The average January temperature in Ely is 3ºF (-16ºC). This winter has been unusually warm, however. Look at the temperature graph from the US Geological Survey. Water freezes at 32ºF. Look at all of the days in late December and early January with temperatures above freezing. This is not normal winter weather for Ely.

A couple of degrees Fahrenheit may not seem like it could make much of a difference, but when those couple of degrees make the temperature above the freezing point of water, big changes can happen. This couple of weeks with above-freezing weather and rain made a lot of our snow and ice melt.

The dog-trainers and expedition members rely on snow to make dogsled runs safe. Even a few inches of fresh snow on the roads and trails will make it possible for the brakes on the dogsleds to bite into the surface and keep the sleds from going too quickly. During these warm weeks, however, the top layers of snow melted away leaving a very slick layer of ice. When the dogsled went down hills, it would pick up so much speed that it would almost overtake the dogs. This is not safe for the dogs, the sleds or the mushers (people who drive the sleds).

On the trails the melting snow exposed boulders, tree roots and stumps. These hazards made it difficult to steer the sleds without crashing into obstacles, breaking sleds and endangering dogs and people.

Once Elizabeth took Jerry, our videographer, on a dogsled run. The lack of snow made the run fast and the sled difficult to steer. The sled came racing down a hill, flipped on its side and smashed into a couple of birch trees. The force threw Jerry and his camera off the sled, snapped the front of the sled and broke the gang line (the rope that attaches all the dogs to the sled). The dogs kept running. Luckily Nancy, the dog-trainer, was in front and was able to grab the dogs as they ran by. She called John Huston, our basecamp manager and he came out with a four-wheeler and some new rope. We continued the run with the dogs pulling the four-wheeler. The engine on the four-wheeler was able to provide enough resistance to keep the dogs at a safe speed.

We decided that we would have to wait until we got more snow before we tried another dog run on a sled. Running dogs on a four-wheeler is not as fun for the musher or as good exercise for the dogs, plus it burns gasoline.

The above-freezing weather also made the ice become thin on some of the lakes and disappear on some of the rivers. On one dog-run on Jackfish Lake, Abby was running in front of the dogsled to help the lead dogs know which way to go. Abby plunged through the ice into the deep water. She and Elizabeth locked eyes for a moment in disbelief. Abby remained very calm and said, “I’m OK. I think I can get out.” She kicked her feet and swam on her belly up onto the ice. It was a warm day and Abby was wearing synthetic clothing that kept her warm even when she was wet. She jogged most of the way home, which also helped her stay warm. Even though Abby was OK, it was a scary experience. Part of what made it so scary is that the ice this time of year on that lake should have been thick enough to support a truck.