Kobuk 440 starts at a "pleasant" thirty-five below

The Kobuk 440 is a windy one today as teams took off out of Kotzebue this afternoon. The blizzard like conditions have teams running in wind that brings the temperature to a balmy -35F. Teams are running into the wind and as luck would have it the wind will shift just as teams hit the turn around point and so they will run into the wind on the return trip. The race should have started Thursday, but weather kept many of the teams from getting into Kotzebue and for race officials to get out on the trail. Mushers and their support crews are concerned about getting back out of Kotzebue after the race finishes.

The Kobuk 440 is one of the few races that starts with a Mass Start. Due to weather and Covid concerns there were no official live feeds, but Ryan Redington went Live at the start and during the first few miles of his race via his facebook page. View that below (the wind is crazy, well worth the watch). 

You can follow the teams via the trackleader "trackybois" (a term of endearment first brought by the Kobuk 440 two years ago).