Expect deep snow and minus-27 chill for Fairbanks start of Iditarod

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race CEO Stan Hooley said this week he could sum up the 2017 race trail in three words: "Lots of snow."

The endless snow and below-zero temperatures expected for the trail out of Fairbanks are a departure from the comparatively warm days of last year's race, and the forecast had some mushers bracing for bone-numbing chill.

"The cold from the time I started my Iditarod process has been one of my biggest fears," musher Kristin Bacon said at vet checks on Wednesday in Wasilla.

Bacon, who has a kennel out of Big Lake and ran her first Iditarod last year, said when she checked the Fairbanks forecast for Monday and saw lows of 27 below zero, "I had a little moment of panic."

Read more: https://www.adn.com/outdoors-adventure/iditarod/2017/03/02/expect-deep-snow-and-minus-27-chill-for-fairbanks-start-of-iditarod/