“There are moments when you feel nothing else other than being outside together with your dog-team. You forget about the concerns of daily life. You just feel. Moments when the Northern Lights show up, the moon is shining, the ice-crystals in the twigs are flickering, maybe an owl calls from somewhere and then you hear the breath of the dogs in front of you. It’s magic.” Marius, the musher, Kirkenes, Norway
Last week I fulfilled one of my big travel dreams, namely visiting the Arctic and going for a ride on a sledge pulled by a team of huskies. While there I took the opportunity to find out more about what it is like to work with these wonderful, dogs from our expert musher, Marius von Glahn.
Kirkenes Snow Hotel
As soon as we arrived we could hear the dogs frantically barking, excited at the prospect of their forthcoming run but first we had a quick tour around the Kirkenes Snow Hotel where the husky kennels are based. Each and every year, the wing of the hotel containing the bedrooms are freshly built from snow and an expert team of ice-carvers from China come and decorate the rooms in wonderful, sometimes rather bizarre, ice sculptures.
Riding with the huskies
After a delicious glass of warmed forest berry juice, including the wonderfully named, cloudberries, we went over to meet the dogs. An enthusiastic chorus of barking greeted us.
Leading up to this moment the weather had been unpredictable and the excursion the day before had been cancelled due to blocked roads but this morning the sun shone brightly in the bluest of skies over the freshly fallen snow. We really couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather conditions and this was the part of the voyage that I had most been looking forward to. More than seeing the northern lights, even more than seeing the beautiful snow-covered mountains and hills that line the Norwegian coast, it was the husky ride that I had dearly yearned for.
We were introduced to our musher, Marius, and his team of dogs and before I knew it I was tucked up under a blanket with fellow traveller, Alison sitting behind me. The dogs barking grew even louder as they leapt up and down in the air in their obvious excitement. With a shout and a flurry of snow we were off.
Nuk, Arktis, me and Alison (taken by Marius)
With nothing to hold onto I wondered how long I would actually stay on the sledge but our musher took us up numerous inclines, flying over bumps and speeding down slopes with the ease that only an expert could achieve and I remained on-board! The dogs led us through the trees and out onto the vast white expanse of a frozen fjord. I kept thinking how lucky I was to be here. Whizzing along the fjord on such a beautiful day was more than I could ever have dreamed of and as we turned and headed back towards the trees, just for a moment, I felt almost tearful with joy.
And then we were back a the hotel – the ride was over.
We thanked Marius and of course the dogs, clicked away taking a few more photos before heading back to the bus, beaming from ear to ear with a feeling of utter contentment.
Everyone was smiling.
Me and Alison (taken by Marius)
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Marius the musher and the huskies of Kirkenes
Marius, our musher, first started working with huskies at a kennel in Tana in 2011. This is where Nuk and Arktis were born, the two dogs at the rear of our team. Every now and then when the husky rides at the Snow Hotel were fully booked and they needed more dogs (so as not to exhaust the dogs based at the hotel) Marius and other local mushers were called in to help. In this way, as Marius pointed out, the guests, like myself, from the Hurtigruten boats, help support the livelihoods of local private mushers as well as those employed by the hotel.
Having successfully applied to be a dog-handler at the Snow Hotel, Marius now also helps with other aspects of running the hotel, as well as feeding the dogs twice a day, keeping their huts and the yard clean and looking after the equipment. In the summer the dogs live in the Pasvik Valley and in late summer and the autumn the dogs are trained.
Marius loves working with the dogs but his favourite time of year is the autumn, when he can focus his attention on the dogs before the distractions of the winter season starts.
“There are moments when you feel nothing else other than being outside together with your dog-team. You forget about the concerns of daily life. You just feel. Moments when the Northern Lights show up, the moon is shining, the ice-crystals in the twigs are flickering, maybe an owl calls from somewhere and then you hear the breath of the dogs in front of you. It’s magic.” Â Marius shared with me.
I asked Marius how old the dogs have to be before they start being trained and pulling the sledges.
“The youngest dogs pulling a sledge in this company are about six months old. But they are only pulling empty sledges and they are running very short distances.
You can also but a puppy, after a few weeks, into a harness, then you put a weight (for example a piece of wood) behind it and call it to you. When the puppy comes to you it learns to run against a weight on its back. It get’s used to that feeling and you can suggest to the dog that what it is doing is something good. Because it’s not in the nature of a dog to pull something, this can be quite important. I think the most important part is that the dog learns ‘It is fun to pull something. I want to do this.’ And the earlier the better.
Another way to prepare a dog for working as part of the team is by letting it run loose beside the team which is pulling the sledge.“
Nuk and Arktis
The Alaskan husky is at its peak between four to six years old and may compete in long distance races like the “Finnmarksløpet”. A lot of the dogs at the Kirkenes Hotel are retired racing dogs. We were at the kennels on a day that they were fully booked for the rides which means that some of the dogs run the course three times a day but they don’t let the younger or indeed the older dogs do this as it would be too much for them. The oldest dog still working there is 14 years old.
When we were out with the dogs we noticed when they stopped on the fjord that some of them started rolling in the snow. Dogs don’t sweat as we do to cool down so, as well as panting, they roll in the snow.
There are a number of different roles that the dogs perform within the team as Marius explained…
“The lead-dogs represent the musher. Their task is to show to the rest of the team, where the musher wants to go. The dogs in the in-point-position (right behind the lead-dogs) can assist both parts.
The dogs at the back of the team help mostly to pull (note the blue socks they are wearing on their rear paws to help protect them). But every dog, in every position, is an important part in this dynamic ‘puzzle’ to create a harmonizing team.”
Most days the dogs have three 5km runs each morning with the guests from Hurtigruten. The kennel also offer longer trips in the afternoon and in the evening so some dogs go out again but they always try to use well-rested dogs and when they are at their busiest they call on the private mushers from Tana to help so that none of the dogs are over used.
I also asked Marius what he liked best about living in northern Norway. “The nature, especially the bird-life!” and the least “The smoked salmon you can buy here in the super-market tastes so very good but is very expensive.”
And so this part of the adventure was over but I’m sure this is a day I will never forget. I’d like to say a huge thank you to Marius for a fantastic ride and for answering all my questions and, of course, to Hurtigruten for making this all possible, truly a dream come true!
You can see more of Marius’ photographs and read about the huskies, as well as the wildlife of Norway, on his blog Von Hunden und Vögeln (On dogs and birds).
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Disclaimer: While I was a guest of Hurtigruten during my time in Norway, all opinions expressed are my own honest thoughts.
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The dog sledding looks so much fun! It goes on my bucket list. 🙂
It really was magical!
Riding with the huskies looks like such a fun time! Do they allow visitors to pet the dogs?
Yes, they do indeed, as you can see in the video at the end of my next post about ALL the highlights of the trip.
The dog sled ride looks like fun, and the dogs look like they are having a good time too. But I would have no desire to stay in an ice hotel.
Yes, the dogs were so eager to set off, they obviously love it.
I can understand why the Snow Hotel wouldn’t be for everyone but I’ve always been intrigued by them and love the novelty of them.
Hei Kat!
Thank you for this nice article 🙂
I really enjoyed reading it and remembered the day you’ve been here.
Thank you one more time for your visit; and especially for your open interest and your curiosity!
Sincerely,
Marius
My pleasure Marius. Thank you so much for a fantastic ride and for answering all my questions.
Best wishes to you and all the huskies,
Kat
I am very envious of you being able to participate in dog sledding across a beautiful landscape. This is certainly one of my bucket list items. When you think of visiting Alaska (still one of the many US states we have to visit), I always think about being able to experience the dog sleds across the Arctic tundra in this beautiful part of the world.
You have really captured a great experience here with some high quality pictures. A really fascinating read Kathryn!
Thanks Chris and I’m sure you’ll get to visit Alaska before too long or perhaps you’ll make over to Europe and visit our part of the Arctic circle! Either way, I hope you get to see such stunning, frozen landscape and take a husky ride for yourselves one day.
I really wished I did husky dog sledging while in Tromso. Probably some day, I will make it! The snow hotel looks one of its kind! Glad to see you guys enjoying it so much!
What a shame you missed it! You will have to go back if you can and I hope you do!
Kathryn, this feature leaves me with mixed feelings – thrilled for you that you had the experience, but just a little bit envious 🙂 Huskies have always been one of my favourite breeds, and your recounting of your experience, plus Marius’ lovely comments, have reinforced the feelings even further. Some really wonderful photos here. Love the ones where the huskies is having a good, old roll in the snow. Superb!!
Oh I do hope yo get to do this for yourself one day, Jackie and when you do I want to hear all about it!
I’ve been looking forward to reading about this, Kat, and am not surprised you had a great experiences. I’ve heard that huskies are reputedly meant to be a very difficult breed to train but I guess they’ve plenty of experience in Scandinavia that it’s not too much of a problem for them.
PS – Love the look of the snow hotel! 🙂
And I couldn’t wait to share this with everyone!
Marius did mention that huskies are not a suitable breed to keep as pets which maybe where this came from.
Wow, i would love to do this and put it on my bucket list – will have to be for the time being. Really enjoyed reading your post and the trip in general Kat.
Thanks Noel, lovely to hear your enjoying it and I do hope you get the chance to do this for yourself one day.
I’ve done this in Finland and Sweden and both times it has been an incredible experience. In Finland I was able to mush a team of my own which is really exciting.
Perhaps you should go for the hat trick! You were able to have a go at mushing (is that the right phrase?) here too, although i was so enjoying the experience I forgot to ask!
Now that’s an idea. I shall have to look into that. I forgot I have also mushed in Greenland but prefer not to mention that as I fell off the back of the sledge and the dog team left me behind. Fortunately we were in a “convoy” of dog teams and one of the other mushers grabbed my dog team. Totally embarrassing to say the least.
Well it makes a much more interesting story than just having stayed on! 😉
You’ve really captured the exhilarating fun of that husky ride Kathryn 🙂 Whizzing across the snow pulled by enthusiastic huskies has to be one of life’s most enjoyable experiences!
Thanks Zoë. I do feel incredibly lucky to have had the chance to do this. Would love to do it again some day and have a go at ‘mushing’ perhaps next time!
Lovely; brings back some great memories, and I’d do it again at the slightest opportunity!
Yes, it’s a really wonderful experience – well worth repeating if given half the chance!
What an incredible experience Kat. The dogs and the photos of them, are gorgeous. I have heard about the Kirkenes Snow Hotel before but never knew of anyone who stayed there. I think I will be adding this to my list. Thanks, Tim
Thanks Tim. Hope you get to go there too one day!
Just did this exact trip and it was amazing!! So glad that you had fun!
Ooh! I must check out your posts! I’m sure you enjoyed the experience as much as I did.
What a fantastic experience, looks and sounds wonderful. I love the look of that snow hotel too – total quirkiness!
I bet you’d love the hotel – rather bizarre but that’s the fun of it!