MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Twenty-six teams of sled dogs are currently racing the longest Iditarod trail in history. This year's route grew more - by more than 100 miles at the last minute because there was not enough snow to cover the traditional route, forcing the race to move north. Now, it's only the fourth time in history that that has happened, and a climate expert says it is more likely to keep happening with climate change. From Alaska Public Media, Ava White has the story.
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AVA WHITE, BYLINE: The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race started last Monday with hundreds of barking sled dogs and mushers high-fiving fans as they hit the trail.
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UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: Four, three, two, one. Go. All right, let's hear some noise for...
WHITE: But it started in Fairbanks, over 200 miles north of the usual starting point near Anchorage. The race's CEO Rob Urbach says swapping the start location was 10 months of work in 10 days. We spoke to him by phone from the race headquarters in Wasilla.
ROB URBACH: Between planes, trains, snow mobiles, we had to move our whole ecosystem.
WHITE: Almost all of the checkpoints Iditarod mushers pass through are rural villages only accessible by plane, boat or, well, sled dogs. That means organizers had to move some stockpiles of food, dog bedding and other supplies to totally new places.
URBACH: There's a lot of changes that cascade. You had to go back and resupply and get those supplies by flying.
WHITE: Sections along the trail have been warm. The sled dogs optimally run in freezing temperatures, but one musher clocked 50 degrees earlier on the trail. Race officials also said the Fairbanks start was the warmest ever. It's not just the race itself that's affected by sparse snow coverage and warmer weather across the state, says rookie musher Justin Olnes. He lives near Fairbanks and says less snow at the start of the season meant less training miles for his team. It's also changed the traits he and other mushers prioritize when breeding sled dogs.
JUSTIN OLNES: You know, traditionally, when people think of sled dogs, they think of thick-coated, larger, stockier breeds, and those are just not conducive anymore to the conditions that we have. We need these leaner, shorter-coated dogs to be to handle the heat.
WHITE: Olnes says it also affects their ability to hunt salmon to feed their dogs.
OLNES: Because those have collapsed due to climate-related changes in the ocean, it all paints a more challenging picture for mushing.
WHITE: Alaska is warming two to three times the global average due to human-caused greenhouse gas pollution. That warming means less snow for winter sports like the Iditarod, says the University of Alaska Fairbanks climate specialist Rick Thoman. He says warmer temperatures in autumn are causing precipitation to fall more as rain than snow.
RICK THOMAN: We don't have that autumn buffer the way we used to.
WHITE: That buffer was a buildup of snow that could withstand warm spells and dry spells later in the season. In the Iditarod's 50-plus year history, the race has only moved north four times, but three of them were in the past decade.
THOMAN: Maybe it'll be a while till the next one, but these are going to be more common than they used to be.
WHITE: Mushers are nearing the last stretch of the race. Based on previous results and extra mileage, a winner is expected Thursday.
For NPR news, I'm Ava White in Unalakleet.
KELLY: And this story was reported with help from Shelby Herbert in Galena.
(SOUNDBITE OF THEE SACRED SOULS SONG, "EASIER SAID THAN DONE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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