And so it begins….

An idea is a powerful thing.

I fell in love with the idea of running huskies in the snow when I watched the great Alaskan Iditarod race.  Kiwi adventurer Curt Perano was in the race and as I watched I was totally captivated.  The dogs are incredible adventurers, laughing in the face of snow, ice, and a 1000 km of running.

I tracked down the local “Ridge Runners Sled Dog Racing Club” and raced huskies in the crisp winter mornings.  Dryland mushing (using rigs with wheels or scooters) was a huge rush (both for me and for the dogs).  Then the opportunity to go to the snow came up – and I was in!  Colin Whitley was generous enough to offer me his dog “Stripe” and we both (dog and me) had a crash course in Skijoring (skiing behind the dog in short 5km race).  I was totally hooked.  I also got to meet a keen bunch of people who make up NZ’s “mushing” community.

Then a new idea dawned… taking the dogs away on expeditions here in New Zealand.  After all, we have Classic Tramps, Classic Mountain Bike Rides, etc but where are the Classic trips you can go on with a dog pulling you?  It was time to put a team together to find out.

Gradually the team came together – Erik, who has already skied the length of the southern alps; Kate, who is a star skijorer and hardy outdoor adventurer, and also Colin – who knows heaps about running large teams of dogs (for more about the team take a look at the “About” page).

And now we have the backing of Sport NZ through their Hillary Expedition Fund.

And so the fun begins!  We will be undertaking exploratory missions in the winters of 2015 and 2016.  Stay tuned here for updates as we get organised for the adventure of our lives.

– posted by Sarah Wilson