Twenty-one Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race teams charged out of Bethel the night of Jan. 17 on a hard-packed trail headed to Aniak, while seven teams raced upriver in the Bogus Creek 150. Hundreds of race fans came out to send off the teams before being treated to a fireworks show.
Slideshow: Start Of The K300 And Bogus Creek 150
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Sled dog racing fans gather on the frozen Kuskokwim River in front of Bethel to cheer on mushers racing the Bogus Creek 150 and Kuskokwim 300 sled dog races on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.
Katie Basile / KYUK
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Sled dog fans warm-up with hot chocolate inside the hovercraft at the start of the Bogus Creek 150 Sled Dog Race on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.
Katie Basile / KYUK
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Sled dog racing fans gathered on the frozen Kuskokwim River in front of Bethel to cheer on mushers racing the Bogus Creek 150 and Kuskokwim 300 sled dog races on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.
Katie Basile / KYUK
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Mushers pull into the chute at the start of the Bogus Creek 150 Sled Dog Race on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.
Katie Basile / KYUK
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Sled dog fans warm-up with hot chocolate inside the hovercraft at the start of the Bogus Creek 150 Sled Dog Race on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.
Katie Basile / KYUK
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Hovercraft operator Gux Laraux prepares hot chocolate for chilly sled dog racing fans at the start of the Bogus Creek 150 and Kuskokwim Sled Dog Race on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska. The hovercraft offered fans refreshments and a place to warm up.
Katie Basile / KYUK
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Sled dogs are harnessed, hooked-up, and ready for the start of the Bogus Creek 150 Sled Dog Race on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.
Katie Basile / KYUK
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Lance Mackey stands ready with his team in the chute at the start of the Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.
Katie Basile / KYUK
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At the age of 79, Jim Lanier is the oldest competitor in the Kuskokwim 300 this year. Lanier leaves the chute in the 16th position at the start of the Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.
Katie Basile / KYUK
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Four-time Kuskokwim 300 champion and reigning Iditarod champion Pete Kaiser pulls up to the chute at the start of the Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.
Gabby Hiestand Salgado / KYUK
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Maurice Andrews pulls on a few more layers at the start of the Bogus Creek 150 Sled Dog Race on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska. Temperatures will hover around zero degrees Fahrenheit this race weekend.
Gabby Hiestand Salgado / KYUK
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Sled dogs are harnessed, hooked-up, and ready for the start of Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.
Gabby Hiestand Salgado / KYUK
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Sled dogs are harnessed, hooked-up, and ready for the start of the Bogus Creek 150 Sled Dog Race on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.
Gabby Hiestand Salgado / KYUK
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Fans sport their Kaiser Racing Kennel gear in support of reigning Iditarod champion and Bethel-native Pete Kaiser at the start of the Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.
Katie Basile / KYUK
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Sean Glasheen and Ryan Burke handle dogs for musher Richie Diehl at the start of the Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.
Katie Basile / KYUK
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Aniak musher Richie Diehl stands ready with his team in the chute at the start of the Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.
Katie Basile / KYUK
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Aniak musher Richie Diehl checks in on his dogs minutes before the start of the Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.
Katie Basile / KYUK
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Bethany Kaiser watches her husband, Pete Kaiser’s, sled dog team as they move towards the chute at the start of the Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.";
Katie Basile / KYUK
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Race assistant Danny Nelson affixes a tracker to musher Aaron Peck’s sled at start of the Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.";
Katie Basile / KYUK
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Sled dogs are harnessed, hooked-up, and ready for the start of the Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.
Katie Basile / KYUK
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Kuskokwim 300 sled dog race spectators climb into the hovercraft to eat doughnuts and drink hot chocolate between race starts on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.
Katie Basile / KYUK
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John George of Akiachak at the start of the Bogus Creek 150 on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.
Katie Basile / KYUK
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Casey McDonald and Bev Hoffman handle Matt Scott’s team at the start of the Bogus Creek 150 on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.";
Katie Basile / KYUK
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The hovercraft parks near the Kuskokwim 300 start-line to welcome spectators in for hot chocolate, doughnuts, and a place to warm-up between race starts on January 17, 2020 in Bethel, Alaska.
Katie Basile / KYUK
