Dogsled Adventure in Jämtland
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The Alaskan Husky is defined more by its purpose, as a tough, fast, reliable sled dog, than by its ancestry, and as such is not a distinct "breed". Derived from the Siberian Husky, the story of Alaskan Huskies has its roots in the Alaskan Gold Rush of the 19th century. These dogs were fairly heavy, but through the incorporation of other breeds from Siberia and across the Bering Strait they became the lighter, faster dogs we see today.
Duration: 7 days
Dates/Period: 15.12-21.12.07, 16.02–22.02.08, 15.03–21.03.08, 22.03–28.03.08, 29.03–04.04.08, 05.04–11.04.08
Price: from £878/person
Groups of min.3 can book this experience on other dates by arrangement.
Accommodation: 6 nights in mountain cabins and lodges.
Required: general good health, minimum age 13.
Snowshoeing in Wolverine Country (also located in Vålådalen)
A 7-day dog sledding holiday with 5 days' dog sledding, leading your own team of Alaskan huskies on an expedition into the mountains.
The dogs pull hard - they want to go faster. An endless blanket of white stretches to the horizon in all directions. This is it! You are driving your own dogsled!
Now you can experience the Swedish winter in a different, exotic and exciting way on a dog sledding holiday into the mountains of Jämtland. You will be travelling through a quiet and unspoiled landscape, home to reindeer, lynx, wolverine and arctic fox. The dogs who'll be accompanying you on your dog sledding tour are Alaskan Huskies. The Alaskan Husky is a friendly dog that runs fast, pulls hard and likes it. Everyone on this experience will get their own dogsled team of 4-5 dogs. Accommodation along the route ranges from simple but comfortable cabins with wood burning stoves to mountain station with shower and sauna.
Dogsled Adventure in Jämtland is a discovery set against the dramatic backdrop of the mountain plains of Jämtland in the west of Sweden. You will lead your own dogsled team into the white wilderness, and as you become more adept at handling the sled you will earn the trust and the friendship of the sled dogs - your sled dogs. On your journey into the wilderness you will become part of a dog sledding team, but a team with a difference: for you will be the only member on two legs!
Dog sledding can be demanding, but it is not necessary to be exceptionally fit. Some strength is required during the dog sledding tour, particularly when braking the sled and assisting the dogs on uphill stretches, but on the whole a willingness to participate fully in the experience, to work with the dogs, to learn their ways and the ways of the dogsled are more important than brute force, and this dog sledding experience is accessible to most people in good health and of average fitness/strength.
The dogs used on this dog sledding tour are Alaskan huskies, perhaps the most well-known breed for dog sledding. Alaskan huskies are intelligent, good-natured, strong, and almost tireless. They are born to pull, and they love it! You can see the expectancy and anticipation in their eyes as the team is organised, the wild excitement in their powerful muscles as they strain at the harness ready for the off, and their sheer joy as the brake is released and the team surges forward as one.
Along the route you will be travelling through an area rich in wildlife, surrounded by the majestic mountains of the Vålådalen Nature Reserve. You will learn to handle and care for your team of 4-5 sled dogs, building snow shelters for them each evening and melting snow for them to drink. In the cabins you will warm yourselves before wood-heated stoves, listening to and recounting your own stories of the trail, while outside the huskies bed down for the night. Taking a break from the warm interior of the cabin, you may step out into the silence and the crisp night air and take a moment to enjoy the brilliance of the stars, the silhouette of your team of sleeping dogs and the mountain horizon beyond.
See photos of dog sledding in Sweden taken on the Dogsled Adventure in Jämtland tour in February 2008.
Read an account of the tour in February 2008 on our blog at www.wildsweden.co.uk.
Comments on Dogsled Adventure in Jämtland:
"First and foremost I'd like to say that from the moment we were met in Undersåker to the moment that we were dropped back to the station we were looked after exceptionally well. I would have no problem recommending this trip to any of my friends/colleagues etc. Your website is very user-friendly and certainly helps give a good idea of what sort of trip is in store. Equally any advice we received from both you and Bob over the phone was very helpful. I feel that your website possibly undersells the quality of the food in the Tourist Station at Vålådalen - it was second to none!
We chose to do this particular trip with you because your company offers the individual the chance to be in control of their own sleds. If this hadn't been on offer, we wouldn't have gone - that's the simple truth. Our guide Troels was fun, professional and knowledgeable. We must also say the same for Lena.
The cabins were in excellent condition (I actually preferred the wood burner cabins) and I admired the high level of courtesy shown by everyone in the Swedish wilderness. The dogs were well cared for by the guides (and also evidently away from the trip) and we enjoyed the mutual benefit of feeding, cleaning and digging holes in return for their daily energy in front of the sleds. The food during the trip was excellent and high energy - just what we needed. Perhaps it is because we are 3 young(ish) guys who like to keep relatively fit, but we were surprised (and sadly quite delighted) at the amount of exercise involved, particularly on the uphills. I didn't get a clear understanding of this before I got there...For us though the terrain of the tour we did was perfect and the length of time spent on the sleds each day was just right.
I would recommend this trip to anyone who really does need to get away (going to the beach doesn't clear your mind in the same sort of way). We all had a fantastic time and I cannot think of anything that we weren't happy with - unless of course you include the cost of just about everything in Scandinavia! Many thanks for organising a wonderful week." Ryan
"We had an absolutely fantastic trip to Jämtland. Such an amazing place! Many thanks for organising." Roly
"I wanted to let you know that we had such a great time, it was awesome! Neither of us have stopped talking about it - the whole experience was fantastic...I think you undersell this trip. It was simply amazing and I am trying to be unbiased...There is no doubt it can be tiring, but the experience and sense of achievement is simply awesome!...Every success to you - you do such a great job." Chris and Jackie
"We had an absolutely awesome time. The whole expedition covered all and more of what we set out to achieve. Although not as physically challenging as we expected, the long days and selflessness of the whole experience (looking after the dogs before ourselves) tailored the week as being one of the best expeditions for personal development and social interaction I have ever taken part in. From start to finish we needed to work together to make it a success and from the students' feedback of the whole event it was a great success. I have already been singing your praises and selling the experiences that you offer...So a very big thank you from Cambridge University Air Squadron to the guides Tommy and Fredrik, who were excellent. More importantly a massive 'Thank you' to you. You were an inspiration. You were one of the most efficient and helpful people I have ever dealt with, you really made sure that this expedition went ahead without any problems." Steve, Cambridge University Air Squadron