The annual Alcan 200 snowmachine race was canceled this weekend because of snowy roads. Race officials considered time restrictions and safety, and decided to hold the event at another time.
The race route for the Alcan 200 is from a half mile over the Canadian border to Desadeash lake and back.
Eight racers had signed up to test their skills at this year’s race. The event was to be held on Saturday. The machines were ready and fans had placed their bets the previous night by buying individual racers at auction– if their racer wons, they would share the pot of money..
Cathy Lapp, president of the Chilkat Snowburners, the snowmachine club behind the event, started her day with the intention of getting race officials to their posts.
Lapp: “We all got there early and a plow truck came down and said the road was closed, we hadn’t even sent our teams to Desadeash, so we’d have to wait for an hour or so, they had another truck that was stuck.
The plow truck operator informed them that road crews were working on getting another piece of equipment to free up that first truck, and that the road would be impassable until then.
Lapp: “ And he went back up and he was to come back and tell us what the report was, and if they had the truck cleared, then we could go ahead and go. And he never came back.”
Because the Canadian authorities close the road for a limited time to make way for the race,
the more they waited, the less time there would be for the event to take place.
Lapp: “Our permit was only to a certain time. And timers and officials would have to drive through. By the time the racers raced up, raced back, it would put us real close to our quitting time on the permit and could possibly be after dark. So we decided just to cancel.”
Even though the race itself was nixed, the after race banquet was not canceled.
Lapp: “Oh we had a wonderful dinner! Prime ribs, vegetables, potato salad, a wonderful desert, yes, it was very nice.”
The Alcan 200 has been held almost every year since 1969, and although it has been postponed before for lack of snow, Lapp says it is the first time the snowmachine race was canceled because snow prevented race officials from reaching their posts. She says there have been no decisions yet on whether to try to hold the event later this winter or hope for more luck next year.
