Drivers need to stick to marked trails on the Lower Kuskokwim River, according to the latest update from Bethel Search and Rescue’s Earl Samuelson. There is a spot in front of Oscarville that has only 9 inches of ice, which Samuelson says is too thin to drive a truck on.

This is the second year in a row that people from Chuathbaluk are able to use boats (skiffs) on the Kuskokwim River in November.

Due to consistent above average winter temperatures, there are many known and developing open holes on the river. I was on the trail working at the Bogus Creek Checkpoint. Most of the trail had no snow cover, and the majority of the race was run on glare ice over the tundra.

The ice highway that residents are used to driving this time of year has yet to fully freeze. Bethel Search and Rescue calls the number of open holes on

The warm winter has made traveling on the river ice more hazardous than Bethel Search and Rescue ever remembers.