Mushers and their dogs from the Pacific Northwest and Canada will be testing their skills in the Flathead Classic Sled Dog Race this weekend in an overnight race from Olney to Polebridge and back. Twenty-one teams have entered the race, which begins on Saturday at the Dog Creek Trailhead 18 miles west of Whitefish. Teams travel 40 miles to Polebridge, where they will camp for the night, before returning on Sunday to Dog Creek.
The start and end of the race is staged from the Dog Creek Lodge, where skijoring competitions will also take place on both days.
Events begin on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. at the Dog Creek Lodge. The six-dog class competitors will leave first heading for Polebridge, followed by the eight- and 12-dog teams. The teams are expected to arrive in Polebridge after 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
The 40-mile run to Polebridge and 40 miles back to Dog Creek Lodge is comprised of forests, mountain roads, U.S. Forest Service roads, a river valley and traveling over Red Meadow Pass. Mushers will camp for the night at Polebridge, where evening festivities are also scheduled, before returning to Olney on Sunday.
After the teams leave for Polebridge on Saturday, at the Dog Creek Lodge at 9:30 a.m. there will be skijoring competitions. Skijoring is a sport where the “musher” wears cross country or skate skis and a belt and is attached to a dog in harness. The musher skis down the trail as the dog pulls. There will be the two-dog junior class and four-dog class races.
In Polebridge on Sunday morning, all classes of dog teams will leave beginning at 8:30 a.m. at Hay Creek Trailhead heading back to the Dog Creek Lodge. The teams are expected to finish the course starting at noon on the Dog Creek Lodge Trailhead, which is across the street from the lodge.
On Sunday at the lodge, the skijoring competition continues beginning at 10 a.m. Teams are expected to arrive from Polebridge beginning at noon.
Food and beverage will be available at the race site through Dog Creek Lodge, three miles past the Olney turn-off. Dog Creek Lodge and Nordic Center is 18 miles north of Whitefish on Highway 93 West.
The Flathead Classic was forced to cancel last year’s race due to a lack of snow. The last time the Polebridge trails were run for a sled dog race was during the Root Beer Classic, which was last held in 2015.
The Flathead Classic is sponsored by Snow Action Sports, a nonprofit corporation.
For up-to-the-minute updates, go to www.flatheadclassic.org.