Fairbanks, AK - Trailbreakers are busy packing and clearing the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race trail. There are no major changes planned for the route this year. This will be one of the busier years on the Alaska side of the trail, where dog teams are likely to encounter open water.
It’s one of the better years for snow pack in Interior Alaska and many people have reveled in a recent stretch of temperatures at or above zero degrees. But Race Manager Alex Olesen says the combination of warm weather and thick snow means dog teams competing in this year’s Yukon Quest are likely to encounter open water on the Yukon River. “Lots of snow and warm temperatures have insulated the ground and ice that is there," says Olesen. "It seems like they’ll have to do a lot of cutting back and forth to avoid leads. You would think going down a river you would just take a straight line from corner to corner. It’s just not possible.”
Olesen says there are a number of open leads on other water bodies as well. “We’ve heard from pilots to that a lot of these leads are in places that you don’t usually see open water.”
On the upside, Olesen says there are no reports of jumble ice, which means despite the switchbacks, it could be a smooth run as dog teams head toward Eagle and the Canadian border. He also says thick snow means notoriously rough sections of trail may not be as technical this year. “Places where there’s lots of stumps and rocks will be covered up, which is nice,” he says.
A fierce November storm posed a challenge for trail breakers earlier in the season because they had to clear downed trees and brush from the trail. Overall, Olesen says with less than a month before the race start, logistics are coming together. “You pretty much assume at this point in January, the weather will get bizarre and it will be 50 below and everything will be miserable for everybody," he says. "You also assume somebody will rabbit out in front at record pace. If that doesn’t happen then great, if it does, then we were right.”
This could prove to be one of the busiest years for the Alaska-side trail, with 20 teams signed up to run all 1000 miles to Whitehorse in the Yukon and another 25 teams planning to run the Yukon Quest 300, which follows an out-and-back route between Fairbanks and Circle.