Anthony Beck drives his sled at the 2023 Deh Gah Sprint Sled Dog Races in Fort Providence in December 2023. Beck has only been able to compete in four races this winter due to weather conditions. | Photo courtesy of Anthony Beck, Article: Tom Taylor - NNSL Media - NWT, Canada 
A really unusual year for NWT dog sled racers
It has been “a strange winter” for sled dog racers in the NWT, according to Susan Fleck, one of the territory’s most dedicated mushers and race organizers.
The Aurora Ford Classic Sled Dog Race was cancelled on its second day due to extreme cold, she said, while the K’amba Carnival races were nixed for the same reason. Fort Smith’s races were also cancelled on day two due to rain, and the Fort Resolution races were nearly cancelled due to “a big wind and snowstorm” that compromised the track.
Hay River’s Anthony Beck, a lifelong racer with 36 dogs in his kennel, experienced much of that disappointment firsthand.
“I’ve only competed in four races [this season],” he said. “It’s a really unusual year. The weather’s just up and down. One weekend, it was too cold, and we go to the next weekend and it was plus six and raining.”
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