Massive snow drifts, extreme wind gusts, and biting cold temperatures are typical of the Iron Dog. But this year’s running of the endurance snowmachine race has taken those extremes to another level, and it's shaking up the standings.
At the halfway point of the 2026 Iron Dog, team 7’s Tyler Aklestad and Nick Olstad stood atop the leaderboard.
Teams motored into Nome late Wednesday night to cheering fans and crisp winter winds. Team 3’s Steffen Booth and Evan Barber were the first to pull into Nome, but they currently sit in ninth position based on total course time.
The veteran duo was one of about a dozen Pro, Expedition and Ambassador teams stuck on a segment of trail about 10 miles west of Elim in the Norton Sound. Booth said earlier in the day, shorefast ice separated from the shore, forcing teams to take a forested inland trail.
“They call it the mail trail, this little portage trail, and it wasn't broken in, and the snow on the trail was up to your waist,” Booth said. “You go off the trail, you probably go up to your neck.”
The teams inched along for over five hours before finally hitting solid snow. Booth, who is from Nome, credited three snowmachiners from Elim, Eric Amuktoolik, Thomas Saccheus, and Mitch Aukon, with helping to get the teams back on track.
“Eric, Tommy and Mitch from Elim, they're out there breaking the trail, their own sleds, their own fuel, their own time. So big thank you to them,” Booth said.
The slow-going trail punished teams’ timesheets. Team 14’s Casey Boylan and Bryan Leslie went into the day clear of the pack by over half an hour. Other teams, like Aklestad and Olstad camped out in Koyuk while the pack worked in the trail ahead. After reaching the Nome checkpoint, Boylan and Leslie stumbled down to fifth position while Aklestad and Olstad surged into the top spot.
Weather shakes up the race
In stark contrast to last year’s race, which was marked by low snow and overheating engines, this year’s race was marred by a powerful Bering Sea storm. A National Weather Service map of watches and warnings was lit up like a Christmas tree during the opening half of the race. Up to a foot of snow was forecast in areas along the trail, and wind gusts of 70 mph were observed in Kotzebue, where teams set up camp for an unscheduled one-day weather hold.
Unalakleet resident Kelsi Ivanoff was in Kotzebue to visit family, but got roped into the Iron Dog action. She and her daughter spent Tuesday hanging out with the Pro Class riders, getting autographs and listening in on stories from the trail.
“A lot of them came in saying that was the worst weather they had ever ridden in. Everyone was enjoying relaxing and visiting,” Ivanoff said. “There were lots of stories, a lot of good ones too.”
Jacob Troyke is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. He said the Bering Sea storm was “fairly out of the ordinary” in terms of precipitation and wind gusts. He said snowfall varied greatly across the region, with 9 inches of snow observed in Nome but only 2 inches at Johnson’s Camp, just 35 miles east of Nome.
Up to a foot of snow is forecast for the Interior from Wednesday morning through Friday as a front moves through the state. Once it passes, cold Arctic air is forecast to plunge into the Interior, dropping temperatures to as low as 40 degrees below zero.
“Once this front moves through we'll start to get what's called a ridge over the Bering, with northerly air coming in from the Arctic down into the Central and Eastern Interior,” Troyke said.
Some good news for racers and fans alike – Troyke said winds during Saturday’s Fairbanks finish are forecast at just 5 mph.
Halfway point in Nome
Wrench Day, which gives teams an opportunity to work on their sleds under the warm cover of the Nome City Garage, was bumped back to Thursday. Riders and their support crews engaged in organized chaos, as every second spent working on the sleds counts against their total course time.
Evan Barber said the goal for team 3 was to keep the sleds in one piece on the ride back. At the halfway point in Nome, he and Booth were sitting in ninth position.
“We'll play it by ear position wise. It'd be cool to sneak back into the top five, that's the ultimate highest goal,” Barber said. “A lot can happen these last few days going back to Fairbanks, so we'll see what we can do.”
Teams will return to the trail Friday morning for the 831 mile trip to Fairbanks. Race officials expect teams to make it there on Saturday, although an arrival past noon is likely.
