The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race will run its scheduled southern route next month.
Despite little snow in some parts of the state, including in Anchorage, race director Mark Nordman says conditions along much of the 1,000-mile trail to Nome are actually pretty good. He described the trail as “favorable” for mushers — there’s a lot of snow.
“I need frozen ground, frozen water and, of course, we want snow on the majority of it," he said in an interview Monday. "When I talk about favorable, it's just a nice way that you can control a dog team. You can put in what we call the snow hook, and stop your team and tend to their needs and just have a nice run to Nome.”
Nordman said while the snow is good most of the way, it’s not great in the twisty and steep Dalzell Gorge between Rainy Pass and Rohn, and he’s concerned about that area.
But that stretch of trail is notoriously difficult, and it didn’t warrant changing the course. Race officials confirmed the Iditarod would follow the southern route in a news release Friday.
The Iditarod usually follows the northern route in even-numbered years and the southern route in odd-numbered years.
The first third of both routes are the same, but at Ophir, they split. And in odd years, like this one, mushers pass through the communities of Shageluk, Anvik and Grayling before joining back up with the northern route in Kaltag.
Nordman said the southern route can be more difficult because it’s less traveled.
“The big difference is that nobody normally travels from Ophir nowadays, pretty much to Shageluk," he said. "This southern route, can be more difficult because nobody's traveling it, but the event.”
The race first ran to Nome in 1973 and solely ran the race’s northern route. Small villages struggled to accommodate an influx of mushers, their dog teams and fans. In 1977, race officials decided to split the route into two, creating the southern route, and began alternating courses each year.
This year's southern-routed Iditarod starts on Saturday, March 1, with its parade-like ceremonial start through Anchorage.
The next day is the official race start. It’s normally an hour north of the city, at Willow Lake, but race officials say that could change depending on snow coverage, though it will not impact the rest of the course.
With just 34 mushers, this year’s Iditarod is set to be the second smallest in the race’s history.
