Despite a relative lack of snow in the Flathead Valley so far this winter, the sled dog teams will mush on in Olney for the fifth annual Flathead Sled Dog Days races.
Festivities for the weekend event will begin on Friday, Jan. 6, and mush through Jan. 8. According to race committee member Brooke Bohannon, the snow arrived in Olney in time for the event.
“We have been out to check the trail and all is great,” Bohannon wrote in an email to the Beacon. “The race is on.”
Flathead Sled Dog Days began in 2007, and takes the race teams on a 100-mile course through the Stillwater State Forest outside of Olney. As of Jan. 2, 27 teams had signed up for the event, and organizers expect teams from the Pacific Northwest, the Midwest and Canada.
Activities for the race begin on Jan. 6 at noon with the veterinary check. The dogs will be in the parking lot of the Grouse Mountain Lodge in Whitefish, where they will get physicals from race veterinarians.
The public is invited to watch the check-up, which will continue until 2 p.m.
At 4:30 p.m. on the same day, the race teams will participate in the ceremonial parade of dogs on the soccer fields and tennis courts next to Grouse Mountain Lodge. The race committee invites the public to get to know the mushers and their teams during the parade, and to watch the smaller teams run at night.
The Whitefish Winter Carnival royalty will kick off the race on Saturday, Jan. 7, at 10 a.m. at the Olney Trailhead, situated about 18 miles north of Whitefish at mile marker 145.5 on U.S. Highway 93.
After the traditional horn-blowing and other opening festivities, the 12-dog distance race will begin immediately, along with the eight-dog teams. The four-dog class will begin shortly thereafter.
On Sunday, Jan. 8, the mushers will start again in reverse order – from slowest team to fastest team – to run the trail and see who wins. An awards ceremony will be held on site after the last team finishes the race.
Event organizers invite spectators to cheer on the mushers as they begin their races on Friday. Anyone seeking to volunteer for Flathead Sled Dogs Days – at the vet check, at the parade, at the race start, or at the race turn-arounds on Saturday and Sunday – can contact the race committee at 406-471-9846.
For more information on the race, visit www.flatheadsleddogdays.com.