{"id":96305,"date":"2019-01-07T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-01-07T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/sled-dog-racers-hope-third-time-is-a-charm-for-race\/"},"modified":"2019-01-07T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-01-07T12:00:00","slug":"sled-dog-racers-hope-third-time-is-a-charm-for-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/sled-dog-racers-hope-third-time-is-a-charm-for-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Sled dog racers hope third time is a charm for race"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Lynn
Lynn Whipple runs her dogsled on groomed trails in Silverton in 2017. Organizers plan to run the Silverton Flying Sled Dog Races on Jan. 12 and Jan. 13, after weather caused the cancellation of the event for two consecutive years.<\/span>Courtesy of Angela Moyer Photography<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

For the past two years, the Silverton Flying Sled Dog Races hasn\u2019t been able to catch a break, but event organizers are confident conditions will be just right this winter to hold the competition for the first time.<\/p>\n

The first year the event was planned, 2017, there was too much snow. A storm dumped on the San Juan Mountains the day before the race, creating risky avalanche conditions on Molas Pass, where the race was to be held.<\/p>\n

In 2018, there wasn\u2019t enough snow. A record drought year left the track too bare to safely run the dogs. The event, which was planned for January, was moved to February in the hopes conditions would change.<\/p>\n

But snow never arrived, and the race was ultimately canceled.<\/p>\n

\"Laurie
Laurie Brandt practices skijoring with her sled dog in Silverton in 2017. That year, the event was canceled on Molas Pass because of avalanche danger. This year, organizers hope to hold the event just outside of town.<\/span>Courtesy of Angela Moyer Photography<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

This year, event organizers are optimistic the race on the weekend of Jan. 12-13 will be a go.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe weather pattern\u2019s looking good, and we\u2019re excited,\u201d said Lynn Whipple, an event organizer and sled dog racer.<\/p>\n

The area around Molas Lake was identified as a fitting spot with good terrain for the race, but after the past two years were canceled, organizers decided to bring the event closer to town. But on Sunday, organizers went back to Plan A, and announced on Facebook that they will hold the race at Molas Lake Park, a few miles south of Silverton.<\/p>\n

Laurie Brandt, a racer based in Montrose, recommends hanging out at the start.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a spectator, that\u2019s the most interesting place to be,\u201d she said. \u201cAll the dogs are excited, and there\u2019s just a lot of chaos and noise and fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dogsled
Dogsled racer Laurie Brandt of Montrose practices skijoring with her dog outside Silverton. Skijoring will be among the sled dog races on Jan. 12 and Jan. 13 in Silverton.<\/span>Courtesy of J Barton Photography<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Whereas other famous dogsled races, such as the Iditarod in Alaska, feature long distances and the traditional husky dog breed, events in Colorado, given terrain constraints, tend to focus more on fast, short distances, Brandt said.<\/p>\n

As a result, mushers in the region tend to run dogs like Eurohounds, which are bred for sprinting.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Colorado, we just don\u2019t have the terrain to offer 100-mile races,\u201d Brandt said. \u201cSo we train for 4- to 6-mile distances.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most races feature the traditional four- to six-dog sled team. And, there\u2019s a skijoring aspect, where a musher will be on skis and run one or two dogs.<\/p>\n

Brandt got into the skijoring side of dogsledding through a friend who is a musher, and immediately took to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like being physically active and cross-country skiing,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s a cool thing you can do with your pet. Once I tried it, I was just hooked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whipple, who has been racing dogs since the 1980s, said the sport has evolved a lot over the years, becoming much more ethical in its treatment of the animals.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of that is old school stuff that\u2019s been pushed out,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot more dog care, and we\u2019re much more on a recreational level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whipple said the activity is great exercise for dogs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt puts all their energy to productive use,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Dogsledders
Dogsledders set up to go for a run around Silverton in 2017 after the event was canceled because of too much snow. In 2018, the race was canceled because of too little snow, but conditions look promising for this year\u2019s race on Jan. 12 and Jan. 13.<\/span>Courtesy of Laurie Brandt<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Event organizers also say the race in Silverton will feature classes to introduce people to the sport. For those interested in the skijoring style of dogsledding, it doesn\u2019t take much to get started.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have cross-county skis and a dog, all you need is about $65 to $100 in equipment for things like a harness,\u201d Brandt said.<\/p>\n

Whipple said people would be surprised about the range of dog breeds that can participate in skijoring. She encouraged people to come out with their dogs to the tutorial to learn more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sport is really becoming much more recreational and not so much about competition,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s just something fun you can do with your dog.\u201d<\/p>\n

With other dogsled races in Pagosa Springs and Grand Mesa, an event in Silverton will mark the third race in western Colorado in a string of competitions throughout January.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a natural setting for sled dog races,\u201d she said, \u201cSilverton really opened up their doors to us, showed us an amazing little town.\u201d<\/p>\n

DeAnne Gallegos, executive director of the Silverton Area Chamber of Commerce, said live music, a \u201cmushers banquet\u201d at the Grand Imperial Hotel and other events will be featured throughout the weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s become a town event,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd this year, I believe it will be the first year we successfully execute this event.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article was reposted on Jan. 7 to report that the race would be held at Molas Pass.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

years of cancellations, conditions look promising for 2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":96306,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5770],"tags":[13,327],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-96305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-high-school-sports","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-silverton"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96305\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96305"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=96305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}