The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race will now start in Fairbanks, not Willow, due to a lack of snow, race officials announced Monday.
The last-minute change follows alarms raised by some mushers over the weekend who said stretches of the trail were not safe for their teams.
Race officials still plan to hold the parade-like ceremonial start in Anchorage on Saturday, March 1. Two days later, on Monday, March 3, the 33 teams will officially start their race out of Fairbanks and head to the Nome finish line.
'Really, really worried'
The portion of trail that race officials have now deemed impassable is in the so-called Farewell Burn area, outside of the checkpoint in Nikolai, about a quarter of the way into the thousand-mile race.
Andy Angstman, the musher representative on the Iditarod’s Board of Directors, said dozens of people called him with concerns about that stretch.
“I got lots of calls, texts and emails from folks who had seen those videos and pictures from the Iron Dog, and they were very concerned about the welfare of themselves and breaking sleds and taking care of their dogs," he said. "I’ve talked to dozens of people over the weekend who were really, really worried.”
Iron Dog snowmachine racers just traveled that part of the trail. It’s known for low snow. But photos circulating on social media show particularly bare and rough terrain. One Iron Dog racer described the stretch as “frozen tundra and straight hell.” Another wrote, “I don’t know how the Iditarod could run through 75 mi of dirt.”
In the Iditarod statement Monday, race marshal Warren Palfrey said with no snow in the forecast, "there is simply no way" officials could allow teams to travel that part of the trail.
“It is a shame because the remainder of the trail is in great shape all the way to Nome," he said.
Several mushers competing in the upcoming race who raised fears online over the weekend declined to comment for this story, citing concerns about a rule that prohibits mushers from conduct that is “recklessly injurious” to the race, its competitors or its sponsors.
Hans Gatt, who is not competing this year, finished the Iditarod in 2014 in 9th place, a year when nearly 20 mushers scratched from the race, many due to damaged sleds and physical injuries like broken ankles. He said the photo of this year’s trail looked worse.
“There's so many obstacles and so many holes in the trail, and that's a problem for the dogs, you know, they step into that stuff,” he said. “It's not good to have a lot of injured dogs out there, and that's the last thing this sport needs.”
4th time race moves north
At the end of January, race officials had confirmed their intention to hold the competition out of Willow on the traditional southern route.
But no snow has fallen since then, organizers said, forcing them to move the start north.
This will be the fourth time in Iditarod history that mushers are leaving from Fairbanks. Teams last raced out of the Interior city in 2017 due to poor trail conditions through the Alaska Range.
This year’s route is slightly different.
According to race officials, teams will travel from Fairbanks to Nenana, Manley, Tanana, Ruby, Galena, Nulato, Kaltag, Eagle Island, Grayling, Anvik and Shageluk before looping back upriver and passing again through Grayling, Eagle Island and Kaltag. Then mushers will head to Unalakleet and follow the traditional trail up the Bering Sea coast to the finish line in Nome.
"While this change will be a logistical feat for many, it is a necessary adjustment to ensure that the race can proceed safely and fairly," said the Iditarod's statement.
