18 Teams Scheduled to Run Race to the Sky Starting this Weekend!
Race to the Sky, Montana’s premier sled dog race, has announced that there are 18 mushers entered in this year’s race. Race to the Sky is a 350 mile dogsled race which starts this year near Butte, Montana, and finishes under the archway at Hi Country Snack Foods near Lincoln, Montana. The event kicks off with a vet check in Butte from noon to 3:00 on West Park Street on Friday, February 11.
The official start of the race will be February 12 at 10:00 a.m. at Exit 138 near Elk Park. Twelve teams will start on Saturday on the first leg of their 350 mile adventure into some of Montana’s most beautiful mountains and forests.
This year, there is a father and son competing in the same race. Veteran musher Terry Adkins of Sand Coulee, Montana and his son Chris Adkins will be competing in the 350 mile race. Terry has run the Iditarod numerous times along with winning the Beargrease and competing in the Race to the Sky. Chris finished the Iditarod last year and has run the Race to the Sky numerous times.
Also interesting are the father/daughter team of Alan Berge and Taylor Berge of Glenrock, Wyoming. Both are rookies to the Race to the Sky and Alan is running the 350 mile race while Taylor, his 15 year old daughter is running her first Junior Race to the Sky traveling 100 miles continuously to the finish at Seeley Lake.
Another father/daughter team is Mark Ibsen and Grace Ibsen of Helena, Montana. Mark has finished the Race to the Sky but this is his daughter, Grace’s first Junior Race to the Sky. She has handled for her dad but never run this race herself.
Curt Perano will be running this race under the banner of Queensland, New Zealand and is a rookie as well.
Other rookies entered are Joe Gutowski of Goodrich, Michigan, Al Hardman of Ludington, Michigan and Steve Riggs of Olney, Montana
Veteran Steve Madsen of Cougar, Washington, Bino Fowler of Bend, Oregon and Bill Smith of Deer Lodge, Montana are also running the Race to the Sky 350 mile sled dog race.
Rookie juniors entered to run the 100 mile Race to the Sky in addition to Taylor Berge and Grace Ibsen is Garrett Warren of Council, Idaho. Running for a second year in a row are Jenny Greger of Bozeman, Montana and Aiyana Ferraro of Victor, Montana.
For more information on the mushers, go to www.racetothesky.org and read the musher biographical information, get a copy of the race schedule and during the race follow the mushers through their gps tracking device. There will be a map on the website tracking each musher’s progress by a gps device that each musher must carry with him/her.
For more information on race to the sky, go to www.racetothesky.org or follow your local media broadcast. For other information email: adanac@adanacsleds.com or call 406-881-DOGS.
Pam Beckstrom, Race to the Sky PR
