Environment

Photos: Kuskokwim River ice

BETHEL -- Giant slabs of ice, dangerous areas of open water and little snow along the Kuskokwim River are challenging winter travelers as well as organizers of the premier mid-distance sled dog race -- the Kuskokwim 300.

A three-man crew made a 12-hour round-trip Monday by snowmachine from Bethel to a miles-long ice jam near Kalskag that no one will be crossing anytime soon. It would take a bulldozer or other heavy equipment to cut through.

The men, all Bethel Search and Rescue volunteers, traveled 90 miles upriver to the jam. They were dwarfed by the chaotic jumble of river ice that stretched as far as they could see on what is usually a main travel route for Western Alaska. Long stretches of the Kuskokwim, while freezing up, are not yet safe for snowmachines or four-wheelers, Bethel Search and Rescue said.

"Holy crap. And we thought the gorge was rough!" musher Jeff King, who has won the Iditarod four times and the Kusko 300 nine times, posted on Facebook after seeing pictures from Bethel Search and Rescue's reconnaissance mission. King, who was referring to the notorious Dalzell Gorge stretch of the Iditarod Trail, said the Kusko 300 course has been rerouted in the past, though he doesn't remember bypassing that particular stretch.

"However I have complete faith in the K300 to provide a safe and reasonable trail," King said.

READ MORE: Winter travelers and Kuskokwim 300 organizers face rough river ice

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