Too Much Snow Stops Montana’s Premier Sled Dog Race

It was a typically boisterous start to Montana's premier sled dog race in Lincoln Saturday, as mushers hit the trail for the annual "Race to the Sky".

But the races themselves were anything but typical, as an incoming storm made some of the trails nearly impassable, forcing organizers to shorten the 300-mile premier race.

One musher and his crew had to be evacuated after getting stuck in a foot of fresh powder in the high country over Huckleberry Pass.

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Montana's Race to the Sky meets bad weather

Conditions at the starting line were agreeable, with even a few sun breaks welcoming the mushers from all over North America, and a few hundred fans who bundled up against the cold and wind. Lincoln had been brutally cold last week, but fresh snow appeared to have created good trails for the racers and their teams.

But shortly after the last of the 100-mile teams had left the starting line, the weather began to blow in from the west, creating blizzard conditions, especially on the high crossing of Huckleberry Pass. The pass sets on a north-south ridge line and can get blasted by the weather crossing through the Upper Blackfoot Valley.

An early finish was called

The heavy snow and blizzard conditions closed the trail to the Owl Creek primitive checkpoint, and the foot of additional snow on Huckleberry Pass made it impossible to cross back over to the finish line in Lincoln. Organizers were also worried about temperatures plunging to less than -20 Sunday night into Monday. So the 300-mile event was shortened to 237 miles, finishing at White Tail Ranch east of Ovando Sunday night.

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A drag race ending

Wade Donaldson and Clayton Perry finished the race within minutes of one another, with Perry, of Power, Montana finishing a minute ahead and capturing 1st with the best overall time. Donaldson, from Coalville, Utah, took second. Charmayne Morrison of Bozeman was 3rd.

Average speeds were nearly half of the normal average because of the tough trail conditions.

Jesse Royer of Seeley Lake, who has dominated the race over the past decade, was racing in the Yukon Quest. That could have been a key call since there was some concern the shortened race might hurt qualifying changes for the Iditarod in Alaska.

Sean de Wolski of Fairbanks, Alaska finished in first place in the 100-mile race at 7:26 a.m. Sunday morning Nicole Lombardi of Lincoln, Montana placed second at 8:29 a.m.

Leon Church, from Manitoba, received the Jack Beckstrom Sportsmanship Award for the 300-mile teams for his perseverance on Saturday and Sunday. Church was on Huckleberry Pass when the blizzard occurred and camped there all night until he received help getting to White Tail Ranch where he withdrew.