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An Idaho dog sled race got mushers to the Iditarod. It just ended for good

Musher Kayson Judd from Coalville, Utah, and his sled dog team run the second leg of the two-day, 52-mile Warm Lake Stage Race in Idaho. (Melissa Shelby)
Musher Kayson Judd from Coalville, Utah, and his sled dog team run the second leg of the two-day, 52-mile Warm Lake Stage Race in Idaho. (Melissa Shelby)
By Nicole Blanchard Idaho Statesman The Idaho Statesman

An Idaho sled dog race announced Monday it will end the event after several years of race cancellations and suspensions due to snow issues and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Idaho Sled Dog Challenge was one of only a few qualifying races for the Iditarod, the famous 900-mile Alaska sled dog race, held in the Lower 48 .

“Without a reliable trail, our board of directors feels it is too much to ask of our volunteers and sponsors to continue, so we’ve decided it’s time for all good things to come to an end,” Idaho Sled Dog Challenge founder and organizer Jerry Wortley said in the news release.

The race began in 2018 as the McCall Ultra Sled Dog Challenge and included 100-mile and 300-mile races. This year, race organizers were only able to hold a 52-mile Warm Lake Stage Race due to a lack of snow. Organizers also had to cancel races in 2024 due to low snow, and several races were canceled last year because of severe avalanche risk. In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic caused cancellations, too.

The Idaho Sled Dog Challenge was part of the Rocky Mountain Triple Crown, a series of Iditarod qualifying races in the Western United States that includes the Eagle Cap Extreme near Joseph, Oregon, and the Race to the Sky near Helena. According to the news release, both races have faced similar challenges with low snow in recent years.

Other Iditarod qualifiers in the contiguous United States include two races in Michigan, one in Minnesota and one in Maine. The majority of qualifiers are held in Canada and Alaska, with a few others in Scandinavia. Mushers must run three other races to qualify for the Iditarod.

“The Idaho Sled Dog Challenge is reputed to be one of the toughest anywhere with over 36,000 feet of climb,” Wortley said.

The local sled dog race brought in mushers from across the country and was popular with local sled dog racers, too. Wortley noted in the news release that the race was “consistently dominated” by female mushers and was a qualifying race for competitors who went on to earn titles including Rookie of the Year and Most Improved at the Iditarod.

“It’s gratifying to know that the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge has brought so much joy to the many children who have escaped school for a day to cheer on the dogs, and to see the amazing community spirit that came alive at race time,” Wortley said.