Nome Kennel Club hosts second race of season
Four mushers and their dog teams competed against each other in the Nome Kennel Club’s second race of the season on Saturday, Feb. 4. Handlers, race officials and spectators gathered at Nome’s snow dump off Greg Kruschek Ave. to watch the teams embark on a 20-mile loop.
Temperatures hovered around 12°F, with no wind and the sun occasionally emerged from overcast skies, making for pleasant conditions. After dealing with much more icy conditions earlier in the season, the mushers instead faced fresh snow on the trails this past weekend. The course took the teams across the tundra toward Dredge 5, then over Beam Road and along the Nome River all the way to the Osborne area. The teams returned to the snow dump via Gold Hill. The race had a $1,000 purse and a limit of 12 dogs.
Nils Hahn won the race with his team of 12 dogs, finishing the loop in 1 hour 52 minutes and 13 seconds. Keane Richards was close behind him, completing his first mushing race in 1 hour, 54 minutes and 48 seconds with a team of 10 dogs. Burr Lemaire placed third with her five dogs, finishing in 2 hours, 5 minutes and 30 seconds. Diana Haecker and her team of seven dogs placed fourth with a time of 2 hours, 23 minutes and 55 seconds.
The club’s first race took place on Jan. 14, also from the snow dump, with an eight-dog limit. Another 16mile race that had been scheduled for Jan. 21 had been cancelled after forecasts predicted dangerously cold wind chills as low as -45°F. NKC’s next dog race will take place over two days, on Feb. 18 and 19. With a 12-dog limit, the race will see mushers traverse 25-30 miles each day when they leave from the snow dump at noon. The Nome Kennel Club plans a three- day Spring Carnival race event from March 25 to 27.