The Nome-Golovin Snowmachine Race was postponed Saturday, for at least a day, due to weather conditions.

The race had been slated to begin at noon on Saturday, but was put off to Sunday, according to the Bering Sea Lions Club. Whiteout conditions existed along the trail, making it unsafe for needed air support. The new start time will be at noon. Technical inspections begin at 11 a.m Sunday.

There had been concern before the race about the weather being amenable to the air support needed to track and assist racers.

During the Thursday, March 9 bib draw, race manager Kevin Bahnke told racers that weather conditions could push the race start back to Sunday, instead of the normal Saturday start. Although no blizzard or heavy snow was expected, near-whiteout fog was predicted to blanket the race trail on Saturday.

According to Bahnke, safety is the number one priority for him and race organizers.

“Our biggest concern is the safety of the racers,” Bahnke said. “We don’t race unless we have air support, that’s our biggest concern. If someone gets hurt on the trail, we want to be able to help them.”

Nearly 40 competitors have signed up for this year’s race. The classes this year are Open Class, Fan-Cooled Class, 600 Class and Women’s Class.

Image at top:

The starting line of the Nome Golovin snowmachine race was empty Saturday afternoon as weather delayed the race start until Sunday at noon.
Photo from Matthew Schmitz, KNOM/UAA (2023)