An Arctic Adventure in Dog Sledding!

Huskies + Sledding + Norway = AMAZING!

One of the highlights of our recent trip to Tromsø in Northern Norway had to be the day we spent dog sledding!

After contacting 4 places in Tromsø, and looking over the options, we decided to go with Active Tromsø. They were the cheaper option and they would allow you the chance to drive the sled. The others were more expensive and we were told you only got to ride in the sled. Even the place which seemed to be the most popular, didn’t allow you to drive (that company was closed to day trips for the season anyway).

We enjoyed our day with Active Tromsø and were happy that they stayed true to their name, as it was a very ‘active’ day. The instructor, Tore, was very experienced with the dogs and sledding and his girlfriend, Sandra, was also very helpful.

The day began with a pick up in the town at the Radisson Blu hotel. They were running a bit late so we were picked up about 10-15 min after they had said. Even so, Tore stopped at a supermarket along the way so the others could pick up some lunch (Yoni and I were already prepared, packing our tuna sandwich lunch that morning) which was very nice of him.

When we arrived at our desination, we heard the dogs howling below at their kennels. It was an amazing sight to see from the top of the hill.

We were also quite lucky to see some new 5 week old husky puppies. They were caged when we first arrived but later Sandra let them out to play when the the other group arrived.

So adorable!! In just 1 year, he will start training to join the dog sled team!

With Active Tromsø, you don’t need to worry much about bringing the right clothing. They had great snow proof clothing that was included. You just had to make sure to wear some long underwear and long sleeve fleece top.
Pants, boots, hat, neck fleece, and gloves were all included – and it took a while to get all of the layers on. When we were finally ready, we headed down to meet the dogs!

The dogs were so excited that they were going to go out on a run! After a brief overview where we learned that the dogs didn’t get to go out the day before so they were full of energy and the word for stop in Norwegian ‘stå’, they showed us how to put the harness on our dogs. We split up into our teams and put the harness on each of our dogs.

Even if they were so hyper running around and howling, as soon as it was time to put the harness on, they stood there so still and obediently.

Harnessed and ready 🙂

I sat in the sled first with all of our bags, the camera, our water and the emergency anchor (which you throw out of the sled when you want the dogs to really stop)!

View from inside the sled!

Having the opportunity to team up with 5 husky dogs and drive the sled was quite an adventure and harder than it sounds. You need to be aware of the team ahead of you, if they slow down, you need to follow suit and stop well before you think you should or the dogs will try to get ahead of that team. You also need to be careful of the hills as going downhill you could lose control of the sled, and of course avoiding trees on the turns is difficult.

Steering to the right or left requires you to put your weight on the correct side. I was literally standing on one side with all my weight to make the turns. At the beginning the sled did topple over once or twice..but after we learned how to control it better it was fantastic.

The dogs needed some help pushing the sled on the uphill and in the deeper snow, so it was definitely a great work-out for the dogs and us! Driving the sled with someone sitting in it is a hard job, so we were both really happy that we could alternate drivers along the journey. The guy in front of us was the only driver and his passenger didn’t want to drive, so he had a much harder time.

Action shot with the dog teams behind us! Look at those husky dogs go!

During the first part of the sledding it was snowing quite a bit which made it tougher. After putting on all that Arctic clothing, we actually were pretty warm after driving the sled. We didn’t end up using the hat, gloves or goggles (I brought my own pair).

The second half of our journey, the clouds started parting to reveal the beautiful blue skies. Northern Norway is seriously one of the most beautiful places on earth. Seeing a bit of the mountains by dog sled is just unforgettable.

Winter wonderland in Northern Norway

Taking a break to take in the view and
reward our dogs with lots of petting for their hard work.

Howling huskies!

Our dog team!!

Everytime we stopped and the team in front started to get going, the dogs would turn around to ask “Are we going yet???” 🙂

Well deserved nap after their hard work

Hard not to get attached to your dogs! 2 of the dogs on our team, brothers, Ford and Mitsubishi

If you are planning a trip to Northern Norway or anywhere in Lappland, I highly recommend including Dog sledding in your activities! I was glad my coworkers mentioned it to me when I told them of my trip up north. It was an incredible and unique adventure!

Active Tromsø
http://activetromso.no/dog-sledding/

Thank you to the dogs and the staff at Active Tromsø for such a fantastic and fun day!