FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 10, 2017

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race restart to move to Fairbanks

Anchorage, Alaska – Today, the Board of Directors of the Iditarod Trail Committee voted unanimously to move the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race restart location from Willow to Fairbanks due to the poor conditions of critical trail areas in the Alaska Range.

The ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage will take place as scheduled on Saturday, March 4, beginning at 10 a.m. The restart will now take place in Fairbanks on Monday, March 6, beginning at 11 a.m.

This marks the third time in the history of the Iditarod that the restart has been moved to Fairbanks due to poor conditions in the Alaska Range. The first was in 2003, and second in 2015.

“While some snow did fall east of the Alaska Range over the past couple of weeks, other critical areas along the trail received little snowfall, if any at all, including the trail into Rainy Pass. Additionally, trail conditions leading up to both Ptarmigan Pass and Dalzell Gorge are still considered unsafe at this time for the teams participating in this year’s race.” Iditarod Trail Committee Race Director Mark Nordman said.

Additional details regarding the Fairbanks restart will be available on Iditarod.com as additional planning decisions are made.

This year, 73 teams are registered for the 45th Iditarod, including last year’s top ten finishers.