Montana’s Race to the Sky draws in thousands of people to Lincoln to watch and participate in sled dog racing. It’s an ingrained tradition here, and the cancellation of this year’s race is already being felt in the community.
“It's definitely gonna be something that will be missed,” said Lincoln resident Roger Dey. “But it's definitely had a big role. It’s always brought people to town, and it's always a shame to see it canceled.”
Mushers and community react to cancellation of 'Race to the Sky'
The Iditarod qualifier is a staple of the Lincoln area, with sled dog teams from around the nation competing. It’s a big boost to the winter economy for Lincoln.
“I was bummed,” said dog musher Chris Adkins. “I was planning on running it, and now if I want to run dogs, I either have to go to the Midwest or down to Wyoming I guess.”
This year's cancellation marks the third year in a row the race has been impacted by weather. Last year, it was sudden sub-zero temperatures and extreme snowfall; in 2024, they canceled because of a lack of snow.
Despite efforts from mushers and volunteers, there simply wasn’t enough safe trail to use.
“The trails as they are right now are bare ground, or rock-hard ice, which is really hard on the dogs' wrists and their shoulders,” said Race to the Sky Vice Chair Pam Beckstrom.
The lack of snow isn’t the only weather event that impacted the course; December's destructive windstorm fell numerous trees on the course that had to be dealt with.
“We put a lot of work into clearing trails this year, making it runnable to begin with,” said dog musher Redman Glissson.
“Days and days of cutting trees off the trail from the big wind storm,” said dog musher Clayton Perry. “We spent days grooming it, keeping it knocked down, just trying to keep it ready.”
While disappointed, mushers and the community told MTN they understand the decision is what’s best and safest for everyone, especially the dogs.
“It was a good decision, it was the right one,” Adkins said. “Do I like it? No, but it was the right call for this year.”
Many of the sled teams are now heading to other states where there is snow.
Organizers of Race to the Sky told MTN they are so thankful for the continued support from the community, and they’re already looking to next year's race.
