SUBLETTE COUNTY — Sublette County is home to stages three and four of the Pedigree Stage Stop, during which sled dog teams and their mushers race over hundreds of miles of public lands of the Wyoming and Idaho’s Bridger-Teton, Shoshone and Caribou-Targhee national forests, competing for $165,000 and the prestigious title of “Stage Stop Champion.”

Meet the mushers and ask questions at the Sublette County Library’s Lovatt Room in Pinedale from 5-6:30 p.m. on Jan. 28, where the Boulder Buckskins 4-H Club will serve dinner beginning at 6 p.m. The public is invited to attend. The cost for dinner is $8 per adult and $5 per child. All proceeds go back to the Boulder Buckskins 4-H Club.

The next morning, on Jan. 29, watch the teams take off oversnow at the Upper Green River trailhead at the end of Highway 352 in Cora at 9 a.m.

Join the mushers for dinner that night, beginning at 6 p.m., at the Marbleton Senior Center. Stage Four of the race begins at 9 a.m. on Jan. 30, at the Middle Piney Parking Lot, off of Sublette County Road 350, 20 miles west of Big Piney.

The Pedigree Stage Stop began in 1996 and is the largest sled dog race in the lower 48 states. Mushers can run up to 10 dogs per day of their pool of 14, although some mushers will run lighter with teams of eight dogs. A dog is not required to run all seven stages and can sit one out. Mushers put a lot of thought and strategy into which dogs they rest on which days as they prepare to tackle the various obstacles found across eight different mountain ranges and seven Wyoming communities before crossing the finish line in Driggs, Idaho. In some areas, dogs and their mushers will tackle 10-percent grade hills for miles at a time through deep snow.

Bondurant resident Alix Crittenden is a regular competitor in the annual sled dog race, taking second place with a time of 16:02:27 in 2023, but mushers and their teams come from all across the country and the world to compete. In 2023, racers haled from St. Zenon, Quebec; Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Burg, Germany; Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Michigan, Colorado and elsewhere. Fans and spectators also come from all over to watch the mushers drive their dog teams over some of the world’s most beautiful landscapes.

With low snow conditions in many parts of the country, race organizers chose to extend the race entry deadline for the 2024 Pedigree Stage Stop Race to Jan. 10.

Dan Carter, race director, said, “Given that many mushers have dedicated a tremendous amount of time and energy preparing their teams for this racing season, we have extended our entry deadline to any mushers who may be looking for an alternate venue to run their dogs. We have the organization in place and a great venue where mushers can run their teams on beautiful trails and be around other mushers and lovers of the sport. Even teams who have not specifically trained for our format can have a positive experience. If a team has ample conditioning miles in place, they can complete the course.”

For more information, visit www.wyomingstagestop.org.

2024 Pedigree Stage Stop Race Schedule

*Each stage is 30 to 35 miles

Jan. 26 - Ceremonial Start in Jackson, Wyo.

Jan. 27 - Stage One - Teton County, Wyo.

Jan. 28 - Stage Two - Lander, Wyo.

Jan. 29 - Stage Three - Pinedale, Wyo.

Jan. 30 - Stage Four - Big Piney/Marbleton, Wyo.

Jan. 31 - Stage Five - Kemmerer, Wyo.

Feb. 1 - Travel Day

Feb. 2 - Stage Six - Alpine, Wyo.

Feb. 3 - Stage Seven & Final Banquet - Driggs, Idaho

**Editor's note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the location and time of the Meet the Mushers event in Pinedale.

Meet the mushers and ask questions at the Sublette County Library’s Lovatt Room in Pinedale from 5-6:30 p.m. on Jan. 28. We regret the error and appreciate the opportunity to correct it.