The dogs astutely sense that work is at hand. They shake off the new fallen snow, jumping up and down in their eagerness to get going. With assuredness, the musher selects his team of dogs, saving the lead dog, which today happens to be a bitch in golden colors, until the very last minute.
Off we go. With a start, you are yanked back on the sled, and some time passes before you can gain your equilibrium. The silence, the enormous expanses of land, the bond between the musher and his dogs and the cold will quickly transport you to another world…
Birte Bay, 60, talking about her dog sled tour with an overnight stay
“What a wonderful experience it was to stand halfway up the mountain and see the view of the glacier and the Icefjord. The only thing I could hear were the 75 to 80 dogs, that lay around the cabin. All curled up like balls. Everywhere you looked the place was clean and white.
15 centimeters of snow had fallen throughout the night. I was looking forward to today’s stage and already felt a sense of sadness in the pit of my stomach that this would be the last day of the trip.”
The dog sled – the symbol of a Greenlandic winter
To many people, dog sledding is almost synonymous with Greenland. Truth be told, you can’t find a better way to experience Greenland, than on a dog sled racing through a wintry landscape with the noise from the dogs on the creaking snow the only sound breaking the silence.
Dog sledding is something everyone can do, and you can go for a short two hour tour or an expedition that lasts for days or for anything in between.
The dog sled districts
There are 17,000 sled dogs in Greenland. The dog sled is only used in the area north of the Arctic Circle and in East Greenland, and these areas are commonly referred to as” the dog sled districts”.
Sisimiut and Kangerlussuaq are the most southerly towns on the West coast, where it is possible to try dog sledding during winter and spring – February, March and April are the best months for dog sledding. You can go for an extended weekend to Kangerlussuaq, and experience both dog sledding and the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights.
Family tours and racing
The Greenlanders themselves love to go dog sledding, and they will go for a joyride with their families on Sundays.
Every year races are arranged in many categories: for the pros (the fishermen and hunters), amateurs (the ones out for a Sunday joyride), women, children and so forth, which is all great entertainment for the entire crowd of spectators.
6 do’s and don’ts of dog sledding
It’s pretty easy to unplug from the outside world while travelling in Greenland, and dog sledding is one of the very best ways to do that. Here are six do and don’t suggestions to think about while experiencing the dog sledding world.
1. Don’t look at your mobile phone
… Unless it is to take a photo, because you most likely won’t get a working signal in the backcountry of Greenland. The grandeur of the Greenland Ice Sheet, which covers 80% of the country, builds a physical ice wall across the land, and the tiny settlements scattered across the fringes of the country create a remoteness seldom found in today’s modern world. In fact, connectivity is so limited that Lonely Planet even used it to explain Greenland when it named us a Top 10 ‘Best in Travel’ destination in 2016.
2. Do watch the magnificent snowscapes pass you by
The landscape is oh-so-white, but you’ll soon realise that the undulating white pathway that you are travelling on will slowly change as you venture deeper and deeper into the backcountry. Of course, it depends on whether you are taking a short drive around the block, or a multi-day adventure passing by skyscraper icebergs wedged in the frozen fjords. Travelling via dog sled is, in general, rather slow-paced, so you’ll have plenty of time to soak your experience in.
3. Don’t get in the way of the flying poo
Especially when they’ve eaten seal blubber! The sled dogs of Greenland eat whatever they get, and like humans you can tell what they’ve digested. When learning to run in teams, the sled dogs very quickly learn how to use the bathroom when they run so as not to reduce the tempo of the sled. Typically, they will move to the outer side of the pack and do their business. Just be a little wary when the dogs are running downhill. You might get a whiff of something… fishy.
4. Do get to know your driver… and learn how to ‘speak dog’
Many of the dog mushers grew up dog sledding and learning how to survive in the wilderness by practising the knowledge and techniques passed on by their forefathers. Your dog musher might be able to speak English, but if not you will still be able to communicate a lot through sign language and gesticulation. If you can, it’s worth learning a few preparatory words for your journey to make things easier.
While you’re sitting there on the sled anyway, you might also pick up a few phrases of ‘dog mushing language’, which is how the dog musher communicates with the dog pack.
5. Don’t fall off the sled
We’ve already suggested that you’re in for a slow adventure, and that your heartbeat will slow down to the peacefulness of your surroundings. You might even fall asleep while dog sledding due to the clean fresh air and steady rhythm of paws pitter pattering. But if you’re sledding over mountainous or rocky terrain, be prepared for a little bumpy ride! Just to make sure that you stay awake.
6. Do keep running
Sometimes you might even chose to get off the sled to warm up your body when you begin to feel a little numb. No matter how many layers of clothing you have on, if you are sitting idly for many hours in minus 30 degrees Celsius, you will start to feel the cold. Take a page out of the dog mushing guide and run with the crew. We can guarantee that you will warm up in no time, and your dog team might even appreciate the extra help (read: lighter weight) going uphill.
