Idaho Sled Dog Challenge ending

MCCALL — After successfully staging the Warm Lake Stage Race for the fourth consecutive year, the race organizers and board of directors have decided to discontinue staging Idaho Sled Dog Challenge events moving forward.

Organizers held the original race, dubbed the McCall Ultra Sled Dog Challenge, in 2018 and ultimately staged 300-mile and 100-mile races five times. In addition to canceling its 2021 races due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, organizers had to cancel or suspend the longer races due to low snow or avalanches in the last three consecutive years.

"Without a reliable trail, our board of directors feel it is too much to ask of our volunteers and sponsors to continue, so we've decided it's time for all good things to come to an end," ISDC founder and organizer Jerry Wortley said in a press release. "The Idaho Sled Dog Challenge will have no future races."

As an Iditarod Qualifier and part of the Rocky Mountain Triple Crown, the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge has drawn mushers from as far away as New Hampshire, Canada, and even Alaska for a chance to compete on steep trails through Idaho's West Central Mountains. The Rocky Mountain Triple Crown also included the Eagle Cap Extreme near Joseph, Ore., and the Race to the Sky near Helena, Mont., both of which have faced similar challenges in recent years.

"The Idaho Sled Dog Challenge is reputed to be one of the toughest anywhere with over 36,000 feet of climb," Wortley said. "It's gratifying to know that multiple ISDC mushers have progressed to the Iditarod by way of our race, including an Iditarod Rookie of the Year and a Most Improved Iditarod Musher. Also of special note, female mushers have consistently dominated the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge, having won every 100-mile race and all but one 300-mile race since our event's inception."

Wortley said the board was grateful for the community's passionate reception.

"It's gratifying to know that the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge has brought so much joy to the many children who have escaped school for a day to cheer on the dogs, and to see the amazing community spirit that came alive at race time," he said. 

    Sled dogs patiently wait for the second leg of the two-day, 52-mile Warm Lake Stage Race to commence.