City crews are hard at work building a snowy trail through downtown Anchorage for the Ceremonial Start of Iditarod XLIV. Snow has been stock piled since November for the event. To save the snow from rain, it’s been covered with a tarp. Over the winter months Mother Nature has been a little skimpy with snow and a little generous with warm weather and liquid precipitation. After recent warm weather, conditions on the Anchorage trail system have deteriorated. The decision was made to shorten the normal eleven mile route to three miles. The Alaska Railroad brought seven side dump cars of snow from Fairbanks to supplement what’s available in Anchorage. Ironically, a couple of inches of snow fell this afternoon which has provided a white cover all around, making it feel more like March and Iditarod. The forecast for tomorrow’s Ceremonial Start calls for a 90% chance of snow.
