Dog-sledding

While we were up at Whistler we decided to go dog-sledding, as it was something we thought would be great to try while we had the opportunity - and it's good to try something different that you can't do at home. We got picked up from Whistler village and drove about half an hour up in to the Soo Valley. That's where the dog-sledding base is - they have loads of dogs - about 300!! They even had a kiwi as one of the guides.
It was SO cold, about -14, and we hadn't realised it was so much colder than it was in the village, so we were a bit ill-prepared, but the numb fingers and toes soon took a backseat as we got to meet our dogs. The dogs are a cross between a husky and a greyhound - as huskies can't operate when it's as warm as -14!! So they cross-breed them with greyhounds, which also makes them faster. They breed them especially for dog-sledding, and they carefully control the breeding - there were a few times we saw where some of the girl-dogs were on heat, and the boy-dogs just can't control themselves - the guides end up diving on them to break them up! They can use it to their advantage though - they can put the girls on heat at the front of the pack, so the boys chase them, and therefore run harder - clever ploy!

As there were two of us and a guide on our sled, we had 6 dogs - there seems to be a ratio of two dogs to each person. And for those of you that might be worried about the treatment of the dogs, they are treated SO well. These dogs are bred to run, and the LOVE IT. When some of the dogs are going out on a run and the others are left behind, they go nuts - they just want to run! They do a maximum of two runs in a day - each run is 7km long. The dogs constantly pull and pull as soon as they have their harnesses on, so much so that even having the brake in the snow doesn't stop them - you have to stand on the brake as otherwise they'll just pull it up! They lick the snow as they run, to get some moisture, and then get a treat and lots of cuddles at the end. They're lovely friendly dogs, and really well looked after.

Needless to say, the scenery was amazing - just a winter wonderland. SO much snow. It was fantastic, taking in the view while we went along - Andrew had a go at driving his own sled, whereas I took the easy road and lay back and enjoyed the ride! All in all it was an amazing afternoon, and a great way to spend Boxing Day - highly recommended!