Northern Lights 300 sled dog race, high school skiing cancelled

WASILLA — Recent warm and wet weather has forced the cancellation of a pair of events scheduled to begin Friday.

The Northern Lights 300 sled dog race and the Mat-Su Invitational cross-country skiing race have both been cancelled, organizers confirmed Thursday.

Northern Lights 300 race director Sue Allen said organizers of the annual sled dog event were forced to make the final call Thursday morning.

“We have a lot invested. A lot of mushers are needing qualifiers. We promised them all we wouldn’t cancel unless we absolutely had to,” Allen said. “A couple of days ago we could have gone (as planned). But it was pouring down rain here last night.”

Allen said trail conditions rapidly deteriorated throughout the course, which sends mushers from Big Lake to Finger Lake and back.

“The last 10 days or so it started to go sour,” Allen said.

The thought of having to cancel the race is always in the back of your head, Allen said. Conditions in the Finger Lake area were among the biggest concerns.

“You could not host dogs there. The whole lake is wet. There’s really no room to put the dogs on land,” Allen said.

Conditions in Skwentna cemented the decision.

“Skwetna was the icing on the cake,” Allen said. “There’s too much water there. It’s raining really hard in Skwentna.”

Inability to transport race officials and veterinarians by plane to checkpoints is also another major factor, Allen said.

The Northern Lights 300 was scheduled to start Friday at the Happy Trail Kennels in Big Lake. According to the event’s website, the proposed trail would lead teams to Yentna via the Willow Swamp. Teams would continue to Finger Lake, before heading back to Happy Trails Kennels through Yentna. A full field, which included 2012 Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey, was expected to compete in the race.

Allen said officials are disappointed to cancel this weekend’s race. If organizers reschedule the event, Allen said, it would most likely be held after the finish of the Iditarod.

Colony head coach Mark Strabel confirmed Thursday that the annual Mat-Su Invitational, hosted by Colony, had been cancelled. A dozen teams were scheduled to compete in the two-day meet at the Government Peak Recreation Center in Hatcher Pass.