Photo:CASCADE, Idaho (Feb. 3, 2025) — SNOW ROVERS — Defending champion Nicole Lombardi and her sled dog team embark on the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge’s 100-mile race from the starting line at the Lake Cascade boat ramp. The Lincoln, Mont., musher went on to finish first for the third consecutive time Feb. 4. Her team averaged 8.17 mph and completed the race in 18:44:00. Lombardi won the event in 2023 and 2022, but it was cancelled last year due to warm weather and low snowpack. She ran two teams this year, with the second one mushed by Madeline Rubida and capturing third place. (Photo by Siri Raitto)
MCCALL, Idaho (Feb. 5, 2025) — Although severe avalanche danger forced organizers to cancel the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge 200-mile event midrace yesterday morning, seven teams vying in the 100-mile contest were able to safely finish with defending champion Nicole Lombardi from Lincoln, Mont., emerging victorious.
She won the 100-mile race in 2023 and 2022. This year Lombardi ran two teams, with her second team mushed by Madeline Rubida and earning third place. Dallin Donaldson, one of three siblings from Coalville, Utah, competing in this year’s Idaho Sled Dog Challenge, captured second.
The final race standings for this year’s 100-mile race are:
1. Nicole Lombardi (Lincoln, MT) — bib #9 — 18:44:00 total time — 8.17 mph avg.
2. Dallin Donaldson (Coalville, UT) — bib #5 — 19:46:00 total time — 7.55 mph avg.
3. Madeline Rubida (Lincoln, MT) — bib #8 — 19:47:00 total time — 7.55 mph avg.
4. Jesika Reimer (Emigrant Gap, CA) — bib #7 — 20:09:00 total time — 7.35 mph avg.
5. Natalie Donaldson Wilson (Coalville, UT) — bib #3 — 20:22:00 total time — 7.24 mph avg.
6. Alexandra Ness (Trego, MT) — bib #4 — 22:17:00 total time — 6.47 mph avg.
7. Kelly Barton (Bend, OR) — bib #2 — 22:42:00 total time — 6.23 mph avg.
8. Redman Glisson (Power, MT) — bib #10 — N/A — 6.10 mph avg.
9. Michael Tarver (Driggs, ID) — bib #1 — N/A — 5.86 mph avg.
10. Liz Nevills (Middleton, ID) — bib #6 — N/A — 5.84 mph avg.
The top seven finishers in the 100-mile event left the Little Ski Hill checkpoint prior to the races being placed on hold early yesterday morning, Officials held the three remaining teams competing in the 100-mile event at the checkpoint after race marshal Mark Cox placed both races on a 12-hour hold at 4:12 a.m. MST following reports of an avalanche and worsening conditions that were not forecast prior to the race starts.
Meanwhile, three mushers began the 200-mile race Monday afternoon, but officials held them at the Wye checkpoint yesterday morning. Officials originally planned to reevaluate trail conditions and decide if they should proceed following the 12-hour hold, but at 7:25 a.m. MST yesterday morning the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge announced it was canceling the remainder of the race.
“The safety of our mushers and their teams is paramount,” race co-founder and trails coordinator Dave Looney said. “The safety margin was not adequate to warrant continuing the race, and that was confirmed when I spoke with the Valley County groomers.”
Officials awarded mushers in the 200-mile race based on how they arrived at the Wye checkpoint and their time completing the 58-mile first segment of the trail. The final race standings for this year’s 200-mile race are:
1. Wade Donaldson (Coalville, UT) — bib #11 — 9:14:00 total time — 6.71 mph avg.
2. Clayton Perry (Power, MT) — bib #13 — 9:35:24 total time — 6.47 mph avg.
3. Charmayne Morrison (Bozeman, MT) — bib #12 — 9:38:00 total time — 6.44 mph avg.
This year’s 200-mile race will not serve as an Iditarod qualifier because the race was cut short. However, it won’t affect Morrison, who has already qualified to compete in this year’s Iditarod Feb. 27-March 6.
Kevin Mathis from Monona, Iowa, registered for the 200-mile race but had to withdraw after he encountered challenges with his team, sled, and truck at the Eagle Cap Extreme Sled Dog Race in Joseph, Ore., the week prior.
The final race standings for this year’s 52-mile Warm Lake Stage Race, held Jan. 29-30, are:
1. Caroline Nevills (Middleton, ID) — bib #8 — 5:21:00 total time — 10.09 mph avg.
2. Clayton Perry (Power, MT) — bib #2 — 5:23:00 total time — 10.03 mph avg.
3. Trace King Drake (San Angelo, TX) — bib #6 — 5:49:00 total time — 9.28 mph avg.
4. Craig Anderson (Enterprise, OR) — bib #5 — 5:52:00 total time — 9.20 mph avg.
5. Jane Devlin (Bend, OR) — bib #3 — 6:12:00 total time — 8.71 mph avg.
6. Kelly Barton (Bend, OR) — bib #4 — 6:15:00 total time — 8.64 mph avg.
7. Redman Glisson (Power, MT) — bib #7 — 6:41:00 total time — 8.08 mph avg.
8. Melissa Turner (Herald, CA) — bib #9 — 6:54:00 total time — 7.83 mph avg.
9. Liz Nevills (Middleton, ID) — bib #1 — 7:48:00 total time — 6.92 mph avg.
Caroline Nevills, a 17-year-old musher from Middleton, Idaho, who was unable to finish the race last year after tipping her sled in some deeper snow on the edge of the trail and dislocating two ribs, took first place.
In a dark-horse finish in the two-day event, Nevills overcame a 10-minute lead second-place finisher and defending champion Clayton Perry from Power, Mont., had going into the second day and finished 2 minutes ahead of him. Trace King Drake from San Angelo, Texas, captured third for the second consecutive year.
The event’s veterinarians awarded Perry the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge Dog Care Award, which he described as the most special and most important award a musher can earn.
Like the Iditarod, the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge also presents a Red Lantern Award to the mushers who cross the finish lines in last place, signifying their perseverance and a determination to finish even when facing challenges. Barton earned the Red Lantern Award for the 100-mile race, Morrison took home the trophy for the 200-mile race, and Liz Nevills received the badge of honor for the Warm Lake Stage Race.
Despite having to cut short the 200-mile race and hold back three teams from competing in the 100-mile race, organizers have a glass-half-full perspective about the event overall — especially after having to completely cancel the 100-mile and 300-mile races last year due to lack of snow.
“Most of the mushers in our 100-mile event were able to safely finish the race,” ISDC promotions director Eliza Barclay said. “Our inaugural Sled Dog Week was a huge success, with local businesses throughout the West Central Mountains hosting sled dog events like movie, trivia, and bingo nights and musher meet-and-greets. Plus, a Boise-area school booked its third annual 6th-grade-class field trip to our third annual Warm Lake Stage Race, which continues to draw more spectators every year.”
In addition, she said libraries in Cascade, Donnelly, McCall, and New Meadows held Read to Ride contests, with the winning kids earning dogsled rides from mushers at the ceremonial start. And more than 600 kids from local schools were among the many spectators from far and wide at the official race starts in Cascade Monday.
Barclay also looks forward to this summer when the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge hosts the 2025 Iditarod Summer Conference June 24-26 in McCall. The conference, staged by the Iditarod Education Department, immerses educators in the world of sled dog racing and its Teacher on the Trail(tm) program, and attendees will be able to earn continuing education unit credits. Registration opens in mid to late February.
