The 2025 Kuskokwim 300 (K300) has been pushed back two weeks because of poor snowfall and looming above-freezing temperatures.
Made one week out from the original start date of Jan. 24, the postponement is a major decision that’s been met with support from mushers, volunteers, and fans alike. The 300-mile race from Bethel upriver to Aniak and back will now start on Friday, Feb. 7.
“Really, what it came down to is that we could not be confident that we're going to be able to have a race trail until, at best, the day before the race. And at that point, would have 20-some-odd teams who, most of whom have spent a lot of money to be here,” said Paul Basile, race manager for the Kuskokwim 300.
Race officials said that that limited snowfall and unseasonably warm temperatures in the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) Delta throughout the winter have made it near-impossible to check or mark trails.
And that pattern is set to continue. In the lead-up to the region’s premier sled dog race, the race committee wrote that the “current forecast for Bethel and checkpoint communities of Tuluksak, Kalskag, and Aniak calls for five days of temperatures in the 30s and 40s leading into the middle of next week, which made it impossible to determine whether there would be a trail that is safe for human and canine athletes come race time.”
The decision was made a week before the race was originally scheduled to start to avoid a last-minute delay. And though it may throw a wrench in the plans of volunteers, vets, and mushers, Basile said that the committee has received support.
“I think everybody understands that mushers all over the state have been challenged by conditions this winter,” Basile said. “So everybody understands what's going on, and they understand that a move like this is in their best interest, in the best interest of their dogs, the best interest of the event, which they care about.”
Myron Angstman is the chairman of the K300 Race Committee and a veteran musher in the K300. He was among the members that unanimously voted to postpone the race. He said that in years past, the warm weather threatened to be hazardous come race day. But this year, the difficulty was more in being able to put in a trail safely.
“No one was able to say where on a trail might go depending on what the future weather brought, and you can't leave a trail marking crew a very short window of time to put in the trail, because it takes some time,” Angstman said.
Angstman said that the decision was made after communication with many of the registered mushers.
“We did a little survey of people that would include racers, supporters of the race, volunteers of the race, sponsors of the race, and veterinarians, for that was a key group,” Angstman said. “We did a survey of them, and it was a very high level of support for a postponement, even though it causes a lot of scheduling difficulties for a lot of those people, and including the race committee itself.”
As of late in the evening on Jan. 15, no registered teams had dropped out of the race, despite the reschedule.
A two-week delay for the K300 is not common. In its 46-year history, the race committee said that the race has been delayed “several” times due to extreme weather, usually for a day or two. And in 2021, the Kuskokwim 300 was delayed as part of a COVID-19 mitigation plan.
Races have occurred during a spectrum of less-than-favorable conditions. From temperatures as low as negative 56 degrees Fahreheit with wind, to a river trail flooded with melty overflow.
Jeff King, the winningest K300 musher, said that he remembers a year where they nicknamed the race the “Kusko-swim 300.’”
“We were in calf-deep, knee-deep water for miles at a time coming down from Kalskag,” King remembered.
Other races in the K300's Delta Championship series have been postponed, including the Bogus Creek 150 and the Holiday Classic. The trails have lacked consistent snow and, due to numerous warm spells, training has been challenging.
“I know that there's a lot of mushers who don't feel ready because they just haven't been able to get the kind of preparation they like to have,” King said.
Raymond Alexie, the top finisher in the season opener earlier this month, told KYUK that he took his team to the Denali area to train on snowpack earlier this season.
It’s not an issue exclusive to the Y-K Delta; it’s been an atypically warm winter throughout the state. Earlier this week, Anchorage Daily News reported that Iditarod staff are considering alternate race routes due to low snow and exceptionally warm conditions.
But race manager Basile said that the cause for the K300’s postponement had to do more with the forecasted conditions. The delay is about giving the best chance they can at more favorable conditions: light snow coverage and below freezing temperatures.
It’s not yet clear whether the February running of the K300 will have a modified trail route, but race officials said that no route modifications were planned as of Jan. 16.
Basile said that the committee is taking a few days to select the date of the Bogus Creek 150, which was also postponed from its original start date of Jan. 11. Basile said that the committee does not plan to have the race fall on the same weekend as the K300, in order to allow higher turn out for both competitions.
