Race Report- Thursday-Jan. 16.
At tonight’s meeting the mushers were cordial and keen on learning about the new rules and trail, but the Weather was on everyone’s mind. As of tonight, Kalskag and Tuluksak dog drop bags are still in Bethel due to the freezing rain and generally poor weather conditions. Presently a southern storm is bearing down on Southwest Alaska that might bring rain, snow, and strong winds to Race Day. Organizers will make a decision early tomorrow afternoon, but if planes don’t fly, postponement may be an option.
This has been a very unusual winter to date with warm weather and little snow. Pete took his teams and his handler to Nenana for a month, thanks to fellow musher and all around good guy, Aaron Burmeister, so the team has quite a few miles on them, but local teams that did not travel away have been looking for training days. I talked with Akiak Dash officials at the meeting and that race has been postponed from the traditional K300 weekend to later so teams have a bit more time to train.
Rules Changes–
This year the 6 hour rest rule has been changed. In the past, mushers could take one 6 hour layover in either Kalskag, Aniak, or Kalskag on the way down. This year the rules allow a musher to take the 6 hours in One hour increments in all of the three checkpoints. For example a musher may take 2 in Kalskag and then mush on to Aniak to take more time and then Kalskag to complete all of the 6 hours. The rules state that if a musher does not take an entire hour, no time is counted, so mushers will have to be careful not to leave early. For example if a musher arrives at 12:00 and leaves at 12:59, they are not credited with any layover time. This change will undoubtedly make the race much more exciting for the mushers and spectators alike. Recently Kalskag on the way up has been the stop of choice and mushers actually could rest up for the next long night. This change will also have the effect of removing sleep hours from the mushers.
Trail Changes–
Due to the conditions on the lower river recently, it was decided to use the Tuluksak “Back” Trail. This trail is used in Fall and Spring by upriver village folks traveling to Bethel when river conditions are poor. I spoke with Ross Boring, trail manager for the race, and he said the trail is in excellent shape. Due to the trees along the trail, it will be good going as long as the impending storm doesn’t wreak havok. This section of the trail can be confusing and Pete told me that he uses it often, but it took awhile for him to learn its tricks. Luckily the trail is marked with at least 10 stakes to the mile, so it should be fine, even for the rookies.
More in the morning as we see if the storm materializes. You can never be sure what’s going to parlay into reality when dealing with Alaskan Weather!!
