BETHEL -- A 100-mile sled dog race planned to start Saturday in Bethel has been postponed indefinitely due to warm weather and deteriorating trail conditions on the Kuskokwim River.
The Kuskokwim 300 race committee on Thursday announced the postponement of the new 100-mile Challenge, which had been intended to help mushers gear up and train for longer races. Organizers still are evaluating the route for the main event, the 36th annual Kuskokwim 300, which is set to begin Jan. 16.
"The Race Committee does not anticipate pushing back the K300 at all. In fact, many long-time K300 racers and fans will recall that it is traditional to have a warm-up during the weeks leading up to the race," race organizers said in the announcement.
It's better to have bad weather before the race and good weather during it rather than the other way around, the announcement said.
In December, Bethel set records for the warmest low temperatures ever recorded three days in a row, Dec. 28-30. On Tuesday, for instance, the low temperature was a record 33 degrees and the high was a record 43 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The day before, the low temperature of 36 degrees set another record for warmth.
The Western Alaska hub also saw a record late start to low temperatures. Just before midnight on Dec. 21, the temperature fell below zero for the first time this winter, the latest time for negative temperatures since official weather records in Bethel began back in 1923, according to the Weather Service. Bethel went 272 days without dropping below zero, the second longest stretch on record.
On Thursday, it dropped down to the 20s and a dusting of fresh snow was in the forecast.