Sled Dog Races Face Cancellation for Second Straight Year

A snowless scene in Hamilton has forced organizers to cancel the New England Sled Dogs races scheduled for the coming weekend.

A mostly snowless winter for the second year in a row has again forced the cancellation the New England Sled Dog races in Hamilton. Organizer Robert Henrici said on Monday that a meeting of volunteer organizers was planned at his house on Monday night where the official decision will be made to cancel this year's race, which was scheduled for Feb. 2-3 at Appleton Farms. It has been previously postponed from a weekend in mid-January. With no snow on the ground, a forecast for just an inch of snow of Monday night and temperatures forecasted to get into the 50s on Wednesday, “it’s not going to happen,” said Henrici, co-chairman of the races and its non-profit organizer, Friends of New England Sled Dog Club Races. “Unfortunately there is no …

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Sled Dog Races Postponement Comes as Temps are in the 60s

The 2013 edition of the New England Sled Dog races have been postponed to February.

As temperatures rose in the 60s on Monday, the announcement came that this year’s New England Sled Dog Races at Appleton Farms have been postponed until February. The races were originally scheduled for the coming weekend, Jan. 19-20. The new date is Feb. 2-3. The announcement was made on Monday afternoon on the Facebook page for the races. “The races have been postponed until February 2-3,” the message stated. “See you there!” It is the second straight year that the races had to be postponed because of a lack of snow. Last year’s races, which were originally scheduled for mid-January, were postponed to the backup February date and then postponed altogether to 2013 after barely any snow fell. The races require two things – frozen ground …

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Sled Dog Races 'Coming Back Strong'

After a nearly snowless winter forced the sled dog races in Hamilton to be cancelled in 2012, the races plan to return in January 2013.

The New England Sled Dog races plan to return to Hamilton again this winter after being completely cancelled last year because of a nearly snowless winter. “We’re coming back strong,” said Robert Henrici, co-chairman of the races and its non-profit organizer, Friends of New England Sled Dog Club Races. The most important thing right now isn’t snow, Henrici said, but instead that temperatures are cold enough for the ground to freeze solid. Solid ground is needed to use the parking area. And Henrici isn’t worried about whether it will snow or not. There’s "a lot of moving parts” plus “nuts and bolts” to get worked out, he said, and “I can’t worry about the things that I can not control.” What is under the control of organizers is coming …

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Patch Facts

Five Things You Need to Know Today: Jan. 11

An essential get-me-going daily morning column from Hamilton-Wenham Patch.

Today is Wednesday, Jan. 11. Here are five things you need to know: 1. Weather: We have essentially a perfect winter day in store for Wednesday before a storm works into the area, beginning on Wednesday night with what is forecasted to be a mix on some snow, sleet and rain. During the day on Wednesday, it will be sunny with temperatures into the mid-30s. 2. Musher: The New England Sled Dog races were originally scheduled to come to Appleton Farms this weekend, and as part of that Dr. Jerry Vanek will be appearing at Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School. While the races were moved to Feb. 4-5 when there will hopefully be more snow on the ground, Vanek kept his original date. Vanek will talk about his 20-year career as a veterinarian for …

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Tell Me Something Good

The Joy of Dog Sledding in -60 Degree Weather

It takes two to tango and twelve or so dogs to pull a sled from Whitehorse, Yukon to Fairbanks, Alaska.

Back in the day it was about necessity and ease, about coping with impossibly deep snow and impossibly great distances. It was about getting from point A to point B. It was about getting out to ice flows to hunt walrus or seal and it was about safe guarding a town from an outbreak of diphtheria. But in the age of snowmobiles, dog sledding is about something else.  “It’s for the love of the dogs, that’s why they do it,” says New England Sled Dog Race Chairwoman Susanna Colloredo-Mansfeld. The New England Sled Dogs races had been originally scheduled for this coming weekend, Jan. 14-15, at Appleton Farms. But last week, since there's no snow on the ground, organizers announced that the races have been moved back to Feb. 4-5. Introduced to …

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Robert Gates

6:06 pm on Sunday, January 8, 2012

Cami, we apologize for the error. It has been corrected. More info about the postponement here: http://patch.com/A-pTBb   more ›

Winter's Snowless Start Forces Sled Dog Race Postponement

The New England Sled Dogs races are now scheduled for Feb. 4-5, a new date after it became clear there would not be enough snow for the original January date.

The snowless winter has forced organizers of the New England Sled Dogs Races in Hamilton to postpone the event by three weeks. The announcement was made late Tuesday evening and organizer Vanessa Stasiuk-Cottle said she spent Wednesday “making phone calls all day to everyone” to get out word about the change. The two-day event had been scheduled for Jan. 14-15. It’s now been moved to Feb. 4-5 at Appleton Farms, with the start and finish near the intersection of Highland Street and Cutler Road in Hamilton at Appleton Farms Grass Rides. “It’s a definite,” Stasiuk-Cottle said on Wednesday about the postponement. In addition to the bare ground, the weather forecast shows virtually no sign of a snowstorm between now and Jan. 14. At least one …

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