Kuskokwim 300 musher Brent Sass scratched from the race at the midway Bethel checkpoint. Sass says that his dogs were slipping and sliding on the glare ice, and he had to carry three dogs into the checkpoint following a rough night on the trail.
“When it came down to it, there were a couple others, they just took a hit last night. They had a lot of problems on the ice and that stressed them out. There are nicks and dings...it’s just not the right thing for the dogs to continue on,” said Sass. "It’s a hard decision, but in the end it’s also an easy decision with the condition of the dogs. There’s no point to make them any more unhappy.”
Sass rested in Bethel for about three hours before making the final decision. The K300 is the only race on his calendar in what Sass calls a rebuilding year for his team.
“There are only five dogs from my previous main race team. It’s a kind of a transition year to begin with. I have a lot of young dogs, so another reason is I don’t want to leave a terrible impression on young dogs,” said Sass.
Sass is not competing in the Iditarod or the Yukon Quest and has placed second in the two previous K300 races.
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