Nome Airport (OME or PAOM) (Photo by AET2 Maghupoy)	The town of Nome, where the Iditarod ends (Photo by AET2 Maghupoy)

May 15: The harbor at Nome is too shallow for the icebreakers. Plus, at this time of year, the harbor is filled with ice, so no small boats can make it in there either. So we had to do the onload for this phase by helicopter. It was no small feat. To make it work, we converted one helo for passengers and one for cargo. Passengers would be followed by their bags, then sent on their way. It was all working great, until the ship was diverted for a SAR case! After being released, the ship returned to Nome and we finished the onload before sunset.

Ready for flight ops (Photo by LT Hollinger)	Cold Tiedown Crew. It was a long day. (Photo by AET2 Maghupoy)

Headed back for another load (Photo by LT Hollinger)