Go Husky Mushing

The adventure

You hear the kennel long before you see it: dozens of dogs barking, howling and leaping in their harnesses, desperate to go. You get a quick lesson on the brake and the snow hook, step onto the runners of your own sled, and the moment the hook comes out, the noise stops. The dogs are running, and all you can hear is the hiss of the sled and their paws on the snow.

Then it's just you, your team and miles of snow-loaded spruce and frozen lakes in the low blue Arctic light. You learn to lean into bends, ride the brake downhill and jump off to push on the climbs. On a multi-day safari you harness and feed your own dogs, sleep in wilderness cabins with a wood-fired sauna and, on a clear night, step outside to look for the northern lights.

Why it’s epic

Driving your own team, usually four to six dogs, rather than sitting as a passenger.
Multi-day safaris in Finnish Lapland with nights in wilderness cabins, saunas and a chance of the aurora.
In Alaska, summer trips fly by helicopter to dog-sled camps on glaciers near Juneau and Seward.
Alaska's Iditarod, the most famous race in the sport, covers about 1,000 miles from Anchorage to Nome.

What it is

Driving your own team of huskies across the snow is a winter adventure.

How to do it

Book a husky safari in Finnish Lapland, northern Norway or Sweden, or a glacier dog-sled tour in Alaska in summer.

Top tip

Multi-day trips let you care for your own team.

Need to know

Lapland temperatures often fall to -20°C or below; operators usually lend thermal overalls, boots and mittens.
Day safaris need no experience, but multi-day trips need decent fitness for pushing uphill and caring for the dogs.
The snow season runs from December to March, with longer, brighter days towards the end.

Do it yourself

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My experience

“Mush! Muuush!

My favourite dog breed is the Husky – to be out in the wilderness with my own pack of restless eager huskies raring race through the snow sounds like the most blissful experience I can imagine!