CASCADE, ID — Several changes are coming to the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge in late January and early February as the Iditarod qualifier marks its seventh annual run in 2025. The most significant difference: The 300-mile race has been modified to a 200-mile event with the loss of part of the trail required to reach the Smiths Ferry checkpoint after the Boulder and Lava Fires consumed a bridge this summer.
Race organizers are expanding the event to include Sled Dog Week Jan. 27-31, featuring sled dog movies at the Ponderosa Center in McCall, a bingo night at Foresters in McCall, a trivia night at Broken Horn Brewing Co. in McCall, and similar events in New Meadows and at Tamarack Resort to be announced soon. In addition, Hotel NoBo in Cascade recently named its wine bar Checkpoint in honor of the annual race and plans to be involved in Sled Dog Week.
Meet the Mushers on Feb. 1 is transforming into a larger affair staged simultaneously at Hotel Nobo and Tamarack Resort. Previously featuring one local musher and their team, this year’s installment will involve several of the mushers and their teams. Race organizers are printing posters attendees can purchase for $5 that mushers will autograph for fans for free at the event.
A new race marshal has joined the team, too. Race marshal Mark Cox, a longtime Alaska resident and experienced musher and trapper renowned for his bush skills, has worked as a judge on the Iditarod for more than two decades and handles logistics for the McGrath checkpoint. Prior to retirement, Cox worked for the State of Alaska Division of Forestry as a firefighter and in logistics, and he also has run the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge’s Third Fork checkpoint. Former ISDC race marshal Rick Katucki will serve as race marshal for the Warm Lake Stage Race.
Meanwhile, Eagle Veterinary Hospital owner Dr. Kari Reina, who has worked the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge for the last three years, has stepped in as head veterinarian for the race.
The 52-mile Warm Lake Stage Race, which is designed for mushers new to the sport or running new sled dog teams, starts and finishes at North Shore Lodge & Resort Jan. 29-30. The Ceremonial Start, presented by Brundage Mountain Resort at the McCall Activity Barn, is slated for Feb. 2. The vet checks are also scheduled for Feb. 2, with the 200-mile team checks at the Ridley’s parking lot in McCall around 10 a.m. and the 100-mile teams at the McCall Activity Barn following the Ceremonial Start. And the 200-mile and 100-mile races start Feb. 3 at the Lake Cascade State Park boat ramp.
Organizers expect the 100-mile race to end Feb. 4 at the Wye Trailhead & Campground checkpoint off U.S. Route 95 about 6 miles west of New Meadows. Mushers and their teams are expected to cross the 200-mile race finish line at the Wye checkpoint Feb. 5.
Returning mushers competing in the 200-mile race include Charmayne Morrison (Bozeman, MT), Clayton Perry (Power, MT) and Wade Donaldson (Coalville, UT). Returning mushers vying in the 100-mile event include, Dallin Donaldson (Wade’s brother, also from Coalville, UT), Elizabeth Nevills (Middleton, ID), Jane Devlin (Bend, OR), Jesika Reimer (Emigrant Gap, CA), and Nicole Lombardi (Lincoln, MT), who is running two teams. Returning mushers registered for the Warm Lake Stage Race include daughter Caroline Nevills and mother Elizabeth Nevills (Middleton, ID), 2024 winner Clayton Perry (Power, MT), and 2024 second-place finisher Craig Anderson (Enterprise, OR).
Mushers new to the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge vying in the 2025 races include: Kevin Mathis (Monona, IA) in the 200-mile race; Kelly Barton (Bend, OR), Michael Tarver (Driggs, ID), Natalie Donaldson Wilson (Wade’s and Dallin’s sister, also from Coalville, UT), Redman Glisson (Power, MT), and Victor Lazo (Dubois, WY) in the 100-mile race; and April Cox (Adin, CA), Hugo Antonucci (Adin, CA), Kelly Barton (Bend, OR), Linda Pierce (Okanogan, WA), Melissa Turner (Herald, CA), and Victor Lazo (Dubois, WY) in the Warm Lake Stage Race.
One of the most grueling mushing competitions on the planet due to its topography, the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge features world-class mushers. It is one of only three Iditarod qualifiers in the lower 48. The Iditarod is considered the longest and the toughest sled dog race in the world.
Five Idaho Sled Dog Challenge finishers competed in the 2024 Iditarod, with one of them — Josi Thyr (Olney, MT), who won ISDC’s 300-mile race in 2022 and took second place in 2023 and 2020 — awarded the Iditarod’s 2024 Rookie of the Year.
The Idaho Sled Dog Challenge is part of the Rocky Mountain Triple Crown, which includes the Eagle Cap Extreme Jan. 22-25 near Joseph, Ore., and the Race to the Sky Feb. 7-11 near Helena, Mont.
IDITAROD TRIP RAFFLE
Idaho Sled Dog Challenge organizers are raffling off one VIP package for two to the 2025 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Only 300 tickets are available and cost $100 each.
The five-day guided package is worth $20,000. The winning ticket holder and one guest of their choice will experience what ISDC founder and organizer Jerry Wortley — an Iditarod Air Force Pilot — bills as the adventure of a lifetime Feb. 26-March 4, 2025. Wortley said they will fly out on the Iditarod Trail, visit checkpoints, see the canine athletes in their element, take in Alaska’s beauty and culture, and experience the vast untamed wilderness of the last frontier.
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The winning ticket will be drawn Feb. 6, 2025, at 2 p.m. MST. All proceeds benefit the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge, a 501(C)(3) nonprofit (Idaho Charitable Gaming License 23-R-5411-R).
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The race is seeking volunteers to help with everything from handling dogs to managing parking, setting up and staffing checkpoints, providing food, operating ham radios, putting up fencing, moving straw bales, and assisting at the start and finish lines. Remote volunteer opportunities are also available for everything from event planning and marketing to behind-the-scenes logistics.
Volunteers who want to be involved before the race and to help make events happen are needed for Sled Dog Week and the Meet the Mushers events. Race organizers also need help with merchandise.
“The race could not happen without the generous support, time, and enthusiastic spirit of over 200 volunteers,” Wortley said. “This race belongs to them.”
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TITLE SPONSOR SOUGHT
Race organizers are seeking a headline sponsor. The package costs $15,000 and offers inclusion of the sponsor’s name in the official race name, its logo on musher bibs, professional banners at the start and finish lines, public acknowledgement at all events, and many other perks.
Organizations can also sponsor the seven checkpoints for $3,000 each. Other cash sponsorship packages include trail breaker, sled banner, and lead dog sponsors, which cost $1,500, $500, and $200, respectively.
According to Wortley, the race would not be possible without the generous support of its cash and in-kind sponsors. He said the logistics of running all its events concurrently through the wilderness and over mountain ranges — with numerous checkpoints — is daunting.
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MCCALL TO HOST 2025 IDITAROD SUMMER CONFERENCE
The Idaho Sled Dog Challenge is also hosting the 2025 Iditarod Summer Conference June 24-26 in McCall. The conference, staged by the Iditarod Education Department, immerses educators in the world of sled dog racing and its Teacher on the Trail(tm) program, and attendees will be able to earn continuing education unit credits. Registration opens in mid to late February.
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MORE INFO ON THE WEBSITE
More details about the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge, shuttle service to and from the ceremonial, 200-mile, and 100-mile race starts, and the final slate of mushers will be announced in early January. Meanwhile, please visit idahosleddogchallenge.com for more information.