A massive snow drought across the Western United States this winter is threatening water supplies and resulting in one of the worst ski seasons in decades.
On Monday, the drought claimed its latest victim: The Idaho Sled Dog Challenge, one of just a few Lower 48 qualifiers for the famed Iditarod sled dog race in Alaska, will shut down permanently after three consecutive years of cancellations caused by low snow or avalanche risk.
Organizers of the Idaho race had announced on Jan. 1 that the 2026 competition was canceled “due to dismal snow levels and unsafe trail conditions.”
The multiday contest, hosted annually about 75 miles north of Boise, was part of the Rocky Mountain Triple Crown along with races in Oregon and Montana which were also canceled this winter. Organizers of Race to the Sky, the Montana competition, cited “bare ground, icy and rock‑hard sections, unseasonably warm temperatures, and no measurable snow in the forecast” as the reasons for their cancellation.
“It’s heartbreaking to the organizers and the volunteers and the mushing community,” said Tony Harrison, a spokesman for the Idaho race, referring to dog sled drivers, who are called mushers.
The Idaho challenge included a 300-mile race with 36,000 feet of total elevation gain and a 100-mile race, both of which were canceled this year, as well as a 52-mile event that took place in late January.
Rick Katucki, 72, a race marshal for the Idaho challenge who has been involved in dog sledding for three decades, called the contest’s end “a big disappointment” but added that he wasn’t surprised.
The problems began long before this year’s snow drought. In 2024, the long-distance races were called off because there was not enough snow.
Wildfire damage forced modifications to last year’s route, Mr. Katucki said, and intense snow and rainfall ahead of the competition caused concerns about a possible avalanche that resulted in the 100-mile event being canceled midrace.
Research has found that weather whiplash, in which weather patterns boomerang between extreme precipitation one year and extreme drought the next, is becoming a hallmark sign of climate change across the West.
Mr. Katucki said all that unpredictability made it difficult to attract and retain sponsors.
Even the Iditarod, which covers roughly 1,000 miles of Alaskan wilderness each March, has not been immune. Organizers shortened last year’s ceremonial start, in downtown Anchorage, because of a lack of snow, and adjusted another segment after an absence of snowfall made part of the course impassable.
“We just don’t have the predictable snow base that we used to out here in the West,” Mr. Harrison said.
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Gabe Castro-Root is a travel reporter and a member of the 2025-26 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers.
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