Fairbanks, AK - The mushing season is in full throttle by now, but with a lack of snow, Mushers are starting to wonder how their racing season will shake out. On Monday, organizers announced the cancelation of the Sheep Mountain 150, favorite mid-distance race in south-central. It's not be the only sled dog race to succumb to this year’s weather.
The 150 mile sled dog race was due to start from the Sheep Mountain Lodge 65 miles east of Palmer. Race Director and veteran Yukon Quest and Iditarod musher Zack Steer says there’s just not enough snow to safely hold the race. “There was a pretty good storm forecasted," he says, "but we only got about a n inch, maybe two inches up in the mountains and we really needed another foot or 18 inches just because we haven’t had a lot of snow in the last three weeks and a lot of trail that we use for the race, goes through some river valleys and right now they’re just flooded wall to wall with ice and glaciation and so without the snow cover to protect dogs and teams, it would really be a dangerous situation.”
60 teams were signed up to leave from the start line this coming Saturday. Steer says the waiting list was also close to full. He says the race has grown in popularity since it began in 2004. "This time of the year, to me it’s not that important to be racing and I think a lot of the mushers appreciate that and that’s why they come here," says Steer. "They come here to test their dogs to test their skills, see if their training is working out. The rookies come here to work out the jitters and maybe it’s their very first race ever, so I’ve always tried to keep it low key and more fun.”
Lack of snow forced the cancelation of the Sheep Mountain 150 in 2009 and 2007 as well. Steer will consider rescheduling the race for later in March or April. It’s not the only race that has succumbed to a lack of snow this winter. Last month, the Two Rivers Dog Mushers Association canceled their annual Tuneup, an early season warm up over Thanksgiving weekend. During a meeting last week, TRDMA also discussed the possibility of cancelling the Solstice 100, which starts 23 miles east of Fairbanks. The organization will make their final decision next week.