Prelude Summary and Analysis

Gary is in Alaska three months before the start of his second Iditarod Race. One day, Gary misses crucial warning signs of a mounting storm and hopes to return to camp before the weather turns, instead of finding a spot to hole up with the dogs.The team moves away from the sheltered trail into the open with their back to the wind and Gary is still ignorant of the warning signs swirling around him. As they round the mountain to enter the wide open, Duberry, the lead dog, is swept away in a wall of wind and snow. Gary is caught off guard and ripped from the sled to be blown down the mountain landing against a rock outcropping.

As Gary digs a hole for a shelter, he realizes that the dogs have returned for him. Gary realizes that he...