The 2019 Canadian Challenge Sled Dog Race kicked off Tuesday north of Prince Albert.
There are 17 teams registered this year in the 12, eight and six dog open races.
Race president Stefaan DeMarie says between -15 and -20 degrees Celsius are the ideal temperatures for sled dog racing.
“Minus 15, minus 20 dogs are good,” he says. “But you know when you hit the 30 below sometimes a lot of the mushers put some dog coats on. It’s not more for keeping them warm, it’s so they don’t burn energy to keep warm.”
When the race started at noon, it was just below -20.
DeMarie also says with lots of snow in the northern area of the province this year, the trails are in good shape.
The 12-dog race runs about 334 miles from Elk Ridge Resort, about an hour north of Prince Albert, all the way to Stanley Mission and back to La Ronge.
The eight-dog teams do a 178-mile route to La Ronge and the five-dog teams stop at the 45-mile Elk Ridge loop.
Last year’s first and second place winners in the 12-dog race, Gerry Walker of Pierceland, Saskatchewan and Jennifer Campeau of Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, are once again competing in this year’s event.
The race winds up in La Ronge on Saturday.
The Canadian Challenge Sled Dog Race serves as a qualifier for the Yukon Quest and Iditarod.
(PHOTO: A 12-dog team starts the 2019 Canadian Challenge Sled Dog Race. Photo by Fraser Needham.)