Husky News

Sled dogs love the cold weather. And when the huskies are on the job, the frostier it is outside, the better.

This winter’s combination of thick snowpack and frigid weather in western Wyoming has created the perfect setting, race organizers say, for Wyoming’s annual International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race, which starts this evening in Jackson.

Temperatures are expected to be in the teens tonight for the initial, exhibition leg of the nine-day, 350-mile event.

And while the cold trend might be uncomfortable for those lining the streets and trails, it should make the anticipated 20-plus teams of dogs quite contented this year.

Fans of mushing will gather in and around Jackson’s Town Square this evening as an international field of sled dog mushers slides into action. Wendy Davis will try to repeat her success of last year, when she became the first Wyomingite to win the race.

At 32 years old and entering her ninth year of sled dog competition, she is one of a group of mushers transforming the historic sport by relying on their own athleticism, along with that of the canines. Davis will spend much of the upcoming race not atop the sled, but running alongside it to make it lighter for the dogs.

Davis will compete against a world-class assortment of mushers from Canada, Alaska and the northern United States, including two-time winner Melanie Shirilla and four-time Iditarod champion Doug Swingley. Shirilla and Swingley are married and from Montana.

In addition to Davis, this year’s roster includes two other Wyoming mushers: Stacey Teasley, who is married to race director and founder Frank Teasley, and Dustin Schmidt, a 23-year-old who will be making his debut in the race.

Both Teasley and Schmidt are from Jackson.

The annual stage stop event – the largest of its kind in the lower 48 states – snakes through western Wyoming, with stops in Jackson Hole, Lander, Cora, Pinedale, Big Piney, Marbleton, Alpine, Kemmerer and Evanston, culminating with a final leg just over the border in Park City, Utah.

It is a one-stage-a-day race, like the Tour de France, which gives mushers and dogs time to rest and allows the mushers to change out tired dogs for rested ones each day.

Davis’ victory last year – when she completed the course with a cumulative time of 23 hours, 41 minutes – was a treat for fans of the sport here, said Darla Worden, a spokeswoman who has been involved with the event for 10 years.

“I think it was really exciting that she won, with the media attention, and all the fans she has,” Worden said. “People in Wyoming were really rooting for her.”

Worden was reticent to make any predictions about Davis’ chances of repeating.

“Anything can happen. Something can happen to a sled, something can happen to a lead dog – every year I’m surprised. That’s what makes it really fun and exciting to watch.”

The entire route is covered with an abundance of snow this year, she said, and even more snow is predicted to fall as the race unfolds.

In recent years, warmer weather forced organizers to change the race’s course in spots because there wasn’t enough snow. And last year they had to truck snow into Jackson so mushers could do their traditional exhibition run through town, Worden said.

“This is the first time in recent years when we’ve had great cold temperatures and snow,” Worden said. “The dogs love it. The colder the better.”

Frank Teasley, race director, said he’s thrilled about the wintry weather and believes the conditions will make for some of the speediest legs on record.

“I think the conditions are perfect,” Teasley said. “This is already the fastest race in the world for sled dogs, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they set a new world record this year for one of the stages.”

The 2008 event kickoff in Jackson will be the biggest production in the history of the race, Teasley said. Right before the first leg, following a pig roast in Jackson’s Town Square, the lights will dim and there will be a big-screen, surround-sound show depicting scenes from previous races, moments and scenery from each stage and the overall personality of the race.

“This year people are going to see what the race is all about,” Teasley said. “It’s going to part some people’s hair.”

Source: Billings Gazette