Lack of snow forces U.P. sled dog race to cancel again
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — For the second consecutive year, a lack of snow has forced organizers to cancel the Tahquamenon Country Sled Dog Race.
The race, founded in 1999, gave mushers the opportunity to race around Muskallonge Lake State Park — about 25 miles west of Whitefish Point. It also drew a lot of visitors to the area and much-needed business.
“It has been an extraordinarily bare December across the whole Midwest; and our trails currently have less than an inch of snow, with no substantial amount predicted in the 10-day forecast,” organizers said in a statement. “It is, of course, our first priority to have a safe race for dogs and their mushers, and there is no way we can achieve this with conditions as they are.”
Registered mushers will be refunded, but they can’t recreate the tourist draw that the race provides.
“The lack of snow in our area is not only a detriment to us, but to the entire Tahquamenon community. Please continue to support our sponsors; this mild winter has led to a huge decrease in the winter tourism that our area thrives on,” the statement read.
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The Board of Directors is scheduled to have a meeting Thursday to reassess its options for the future. Board member Laura Bontrager told WJMN-TV that a lot of potential changes could be coming.
“We want this race more than anybody to happen, so we’re looking at all avenues for maybe having a rescheduled date in the future, having some of those logistics planned out, and then also potentially moving the race to a different date,” Bontrager said. “We do always, of course, look at other races in the region because we kind of work together with them to provide mushers with many different races throughout the season.”
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