Warm temps cancel sled dog race, keeping Idaho mushers from training for Iditarod
CASCADE, Idaho (ABC4) – Mushers are feeling disappointed after the 300-mile and 100-mile races of the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge were canceled because of warm weather and rain.
The decision was announced Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 23. Organizers said trail conditions had deteriorated because of the unusually warm weather in the Rockies.
“This is very unusual for us to have to cancel something like this,” spokesperson Tony Harrison told ABC4.
“We had to cancel the 2021 event due to COVID-19. This is the first time we’ve had to cancel it due to weather.”
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Mushers travel to Idaho from as far away as Minnesota and Canada to compete in the race, which is one event in what’s become known as the Triple Crown of the Rockies. The other races include the Eagle Cap Extreme near Joseph, Oregon, and the Race to the Sky near Lincoln, Montana. Those races were canceled as well, dashing the hopes of mushers.
The ramifications for the sport are wide-ranging. The Idaho Sled Dog Challenge is the only 300-mile Yukon Quest qualifying event in the lower 48 states. It is one of only three such events for the Iditarod in the contiguous continental U.S.
“The cancellation of the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge means that a lot of mushers won’t get to compete in a dog-sledding race this winter. It means that several mushers who compete in the Iditarod won’t get to run our race prior as training to get their teams into shape,” explained Harrison.
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