2026 Knik 200 postponed due to trail conditions

It's deja vu for the South Central Alaska mushing community. There's very little snow in the MatSu Valley to start the race season. While the snow came on time this past October, November saw nothing but rain and ice. December temps dropped to well below the average for this time of year, and with those temps came hurricane force winds. Each weekend another windstorm blowing what little snow Knik and Wasilla still had completely away.

Teams once again have to travel away from their home trails in search of snow. Most are finding trails in and around Denali and Fairbanks, but with their feet of snow has also come extreme cold temperatures (that even prompted the Alaska State Troopers to warn residents to stay indoors until things warm up - mushers didn't listen). 

The Knik 100 was canceled due to weather as well as just not having any trails. Mushers were understanding and even thankful the race didn't try to make it work, but worry soon grew that the Knik 200 would soon suffer the same fate. There were rumors that the race would move to where there was snow for trails, but the board announced that they would decide and let mushers know on December 29.

So Alaska waited and hoped the wind would blow in some snow clouds. It didn't.

Well, there was that one day that had snow for about two hours, but it all blew away as fast as it fell.

And now, the Knik 200 board has announced that the race is not canceled, but postponed to the end of January. "We know that not all of you will be able to join that date," the board wrote in a simple facebook post Monday, "but hope that some of you still can!" With the new dates of January 24-25, the race will run at the same time of the very popular Kuskokwim 300 in Bethel. Several teams are signed up for both races, and it will be interesting to see what race they stay entered in. 

Many things will come into play as the deciding factor of where teams end up - mainly training hours. If South Central does not see snow soon mushers will be forced to spend a lot of time and money on the road traveling to trails that are runnable. That could force some to back out of the Kusko and stick with the Knik. Teams have until January 17 to drop out of the Knik 200 to receive their full refund.

Su Dog 300 warns of wet ahead of race day

Much of Alaska is under a weather advisory from Thursday night through Sunday. Winds are forecasted to bring rain and warm temperatures. The area that the run will take place is predicted to have close to 50 degree temperatures.

As news spread of the upcoming storm, natuarly mushers and volunteers began asking what this meant for the race. Would the trails hold up? 

The race took to social media late Thursday night with an update on the race. Trails are expected to hold up, but that mushers need to pack rain gear. "It is going to be wet," they wrote. 

Twenty-three teams were signed up and given bib numbers earlier this week, however the race has promised a 40% refund for anyone who withdraws prior to noon Friday.

The update came on the heels of the announcement Wednesday that the Iron Dog plans to use their traditional 2,500 mile route even with the crazy weather. The race, which is the longest "snowmobile" race in the world boasts a large and well known roster this year, and there's no doubt the race is under similar pressure as the Iditarod and other sled dog races across the state. The Iron Dog traditionally leaves off on Big Lake and travels up to Nome before they take a break to reboot the race (they work on their machines and get a little rest in) before continuing and finishing back on Big Lake.

According to reports, the least snow the Iron Dog will face is the section before the Alaska Range - which reports say has more snow than average - there's also little concern about the condition of the trails on the West coast of Alaska even though storms this week along with high tides are forecasted to cause flooding and massive overflow in the Yukon-Kuskoquim Delta region. 

As fans know, the Y-K Delta has seen races postponed due to poor trails and weather conditions. The popular Kuskokwim 300 was set to run this weekend, but had to be postponed in hopes for trail improvements and cooler temperatures and is currently rescheduled for February 7, 2025.

As the storm blows in that will affect this weekend's race, it is also set to hit South Central Alaska. SouthCentral as in Anchorage. Much of South Central is under a flood watch as rain and warm temps are predicted to cause a lot of water on road ways and lower parts of the topography. With the ground frozen there will be nowhere for the water to go. It leaves many expecting that the Iditarod will announce a Fairbanks start on February 3. It would also not be surprising to see them announce a shorter Ceremonial Start similar to what happened in 2016.

As Alaskans all grumble and glare at the Lower 48 (where New Orleans has reported twice as much snowfall this winter than Anchorage) and their lovely winter weather, it remains to be seen how many races will be affected by the "unseasonably warm" weather.

The Su Dog leaves from Willow Lake at 2pm on Saturday January 25. 

What do you think about the latest update from the Su Dog? Predictions on what Iditarod will do for their race? Comment below with your thoughts!

And, as always, you can Buy me a slice of pizza to help keep the blog up and running. It's always appreciated but never expected.

Weather cooperating for the Yukon Quest

With talk all last month that the Yukon River was open water all along the trail leading out of Whitehorse, concern was growing that major changes to the course were needed to be made. Race officials held off with announcing any such changes, stating they were watching the river and were actively working on alternate routes... but they trusted mother nature to work with them.

And work with them she has. The last few weeks temperatures dropped and snow hit the area; Much as it has elsewhere in Alaska. The trail reports are all positive - the river is frozen, and the more remote parts of the trail are in the process of being groomed. The weathermen predict a -45* start to race day (that's factoring in the windchill).

Yup, it's going to be a good race.

The starting order is as follows:

01. Allen Moore
02. Brent Sass
03. Normand Casavant
04. Cody Strathe
05. Nicolas Vanier
06. Tamra Reynolds
07. Damon Tedford
08. Lance Mackey
09. Jeff King
10. Tony Angelo
11. Dave Dalton
12. Kristin Knight Pace
13. Rolland Trowbridge
14. Torsten Kohnert
15. Scott Smith
16. Ryne Olson
17. Brian Wilmshurst
18. Joar Ulsom
19. Ray Redington Jr.
20. Ed Hopkins
21. Rob Cooke
22. Mike Ellis
23. Magnus Kaltenborn
24. Jason Campeau
25. Matt Hall
26. Hugh Neff

I'm dreaming of a white Iditarod

Dan Seavey with grandson Conway
at the Ceremonial Start of Iditarod 38.

...just like the ones I used to know. Where rivers are frozen, sleds aren't always broken, and the trail is covered with fresh snow!

I'm dreaming of a white Iditarod... with every day that passes by!

Okay, just be thankful that you didn't have to hear me sing that. Today South Central woke up to some rather happy snow accumulation - and it's still coming down!

This is exciting, but a little snow is just the start of what is needed to see some positive changes for the races of South Central. The Knik 200 posted on their website Wednesday that they would be moving the start of the race off of the lake and onto the Deshka airstrip. No doubt the snow is a welcome bonus as now trails will be covered for next week's start - as long as weather holds.

Things are still bleak down on the Kenai where the Tustumena 200 anxiously awaits the freezing temps that will hopefully solidify the trails over the waterways and they can use the snow to put in a decent trail. Until the snow accumulation started yesterday there was next to no snow on any part of the trail that starts in Kasilof and makes its way down to Homer and back. The race is set to kick off on Feb 21 - after rescheduling from the original date of Feb 7 - but without a firmly set trail there's no way that they will safely pull it off. Race officials will not make the decision to cancel until closer to race time - but they are keeping teams on the roster well informed of how things are going and what they are planning.

With 43 days until the Iditarod, the restart is still the biggest question - where will they host it? Tradition has always been South Central/MatSu - with one exception in 2003 when Chinook winds made a restart in Wasilla or Willow impossible and the race was run from Fairbanks. Officials are still talking of that being the posibility for Iditarod this year as well, but won't make that decision for at least another month.

There are also rumors that there isn't enough snow in the area to truck in for a Ceremonial Start in Anchorage - but if this weekend's snow sticks around those rumors should be easily laid to rest. It's 11 miles through Anchorage, I'm sure they can manage with little to no snow in spots.

So keep up the snow dances, prayers, sacrifices, whatever else you're doing folks. We've got a lot of winter left before race day!

Alaska's winter weather causing problems farther North

The "other thousand mile sled dog race" known as The Yukon Quest issued a press release today giving a trail update and possible alternate route for part of the race next month. With three weeks until the start, Quest trail officials have reported that the river is unfrozen near Whitehorse.

This winter has seen unseasonably warm temperatures in most of Alaska - causing problems for many of the sport's big races. The Tustumena 200 has postponed their race to Feb 21 in hopes that the Kenai Peninsula would see freezing temps and snow. So far all the Kenai's seen in a dusting of snow and lots of freezing rain. Trails are non existent at this point with many Peninsula mushers heading north for training when not running along the beaches with their four wheelers as a sled.

The Copper Basin 300 ran without a hitch, and no big changes to the route were reportedly made. The Kusko 300 ran mainly on river ice and asked spectators not to park on the river as they'd done in years past. Again, no problems were had by the teams, and Pete Kaiser brought the win back home to Bethel. The Northern Lights 300 is planning to kick off this weekend - with reports of overflow and open water.

With three weeks till show time the Quest is not making any plans to change course at this time. Stating in their press release: "There are still three weeks until the start of the race, and a lot can change. Trail crews are out on both sides of the border and we will have a more comprehensive trail report available next week." Crews are working on alternate routes should conditions worsen.

There are 26 teams ready and waiting for the race, four of which are champions.



And while I'm on the subject of sled dog races and the Northern Lights 300 - GOOD LUCK JODI BAILEY and Dew Claw Kennel! She's an amazing musher and person. I just love her!

Jodi Bailey at the finish of the 2012 Tustumena 200.