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Outdoor Life - Dogmushing
Do you love dogs and challenging outdoor adventures? In Dogmushing you become acquainted with the life of huskies and experience extensive mushing.
In our kennels we have over fifty eager huskies and their pups waiting for you.
There are many expeditions throughout autumn and winter.
We finish the year with a week-long trip across Finmark’s tundra with everyone driving their own sled and dog team - over a hundred dogs in all!
Other activities throughout the year include horse riding, helping during the Finnmarksløpet (a 1000km dogmushing race),
and trips to the high mountain regions with glacier rambling and visiting reindeer-herding Sámi.
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More about Outdoor Life – Dogmushing
Dogmushing is for those seeking a challenging outdoor experience combined with dogs and dogmushing. Alta is a paradise for outdoor activists and dog enthusiasts.
The landscape is majestic and thrilling and the Finnmark tundra seems purpose made for dogmushing.
Outdoor Life
- experience varied trips with and without dogs, hiking and skiing in the mountains and inland plateau
- gain knowledge and experience whilst enjoying venturing outdoors in all seasons
- learn about sensible clothing and equipment through discussion and practical experience
- gain orientering expertise, plan routes, build campfires, understand avalanche risks and first aid
- camp out under the open night sky, in lean-to, tent, lavvo (traditional sami tents), snow holes and cabins
- learn about unique Arctic flora and fauna
- paddle canoes down the Alta river
- enjoy a horse riding adventure
- undertake a challenging glacier trek on Seilandsjøkelen (Seilands glacier) with training in glacier safety equipment
- travel to Kautokeino to experience a reindeer drawn sled and learn about the Sami culture, lifestyle and understanding of nature
Dogmushing
Alta is the largest dogmushing community in Norway. In the teacher’s kennels you will get to work with over fifty huskies.
Each student will get special responsibility for two adults and a litter of pups.
- become acquainted with huskies and their dragging abilities
- learn how to train a dog team using quad bikes
- use the huskies for portage in the autumn
- winter cross country skiing being pulled by dogs
- in depth training in mushing your own husky team
- participate in the daily care, carpentry and practical tasks in the kennels
- learn how to rear the dogs and understand their personalities and behaviour
- venture out on solo trips with your dog
- plait ropes and lines for the dogmushing
- repair and maintain equipment for the sledges, dogs and camping
- Finnmarksløpet; Europe’s longest dogmushing race (1000km), help out with the start of the race and checkpoints along the way
- learn about dogmushing in Alaska and about the Iditarod – the world’s longest dogmushing race
- learn about participation in dog races and winning tactics (your instructor has completed 3 Iditarod and 12 Finnmarksløp – winning 5 times)
- understand dogmushing in a historical context
The highlight is an 8-day trip over the inland plateau of Finnmark in April with 120 dogs, 18-20 sleds and approximately 1 tonn of dog food and equipment.
Procedures
Participation, cooperation and teamwork are important key words for our adventures and work with the dogs.
In the kennels you will be rostered to work in pairs with responsibility for training a litter of pups and feeding and caring for all the dogs.
In your spare time you are free to exercise with the pups. Everyone will assume responsibility for planning and preparing for trips.
At the end of the school year there is the opportunity to apply for kennel/handler jobs in Norway, Svalbard, USA and Alaska.
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