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FAIRBANKS — Mushing routes along the Yukon River are choppy, and snow everywhere is a bit sparse. But organizers of the Yukon Quest say it’s too soon to worry about trail conditions with nearly three weeks remaining before the start of the 1,000-mile sled dog race.
A meeting to discuss trails on the Alaska side of the Quest trail was held Monday, with reports trickling in from numerous volunteers who monitor the portion of the trail between Fairbanks and the Canada border.
So far, the reports haven’t been glowing. The Yukon River had a rough freeze-up this year, creating rough trail conditions and much overflow on the ice. Most of the trail could use more snow, though the current base layer seems adequate for mushing.
The Facebook page for the Two Rivers Dog Mushers Association also included a grim update on Tuesday for a portion of the trail outside Fairbanks that will be used for the Quest. It said the route to Angel Creek is “not usable,” with waist-high overflow in some areas.
But Marti Steury, Alaska executive director for the Quest, said plenty could happen in the weeks ahead to smooth out any potential problems. She said the current conditions are “not a concern to us at all” and are pretty typical at this stage.
“It’s pointless to do something with it right now,” Steury said. “It could change a half-dozen times before we’re done.”
An evaluation of trails on the Canada side of the border, stretching through Dawson City to Whitehorse, is planned this weekend. Steury said the terrain in Canada is typically less treacherous, which makes for easier trail management.
If trail problems do emerge that put dogs’ safety into question, race officials have been willing to reroute portions of the race in the past, Steury said.