one of the biggest risks of her racing career — driving her sled-dog team into a powerful storm that other leading mushers had chosen to avoid.
Riddles went on to become the first woman to win the Iditarod , finishing the 1985 race in 18 days, 20 minutes and 17 seconds and earning $50,000 in prize money.
Her journey to the historic victory had not been straightforward. Riddles began raising and training sled dogs after moving to Alaska and eventually turned mushing into a long-distance racing career. She competed in the Iditarod in 1980 and 1981, finishing 20th and 18th, before continuing to develop her own team and gain experience on Alaska's demanding trails.
The Iditarod is not simply a test of speed. Mushers must constantly assess their dogs, equipment, weather and trail conditions while deciding when to rest and when to continue. Riddles faced many of those challenges during the 1985 race, including fatigue, dehydration, illness among her dogs, difficult trails and poor visibility.
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Her defining moment came near the end of the race as the trail approached Alaska's western coast. A major storm hit the area, with wind-driven snow making the trail difficult to see. Several leading mushers stopped at a checkpoint rather than risk continuing through the worsening conditions.
Riddles made the opposite decision.
“She was the only musher among the leaders to take on the storm beyond Shaktoolik.”
She left the checkpoint and pushed her team toward the coast. Accounts of the race describe Riddles and her dogs crossing 58 miles of Norton Sound in winds reaching 40 knots. Visibility became so poor that the trail was almost impossible to distinguish from the surrounding snow.
The decision put Riddles in first place while her rivals remained behind. At one point, she spent a night alone on the trail before continuing when conditions improved.
The gamble paid off.
Riddles maintained her lead and eventually reached Nome first, completing one of the most memorable victories in Iditarod history.
Her 1985 win was significant beyond the race itself. She became the first woman to claim the Iditarod title and helped inspire more women to enter the sport. Her victory also demonstrated how important strategy and judgment can be in a race where weather and trail conditions can change the outcome in a matter of hours.
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According to official Iditarod records, Riddles finished in 18 days, 20 minutes and 17 seconds , ahead of second-place finisher Duane Halverson, who completed the race in 18 days, 2 hours, 45 minutes and 36 seconds. Riddles also received the Race Champion, Golden Harness and Humanitarian awards that year.
For Riddles, the moment that changed Iditarod history was not simply about being faster than her rivals. It was about making a decision when the conditions were at their worst — and trusting herself and her dogs to keep going.
