Photo. Genuine husky adventures are fun. © Travel Explorations.
The dogs made so much noise that I could understand that they were eager to start. Our short tour around in the forest went fine. As a fast jump the sledge started. The two lead dogs forgot the romantic plesaure quick when they started to run. The dogs were more displined when they were running than when they stood still. First of all these dogs are trained to work in a team, and not for showing good manners. On my husky tour I could feel my face started to freeze. It was minus 17 degrees so I was glad that I had dressed up in warm suits.
Warm safari clothing is urgent with woollen socks, hat and mittens, boots and an overall. Fortunately I could borrow clothes from my good Finnish friend Jouni, or I had frozen to death in the slegde.
Mushing has also been an extremely popular sport ever since the first large race at Nome in 1908, and now races, from small local sprint races to Finnmarksløpet, Minnesota's John Beargrease Marathon, to the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest and Iditarod, draw millions of enthusiasts every year. That popularity has spread around the world, and whether you're in Alaska, Ontario, Norway, Finland or Sweden, there are opportunities to experience the excitement of mushing.
Husky is a general term for several breeds of dogs used as sled dogs. Huskies were originally used as sled dogs in northern regions but are now also kept as pets. The word "husky" is a corruption of the derogative term "Eskie", also given to the Esquimaux tribes that came into contact with Europeans who made early expeditions into their lands. The most common huskies are the Siberian Husky and the Alaskan Husky.
The tour operator who I joined, Huskypoint in Rovaniemi, Finland, runs husky safaris with genuine passion for sled dogs, mushing and long adventurous sled dog races. Long distance sled dog races their passion – the longer the better! Their dogs are trained to be Marathon runners. When they drag a sledge, they can reach a spead up to 35 km per hour. The best long distance runners eat raw meat, run naked and sleep in the snow. It`s hard to a dog sometimes.
Huskypoint is a family-owned private company operating in Rovaniemi, Ylläs and Levi. Its offers sled dog adventures for incentives, holiday groups and individual travellers. After 20-years of dog life they can honestly say that huskies are their life, hobby and passion.
To be a good driver good communication with the dogs are essential. In this case the drivers has to feel comfortable with themselves: or as ny guide said: be a friend with themselves. This also affect the dogs. If the driver is tired, the dogs will notice it soon.
The people in Huskypoint travel a lot to Norway to participate in the long races. There they can find challenging races and the best mushers.
Former races they have joined (based on information from Huskypoint`s website):
* 2006 8th place Finnmarkslopet 500 km Aki Holck
* 2007 3rd place Pasvik Trail 300km open class Aki Holck
* 2008 1st place Eastpoint Carelian charm 200 km Finnish Championship in long distance Aki Holck
* 2008 3rd place Pasvik Trail 300km limited class Jaakko Mölsä
* 2008 7th place and best foreign musher Finnmarkslopet 1000 km Aki Holck
* 2009 11th place and best foreign musher Finnmarkslopet 1000 km Aki Holck
* 2009 10th place and best foreign musher Amundsen race Aki Holck
* 2009 2nd place Long Trail 200km Finnish Championship race Jaakko Mölsä
* 2009 11th place Finnmarkslopet 500km limited class Jaakko Mölsä
* 2009 2nd place Arctic Barents race 1112km Aki Holck
Huskypoint Racing plan for 2011:
La Grande Odyssee 8.-19.1.2011 /Aki Holck
Femundlopet 600km/ Aki Holck and Femundlopet 400km/ Juho Ylipiessa World Championchip in long distance starting 2nd of February 2011
Finnmarkslopet 1000km Starting 12th of March 2011/Aki Holck
Stein Morten Lund, 18th December 2010
Additional information
Contact information for Huskypoint:
Aki & Malla Holck
Kittiläntie 1638
FI-97220 Sinettä, Rovaniemi
FINLAND
City office:
Koskikatu 9
FI-96200 Rovaniemi
FINLAND
Telephone:
+358 400 790 096
Website: www.huskypoint.fi/en
Email: info@huskypoint.fi
E-mail this
Print this
