A Bering Sea storm is wreaking havoc on the middle section of the 2026 Iron Dog snowmachine race. While the Pro Class battled severe winds and whiteout conditions on the way to Kotzebue Monday night, about a dozen snowmachiners in the non-competitive Expedition Class teamed up to make their way into Golovin. But after being stuck in the snow for hours, they needed some local help.
As the last bits of daylight disappeared over the Norton Sound Monday, Dustin Scalisi tried to wipe blowing snow off his goggles. It didn’t do much.
“It was like putting a bucket over your head and trying to ride in terms of visibility, there was none,” Scalisi said.
Scalisi and a dozen other riders were cresting a mountain about ten miles east of Golovin when the fresh, deep snow became too much for some of the snowmachines to handle. Riders would make a few feet of progress before their snowmachine's tracks could only chew up and spit out the powdery snow underneath.
Scalisi entered the race in the Pro Class, but scratched after his partner Duncan Brewer suffered a wrist injury on the second day of the race. He decided to push on with the expedition group to the class’ Nome finish.
“We didn't really want to spend the night out there if we didn't have to, we kind of wanted to get to Golovin,” Scalisi said.
Whiteout conditions surround Caitlin Elison's snowmachine, about 10 miles east of Golovin.
Caitlin Elison was riding in the Expedition Class with her husband, Travis Elison. She said the group stayed calm while trying to dig out the snowmachines, taking occasional breaks to chew on caffeine tablets and rest. But as blizzard conditions set in, one of the groups got separated from the pack.
“Turns out they were not even 100 yards down an alder patch with their sleeping bags out,” Caitlin Elison said.
Travis Elison said the howling wind made communication nearly impossible.
“We would shout at each other this close, yeah, you still can't hear it,” Travis Elison said.
Caitlin Elison said she used her one bar of signal to phone for help. Over in Golovin, search and rescue efforts were already underway. Four members of Golovin's search and rescue team jumped on their sleds and headed east to help recover the stranded group.
With frigid temps, what little water the teams had froze up. The group was tired, hungry, and a little cranky. Then, headlights appeared on the horizon.
“The guys from Golovin showed up and he handed me a Capri-Sun with a straw in it,” Caitlin Elison said. “And I was like, ‘I could kiss you’. I was so thirsty.”
The search team helped upright the sleds, leaving some behind to retrieve later when conditions improved. They began the slow journey down to Golovin, this time with experienced locals leading the way.
“It was a party train of like, six miles an hour once we all got grouped up and got on the right path,” Caitlin Elison said.
The group made it into the village around 1:00 a.m. Tuesday. Scalisi called the search team from Golovin “world class”.
“They show up, beaver hats, no face mask, wearing their Carhartt jackets and they can just see through the storm. It's ridiculous. I have no idea, mind blown, how they can navigate through that,” Scalisi said.
After thawing out in the Golovin School overnight, most of the group carried on to Nome Tuesday morning and arrived just after noon.
Iron Dog Headquarters announced Tuesday afternoon it was holding Pro Class teams in Kotzebue while the storm system passed. Teams are expected to begin departing Kotzebue at 6:00 a.m. Wednesday and arrive in Nome later in the day. The Halfway Banquet at Nome's Mini Convention Center is expected to go on as planned Wednesday evening.
