22 February 2015

Fur Rondy Sled Dog Races Cancelled: No Snow

Fur Rondy sled dog races canceled due to poor trail conditions


The Fur Rendezvous Open World Championship sled dog sprint races are the latest victim of warm weather that has obliterated trail conditions around Southcentral Alaska and in Anchorage, despite the work of volunteers.

Race officials announced the decision to cancel the races Sunday. The races had been scheduled to run in Anchorage from Feb. 27 to March 1, and 20 mushers had signed up for the 2015 competition.

The decision was especially wrenching, said Race Marshal Janet Clarke, because this year's races were especially meaningful due to the Anchorage centennial and because they offered a chance to honor the memory of legendary sprint musher George Attla, who died earlier this month.


[snip] On Saturday, volunteers had been out on the trails in driving rain, trying to cover areas of bare grass, dirt and asphalt with snow. In some areas, asphalt was coated with ice. Just when one section seemed shored up, another would fail.


“Yesterday all of us were doing this in the rain. We simply lost all the ground we had gotten,” Clarke said. “Our trail boss summed it up: We can fill in holes but we can't fill in a whole 10 miles of trail.”



4 comments:

PioneerPreppy said...

The world seems to be in turmoil. Weird weather patterns from one extreme to the other like it's in pain. I wouldn't call it global warming or climate change as things like this have happened before but it makes one wonder what the world knows that we don't.

threecollie said...

Aw...I am so sorry. We have all your snow and no way to ship it where it belongs. I would be so happy to share if I could.

Jenny said...

What threecollie said.

Goodness, we're covered in the stuff. :/

Rev. Paul said...

Preppy, Jesus refers to it as birth pangs (Matthew 24:8). The planet is just following God's timeline.

threecollie, thank you. This happened in 2006, too. They cancelled the Rondy sprints to save snow for the Iditarod start, downtown. But we'll take that offer!

Jenny, please please please send us all you can spare. :)