A multi day course on the Iditarod Trail, taught by ITI veterans, covering gear, layering, frostbite prevention, cold weather nutrition, navigation, bivouac and stove skills, and self rescue. Participants sleep outside every night. It is not a fitness camp. The 2027 camp runs 12 to 16 Feb 2027. Details and registration are on the camp page.

Yes. Athletes who pass camp qualify to apply for the ITI 350 the following year. We require a year between camp and the race when camp is your qualifier. You may race the ITI 150 in the same year as camp. See the camp page.

Transport between Anchorage and the trailhead for you, your bike or sled and one extra gear bag; instruction; four dinners cooked by the ITI crew; hot drinks; and snowmachine backup. Breakfast, lunch, snacks and all personal gear are on you. Camp is a learning environment, so bring the gear you want to test. A recommended gear list is sent when you register.

It depends on the weather, your discipline and how far you want to push. Camp is about learning to thrive in the winter wilderness, not testing fitness, so the longest day can be anywhere from 10 to 100 miles.

Arrive in Anchorage at least a day before camp starts, ideally two, and book your flight home for the day after camp ends.

Applications for the following February's race open on 1 Apr each year through the application page. Applications for 2027 are closed. Entry for 2028 opens on 1 Apr 2027. Spots fill quickly, so apply as soon as the window opens.

You pay when you apply. If you are not selected, we refund your payment in full. If you are accepted, it goes toward your entry fee.

We review every application by hand to build a safe, balanced field across the 150, 350 and 1000, and decisions take time. Everyone hears from us by email. Until then there is nothing more you need to do.

Two finishes in designated qualifying events, or significant specific winter athletic experience. Qualifying events include the ITI Winter Camp and ITI 150, Arrowhead 135, Tuscobia 160, Fat Pursuit, Susitna 100, White Mountains 100, Actif Epica, The Drift 100, Fat Viking, Rovaniemi 300 and the Yukon Arctic Ultra. Finish times do not matter; an official finish is what counts. The full list is on the ITI 350 page. Most successful applicants have two or more qualifying finishes.

It helps, but it rarely substitutes for qualifiers. The ITI offers very little support, the course is unmarked and athletes are expected to rescue themselves. History shows the best predictor of success is prior experience on the Iditarod Trail. If you lack winter ultra finishes, the Winter Camp is the best way in.

A finish in at least one winter ultra of 100 miles or more, or significant athletic experience in the cold. Finishing the 150 is a strong step toward the 350.

Two ITI 350 finishes. Applications without them are not considered, and we do not waive the requirement for other experience. No one has ever finished the ITI 1000 without first finishing the 350. Meeting the requirement makes you eligible to apply; it does not guarantee a place. See the ITI 1000 page.

We receive far more applications than we have places, and we cannot offer a spot to everyone. If you are not selected, your payment is refunded. Some applicants are instead offered a shorter distance (the 350 instead of the 1000, or the 150 instead of the 350) or a place at Winter Camp; in that case your payment is applied to the new event and any difference is refunded.

Join through the "Join the Waitlist" link on each event page. The waitlist is ranked by qualifications, not by sign up order, so athletes with more qualifying finishes rank higher. Spots open only when entrants withdraw, which is rare for the 1000. If a spot opens for you, we will email an invitation with a sign up link.

Yes. You can switch between bike, foot and ski right up to the start. Just tell us before the gun so we can update tracking.

You can move to a shorter distance, but you cannot move to a longer distance.

No. Every athlete applies, qualifies and races as an individual.

Yes, and many do. You are responsible for your own passport, visa and entry requirements, and travel document problems do not qualify for a refund. If you need a letter confirming your entry for a visa application, email us.

All fees are in US dollars. For 2027:

• ITI 150: $1,050, paid in full (two payments not offered)

• ITI 350: $1,700 in full, or two payments of $875

• ITI 1000: $2,050 in full, or two payments of $1,050

The ITI 150 fee includes ground transport from Anchorage to the start and back to Anchorage from the finish.

The first payment is collected when you apply. The second payment is due by 1 Oct and is not charged automatically; you submit it yourself on the payment page. Your entry is final once the second payment is received.

All entry payments, including second payments and balances, go through the payment page. Checkout accepts major cards and PayPal. If you have trouble paying online, email us and we will help.

Yes. Email us and we will arrange for them to pay directly.

Checkout emails an order confirmation. If you need a formal receipt for an employer or insurer, email us.

Before you are accepted, yes: we refund your payment in full. Once you are accepted, your entry fee is non refundable and non transferable. By the time you withdraw, we have already committed resources to supporting you on the trail. See our terms. We strongly recommend trip insurance.

No. Entries cannot be deferred to a future event. If you are unsure you can race, wait to apply until you are confident you will be on the start line.

No. Entries cannot be transferred. If you withdraw, we fill your place from the waitlist.

If you move to a shorter distance, we refund the difference in entry fees. Moving to a longer distance is not allowed.

No. Unlike most winter races, the ITI does not publish a required equipment list or run a gear check. Only experienced winter athletes are accepted, and the responsibility for carrying what you need to survive is yours. You must carry all survival gear from the start, and you must finish with every item you started with. The one required item is the race tracker, which we provide.

We do not set a temperature rating or specify models. Temperatures on the trail have ranged from 50 below to above freezing, so bring a system you trust in those conditions and know how to use.

The ITI is a race of radical self reliance. Planning to share shelter or essential gear goes against that, so carry your own.

No. The course is unmarked, there is no single designated route, and we do not provide a GPS track. The trail changes from year to year, and following a track blindly can lead people into trouble. You may choose your own line, but you must reach every checkpoint in order. Checkpoint coordinates are provided to entrants before the race. Navigation is part of the challenge.

Anything you did not carry, send in your own drop bags, or receive at a checkpoint is outside assistance. That includes parts or supplies sent to you by friends or family during the race.

No. We cannot accommodate dogs in any ITI event.

The 2027 ITI starts at Knik Lake at 2:00 PM Alaska time on Sunday 28 Feb 2027. Buses and cargo vans carry athletes and gear from the race hotel to the start, so let us know if you will not need a seat. Spectators are welcome at the start.

Plan to arrive at least three days before the start. Athlete check in runs over the two days before the race, and you will want time to prepare gear and buy last minute food and supplies.

Yes, and attending one is mandatory. We hold an online meeting the week before the race and an in person meeting during check in. Dates and links are emailed to entrants.

Our host hotel is Hyatt Place Anchorage Midtown, which offers a special rate for athletes and families, gear storage in rooms, a free airport shuttle and luggage storage while you are on the trail. Booking details are sent to entrants.

• ITI 150, finishing at Rainy Pass Lodge: the flight back is included in the entry fee and arranged when you arrive.

• ITI 350, finishing in McGrath: you arrange and pay for your flight when you arrive in McGrath.

• ITI 1000, finishing in Nome: you arrange and pay for your flight with Alaska Airlines.

Flights from the trail depend on weather, so build in a cushion of at least two days before any onward travel. From McGrath, bikes and sleds usually return to Anchorage as cargo on a separate flight and can arrive several days after you do. We do not ship bikes beyond Anchorage.

Checkpoint cutoffs are published to entrants before the race. The ITI 1000 has a 30 day limit to Nome.

Tell race staff right away, by message from your tracker or device or in person at a checkpoint, and return your tracker. You are responsible for the cost of flying out from the trail. Bush flights depend on weather, so leaving may take time. Once you finish or scratch, you return home from that point and cannot continue down the trail.

Plan as if no one is coming. Everyone who leaves a checkpoint must be ready to reach the next one on their own. Race staff, checkpoint volunteers and local residents will help where they can, but in remote country help can be days away and weather can ground aircraft. Self rescue is a core skill for the ITI, and the Winter Camp teaches it.

No. Once you finish or scratch, your race is over and you return home from the point where you finished or scratched. This applies to every distance, and there are no exceptions.

Our permits and insurance cover only the racers registered for each distance, and they limit travel beyond McGrath to registered ITI 1000 racers. Anyone going on outside those limits puts the whole event at risk with the agencies, landowners and communities that make the race possible. Villages along the trail set up lodging, checkpoints and emergency contacts for our registered racers. When someone on the trail is mistaken for an ITI racer and needs help, those communities turn to us, which strains relationships the race depends on. The trail beyond McGrath has no trail crews and very little support, which is why the ITI 1000 requires two ITI 350 finishes. Skipping that step is unsafe and unfair to the athletes who earned their place.

Finish the ITI 350 twice, then apply for the ITI 1000. That is the only way to reach Nome as part of the race.

No. We issue every racer a SPOT tracker at check in, and it is the one required piece of gear. Mount it with a clear view of the sky and keep it on for the whole race. You are welcome to carry your own inReach or satellite messenger for personal communication, but it does not replace the race tracker and cannot be shown on the race map.

Every racer appears on the live tracking map linked from itialaska.com. Family and friends are welcome to meet finishers in McGrath or Nome. Most stay in Anchorage and watch the tracker until their racer is a day or two from the finish, then book travel.

Contact us before the race. Less than three percent of the course is reachable by road, and most race support travels by air and snowmachine, so media access takes planning and is arranged case by case.

Email us. We build each partnership individually rather than selling standard packages.

Email info@iditarodtrailinvitational.com or use the contact form. Our mailing address is 1150 South Colony Way STE 3-721, Palmer, AK 99645.