INTERVIEW: Aliy Zirkle’s race continues after snowmachine incident

When Aliy Zirkle sped through Kaltag, she refused to answer question about an incident that involved a snow machine collision on the Yukon River overnight. After traveling down the trail in the afternoon sun for a few hours, Zirkle decided to camp with her dog team until afternoon temperatures cooled.

KNOM’s Emily Schwing caught up with her to find out what happened outside of Nulato. But Zirkle did not want to talk about her experience. She says she wants to focus on maintaining a positive attitude for her dogs.

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Emily Schwing: “I’m not sure what to ask, so I’m just going to let you take the lead. Tell me what you want to tell me.”

Aliy Zirkle: “Boy, midnight on the Yukon River last night was really hard. It was a really hard thing for me. And anyway I just want to talk about it some time, but probably some time after the race, because it’s bringing a lot of negativity into my team. So maybe we can just chat after.

I’m not upset with anyone on the river or anything, just one particular person. And there’s bad apples in every bunch, I guess. But I gotta stop thinking about it, because all I do is think about it. And it’s not helping me.”

Emily Schwing: “Alright. I’m gonna let you get to sleep. Thank you Aliy.”