FINGER LAKE, Alaska -- Corvallis neurosurgeon Cliff Roberson is running 70th in this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, but he's just happy to be in freezing Alaska.

John Kirby for kgw.com

A team of dogs prepares to take off at the starting line.

It's been 13 years since Roberson finished his third Iditarod. Now 60, he wanted to relive an unforgettable experience one last time before he gets too old.

Roberson says it's hard for some to understand the whys of running the Iditarod, such as why someone would spend thousands of dollars preparing for the race and why someone would want to sleep on frozen ground.

But for him, the mystique of the race runs the whole course, from bonding with the dogs to basking under the northern lights.

There are jagged mountains, dense woods and the wind-scrubbed Bering coast before the final stretch to the finish line under Nome's burled arch.

Roberson says this is the only way to really see Alaska.