“It’s no secret that warm temperatures for days on end have further eroded what little snow cover existed on the trail system here in Anchorage,” Stan Hooley, Iditarod CEO, said in a statement.
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According to the Alaska Dispatch News, a train will deliver seven rail cars loaded with 300 cubic yards of snow from Fairbanks to Anchorage on Thursday.
With above-freezing temperatures expected for the unofficial start to the race on Saturday, the 11-mile ceremonial route in Anchorage may need to be shortened after days of higher temperatures further erode the minimal snow on area trails.
The National Weather Service recorded just 1.8 inches of snow at its West Anchorage office during February, all of it falling on Feb. 21, per the Dispatch News.
The official start of the nearly 1,000-mile race will take place Sunday in Willow, 50 miles north of Anchorage.
