Mushing® Magazine and Team and Trail Foundation: State of Mushing
Founder, Dr. Robert Forto’s 2026 Letter to Members
A Publication of the Team and Trail Foundation
Dear Members,
Differentiation is essential in print, where competition for time is intense.
For the last few years, we have posted our annual State of Mushing letter on various platforms, often as a podcast episode or a video. This year, 2026, we want to do what we do best: write from the heart, but also with a strategic perspective, because we feel it will touch most of our readers. From this point forward, this letter to our members will be released during the first week of March. That is an important milestone in the mushing community, but also a milestone for me, as I turn a year older on March 2nd.
Brian Armstrong, the founder of Coinbase, said, “Every company is a media company now. You should be publishing your own content directly on your blog or website, and on social media.” Well, that is what we are doing. Today’s media environment favors speed over depth, reaction over reflection, and scale over specificity. Print publications compete with digital platforms, which fragment attention. Distribution costs are rising, shelf space is limited, and reader habits are changing.
General-interest publications encounter considerable pressure in this environment. Niche publications, however, face a different test. They do not need to be everything to everyone. They must be essential to someone, and this principle guided all major decisions this year.
Mushing Magazine strengthened its position not by widening its reach indiscriminately, but by deepening its service to the dog-powered community. We reaffirmed our commitment to top-quality print. We invested in field reporting rather than reactive commentary. Most significantly, we formalized our partnership with the Team and Trail Foundation, a recognized nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower outdoor enthusiasts through leadership development, grassroots funding, and the preservation of ethical outdoor traditions.
This was not an accident. This was a substantive change that clarified our identity and purposefully published stories about mushing. We are preserving a record of a sport shaped by dogs, weather, geography, and human resolve. That record now sits inside a nonprofit structure designed to ensure its long-term stewardship.
A Year of Commitment, Not Contraction
Each year in my State of Mushing report, I attempt to share insight into the wider print landscape, and this year is no different. Contraction continued across the print industry, with reductions persisting. Many publications continue to reduce frequency, move to digital-only formats, or cut editorial budgets this year due to rising costs and distribution challenges, each built to withstand both physical and intellectual wear. What we did was find new ways to deliver high-value content from our colleagues that we met at the Niche Media Conference in Las Vegas last year. We did not reduce page count. We did not dilute depth. We did not pivot away from field reporting. Instead, we doubled down on differentiation.
For our community, print is functional, not nostalgic. It reaches remote cabins, kennel benches made of old feed buckets, and dog truck dashboards. It endures where digital access fails, providing permanence when batteries and bandwidth are unavailable.
Continuing to invest in print required discipline. Paper costs are high, shipping to rural and international areas is expensive, and printing timelines call for precision. However, retreating would compromise the depth and durability that define our publication.
Our goal is not to be the most prominent, but to be indispensable.
We strive to be leaders who are obligated to respectfully challenge decisions when they disagree, even when doing so is uncomfortable or exhausting. Leaders have conviction and are tenacious. They do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion. Once a decision is determined, they commit wholly.
We don’t just empower people to challenge one another; we obligate them to do so if they disagree. Questioning, asking the hard questions, and forcing the discussion (rather than silently thinking a mistake is being made) are necessary to get to better answers for customers. For our loyal followers, you see this on our social media pages and our stance on issues that arise.
We have even been told that we can be abrupt, but our position is that constructive debate is useful; at some point, teams need to decide and act. From that point on, everybody, even those who advocated for a different solution than the one chosen, must commit to making that decision a success. That means the team goes all in, no pocket-vetoing or hedging between other options.
Our Purpose Within the Team and Trail Foundation
As noted, this year represented a structural milestone as Mushing Magazine became part of the Team and Trail Foundation.
The Foundation’s mission is to empower adventurers via leadership development, direct funding for grassroots organizations, and support for initiatives that advance environmental and societal equity. One percent of sales is directed to projects that remove barriers to outdoor participation and strengthen community leadership.
Dog-powered sports and adventure, the magazine’s tagline for decades, sits squarely within that mission.
We’ve held this philosophy about two-way and one-way door decisions for a long time. Mushing is more than a competition. It promotes mentorship, intergenerational knowledge transfer, ethical animal stewardship, and practical environmental awareness. In rural regions, still, trails serve as both transportation corridors and racecourses, forming essential community infrastructure.
By operating within the Foundation, this publication now operates as both a record and an amplifier. We document the sport with integrity and help direct resources to programs that support its continuity. As part of a nonprofit entity, our responsibility goes beyond revenue performance to measurable impact.
The Discipline of Differentiation
Differentiation is not just branding for us; it is an operational discipline.
We differentiate through depth. When we covered equipment strategy in January, we did not run product highlights. We examined sled runner modifications for glare ice conditions caused by unstable freeze-thaw cycles. We explored braking adjustments for mixed terrain. We addressed harness material endurance across shortened snow seasons. We focused on decision-making instead of promotion.
We differentiate through presence. Our writers are embedded at races. They slept at checkpoints, spoke with handlers off-camera, and observed the unscripted moments that define endurance competition. We refuse to rely exclusively on remote aggregation when firsthand reporting is possible.
We differentiate through seriousness. In October, our coverage of the rapid expansion of dryland disciplines such as canicross, bikejoring, and rig racing was analytical as we attended the World Championships in Wisconsin. Participation is rising, especially among women, youth, and first-generation competitors. Growth brings both chances and risks. We focused on safety procedures, injury prevention, conditioning science, and equipment standards to ensure responsible expansion.
We differentiate through preventive education. Our fall issue emphasized outdoor leadership. Changing risk patterns require early attention to signs of disruption. Further, we explored how ethical kennel management relies on active knowledge.
We differentiate through context. We address climate variability as a leadership challenge, not as spectacle. Snowpack instability, race cancellations, and redirected trails require adaptation. We highlight perspectives from rural and Indigenous communities whose seasonal knowledge predates modern forecasting.
Differentiation requires selectivity. We decline opportunities that dilute, avoid sensationalism, and resist oversimplifying complex developments to gain a competitive advantage.
You must be willing to take risks. This sounds easier than it is. You need clever enough people to identify worthwhile bets. And if you have these inventive, ambitious builders with high standards, they’re not used to failure. They suspect external (and maybe internal) ridicule awaits them if they try something very different that doesn’t work out. So, people often play it safe.
But, you can’t achieve something extraordinary for customers by playing “not to lose.” If your Whys lead you down an invention path that delivers an experience unlike anything that’s been done before, let customer obsession be your compass. You rarely, if ever, change the world by doing the same thing as everybody else.
Culture as Operating Infrastructure
Publications do not endure on content alone. They thrive on culture, and our internal operating philosophy is grounded in several core disciplines.
We know that we must create leadership principles that set the tone. We have 16 Leadership Principles that guide our behavior; many of these were developed during my academic journey, which thankfully culminated in late 2024. These principles are all integral underpinnings to our mission and values, but I’ll touch on six in particular:
First, we genuinely care about the people and animals at the core of this sport. This commitment determines our editorial decisions, advertising relationships, and approach to corrections.
Second, we take responsibility as a record. Accuracy is essential. Mistakes are corrected transparently. Trust builds slowly in niche communities and erodes quickly.
Third, we maintain a learning mindset. Veterinary science evolves. Climate patterns move. Equipment technology advances. Leadership within mushing demands humility and interest.
Fourth, we build trust through consistency. We continue to strive to print four issues annually. We intend to provide value to our members through field reporting, candid communication, and delivery schedules.
Fifth, we set aside ego. The trail and the dogs naturally reinforce this value.
Sixth, we operate lean. Our team remains intentionally small, and decision-making is streamlined. We still meet at coffee shops and cafes. Bureaucracy is avoided. Speed is not the enemy of quality when the purpose is clear.
These cultural commitments are not ornamental; they are structural. They enable us to distinguish these foundational cultural commitments. They enable effective variation.
Subscriber growth shows engagement, not superficial visibility. Our partnerships remain selective and aligned with moral standards.
We continue to work with manufacturers whose products meet the practical demands of endurance sport. A gear manufacturer in Montana is a core advertiser because our readers rely on their products. A high-fat kibble brand collaborated with teams racing in the Copper Basin, and we reported on performance outcomes transparently. Transparency strengthens long-term partnerships.
Revenue growth has been reinvested in editorial capacity and nonprofit programming. Margins are lean but stable. We have chosen not to pursue rapid expansion that might compromise our focus. Sustainability for a niche print publication depends on loyalty, not scale. Loyalty is built on relevance and trust.
Environmental Change and Adaptive Leadership
Climate variability keeps reshaping operations. Western [U.S.] races were canceled this winter due to low snowpack in Oregon and Idaho. Training cycles are shorter, especially on snow; hybrid conditioning models are emerging; and dryland entry pathways are expanding.
Mushing has always adapted. Today, environmental shifts are more visible and immediate, requiring honesty and originality from sports leaders.
We approach this coverage with intention. Alarmism and denial are unhelpful. Clear reporting enables communities to respond effectively.
Through the Team and Trail Foundation, we invest in educational initiatives that promote climate literacy and toughness in outdoor leadership. Storytelling and stewardship are mutually reinforcing.
Digital as Extension, Not Replacement
Digital channels complement our print identity. Each membership includes access to podcasts, searchable archives, and moderated forums, enabling immediacy and dialogue.
Print preserves memory. This is where the story started way back with the first issues of Team & Tail in 1959. Many of you may not know this, but the paper was printed on a press that Cindy Molburg bought and set up in her front room. Her six children all took part in collating the pages, lined up on the long kitchen table, working tirelessly on every issue of The Musher’s Monthly News.
From Cindy’s kitchen table, Team and Trail became a major force in the worldwide growth of sled dog racing. When sled dog racing needed an international association to standardize rules and racing events, the Molburgs were called upon for their knowledge and dedication to the sport to assist in the formation of ISDRA (International Sled Dog Racing Association) and in rule-making for that organization.
Now, sled dog racing takes place in various events across nearly every part of the world, and much of the credit goes to Cindy for this.
Even today, there are still remote places where signals fail, and batteries die; permanence is essential. A printed issue remains when devices do not. It is amplification.
We will always remain committed to our love of podcasting. That has been our passion since we first launched Dog Works Radio in the lobby of our dog training center in Denver, Colorado. Its premise was simple: we set up a couple of microphones on a Saturday afternoon after our group classes and let our clients come on and ask questions.
Less than a year later, we were standing on Fourth Avenue in Anchorage with a cheap microphone and recorder in hand, documenting the Iditarod start and re-start for our upstart, Mush You Huskies! podcast on our feed. That has since morphed into our annual nightly Iditarod coverage, called The Burled Arch, and one of the highlights in our editorial and creative calendar.
The Next Phase of Strategy
Going forward, our strategic priorities are clear.
We continue to look ahead; our strategic priorities are well defined.
We will deepen nonprofit impact reporting and expand grassroots funding initiatives through the Foundation.
We will invest in youth storytelling programs to cultivate the next generation of leaders within dog-powered sport.
We will continue to teach college courses in Alaska to introduce the sport, lifestyle, and our passion to future outdoor leaders.
We will continue expanding dryland coverage while protecting long-distance snow traditions, and we will embed reporters at major races to retain authenticity.
We will operate lean, avoiding bureaucratic growth that slows innovation.
We will continue differentiating through depth rather than breadth.
We do not aim to become a general outdoor publication. Our goal is to remain the most trusted source in dog-powered sports and adventure.
However, we must address the elephant in the room: what role can AI play as a disruptor, and why we must embrace it strategically.
Why is AI so important? Will it really have as much impact as some claim, and when?
Generative AI is going to reinvent virtually every customer experience we know and enable altogether new ones about which we’ve only fantasized. The early AI workloads being deployed focus on productivity and cost avoidance (e.g., customer service, business process orchestration, workflow, translation, etc.).
Our firm stance is that we will never rely on generative AI to do our creative work for us. We will not tolerate AI-generated articles from our freelancers or contributors. We will not post AI-generated images, but we will use them in our workflow where it can be most impactful. We have found the tools very useful for our podcast workflow, for example, including developing show notes and chapter markers.
Later in 2026 (hopefully), we will be rolling out our biggest feature yet. It is something we have been working on since literally the first day we bought Mushing Magazine in mid-2023 and Team & Trail later on. We are using an app built on the Readwise platform to bring you the largest searchable database of the written word on the sport and lifestyle of dog mushing. We have spent more than two and a half years digitally archiving every issue of the magazine and Team & Trail, and soon you will be able to search for any topic you can think of, and it will pull from our database. Much of this information has yet to be saved on the web.
There is also substantial capital investment required, and we only start monetizing this investment many months after we spend the capital. As of today, it will remain a feature for our highest-tier memberships.
Why I Stay Committed
After years in this community, I am often asked why I continue to invest in a niche print publication when digital alternatives seem easier.
The answer is simple: because this sport deserves a record that fits its discipline. It’s that permanence matters within a world increasingly defined by temporary feeds. There is something about the bond between a musher and a team that cannot be summarized into a caption.
It is because leadership learned in extreme conditions translates beyond the trail. Simply, differentiation is not a tactic; it is a stand.
We are not seeking mass attention. We are preserving something specific, demanding, and worth protecting.
Closing
Print will continue to evolve just as our climate patterns will shift, and participation pathways will diversify. Throughout these changes, our responsibility remains constant.
We will document this sport with seriousness.
We will steward it within a nonprofit structure designed for long-term continuity.
We will remain disciplined in our differentiation.
Even through all its challenges, 2025 was an incredible year. We are grateful to our customers for their business and trust, to each other for our hard work, and to our members for their support and encouragement.
On behalf of our team and the Team and Trail Foundation, thank you for your confidence and support. We feel good about what we’ve done, and even more excited about what we want to do. Your engagement sustains not only this publication, but also a record, a community, and a leadership tradition shaped by dogs, weather, and human resolve.
It remains our responsibility to keep the trail open.
Sincerely,
Dr. Robert Forto
Founder & Publisher
Mushing® Magazine
A Publication of the Team and Trail Foundation