photos by David Halterman

Blessed with copious amounts of snow and robin-egg blue skies, the fourth annual Mancos Mush dominated the La Plata Mountains last weekend. Seventeen dog teams and mushers from all over the lower 48 came to Southwest Colorado for a beautiful but challenging 60-mile race through the San Juan National Forest, northeast of Mancos. Supported by local sponsors and coordinated by an dedicated crew of volunteers, this years Mush dished out more than $9,000 in prize money to competitors. This years winner was Wendy Davis, who finished the course in just over 4 hours. As for the canine athletes, they were paid in heaps of attention and treats, which was just fine by them.

Skip Favreau, trail coordinator for the course, answers some last-minute questions from racers Friday night at the Columbine Bar in Mancos. Mushers catch their start times and a few cold ones at the Columbine Bar on Friday night. A dog waits patiently before the race on Saturday morning. The sound of race-ready dogs could be heard for miles around. Kaltag gets a hip exam during the vet check on Friday afternoon. The dogs often found it hard to contain their excitement. A team of dogs keeps the pace nearly 30 miles into the course.