Sledding with Huskies in Tromsø
Husky Sledding with Active Tromsø One Day Active Dog Sledding NOK1350 (~SGD220)
Tromsø, the arctic capital in northern Norway, is home to all kinds of winter activities, but the one that I had to try was husky sledding! One of our teachers in JC had a husky that had a beautiful fur coat, and it would lie down on the couch and allow us to pet it. But I always thought it was quite out of place in tropical Singapore, and this was a chance for us to get up and personal with the huskies in their natural habitat. We booked our sledding trip through the official Tromsø tourism site, Visit Tromsø and we picked the Active Tromsø company for their reasonable price and full day experience of the huskies! Tour groups were well organised and conveniently picked up at the central Radisson Blu hotel in the morning and we drove to the expedition start point. Most importantly for us, warm winter clothes and boots were provided, as we didn’t own any really solid winter clothing for the negative temperatures. I was freezing but once I put on proper protective winter coats and boots, I could withstand the temperatures outside properly! Do not underestimate the importance of proper gear :)
Suited up!
Once we were suited up, we went to meet out friendly huskies. First thing that I noticed was their fur coats were surprisingly thin looking, and not as hairy as the husky that I had seen before. They were very lean but strong. Each sled with two people was pulled by four friendly husky dogs, and the leader of our sled is called Audi. I’m pretty sure they were going as fast as a real Audi, these dogs are really strong! But before we were able to set off, some safety training was in order. Our guide was a no nonsense guy, who was very very strict about some ground rules, because it was the first time for most of us. One lady in the group spoke only German, so we had to translate for her as well.
The golden rule of husky sledding was that we were to never, ever, ever, on any condition, let go of the sled, or the dogs might run away and it would be very dangerous for the dogs and the person sitting in the sled. If we got tired, we would switch around, but only stepping down from the sled’s control once the other person takes the reins. Second, emergency brake was to throw out an anchor into the snow, which would stop the sled if something went wrong. Thirdly, the dogs are part of our team, so during the tough uphill sections we need to get off and help them push up the sled and the rider. So once we were all ready, we went off!
The area that we went sledding in was Kvaløya (The Whale Island). I had to look up this information because I had no idea where we were or where we were going, I had my hands full the entire time. Husky sledding is not a multi-tasking activity. Once the dogs were off, they ran like the wind and suddenly, the need for hat, earmuffs and a scarf was evident. The cold wind bit at any uncovered skin. When going down slopes, I had to stamp down on the brake with all my might to stop the sled from going too fast, but even then I weighed barely enough to stop the sled, so it was extremely terrifying at some moments when the dogs seemed to be going too fast around some very narrow bends, with a river on each side of us.
Even though I tried hard to follow the rules set by the guide at the start of the expedition, I still ended up making some critical mistakes and was given a stern telling off by the guide as we were the first team after his leading sled. While trying to adjust, we broke the golden rule and accidentally let go of the sled. It was stressful and I was glad to switch roles and sit down in the sled for a while after that.
My heart was pounding the entire time I was driving the sled, internally screaming that something was going to go wrong sooner or later and the whold sled would tip into the snowy banks or dark frozen river. Inevitably, the worst of my fears came true when I got down to push the sled up a steep slope, the dogs flew off and I couldn’t get onto the back of the sled in the driver’s position fast enough. I ended up being dragged along in the snow with a death grip on the reins in fear of being thrown off, and I screamed out at Fangyu to throw out the emergency stop anchor, but over the wind and snow she couldn’t hear me. It was a miracle but somehow the sled stopped.
The lead guide came over to us and I thought he was going to scream at me, but surprisingly he did the opposite. “Good! You didn’t let go of the sled.” Finally, I started to get the hang of sled driving. Learning by trial and error, by being thrown off, by some really terrifying moments. It was really difficult to take any pictures, so I quickly snapped some photos with my DSLR with a thin pancake lens that I had snuck under my thick coats and secured with a BlackRapid strap. It was simply enough to enjoy the silent, rugged and majestic landscape of the Norwegian wilderness.
Dashing through the snow, in a four dog open sled
By the end of the expedition, we were both tired. Most of the time, we had to maintain a tight grip on the reins and at steep slopes, push with all our might to go up or putting our whole weight on one side of of the sled runners to try and balance the sled to prevent it from tipping. With all the exercise, I kept very warm and toasty throughout the expedition. When we got back to the kennels, the short day had passed into a purple twilight and we spent some time to unhook the dogs and play with them in the kennels. They were all excited and friendly, jumping up and trying to play with us, even though they had spent the day pulling two humans around the snowy wilderness. We returned our winter gear and had some hot tea before boarding the bus back to central Tromsø.
Although the sledding experience was indeed a little pricey as compared to the rest of my Europe trip experiences, at SGD220 it is actually reasonable for the experience you get. The amount needs to cover the upkeep of the dogs for the whole year, even during their summer months when there is no snow to sled on, and it was great that we were able to go and actually drive the sleds ourselves for such a long expedition. I’m glad that the guide entrusted us with our own sleds and although it was a steep learning curve, it was thoroughly enjoyable and I hope I can do it again in the future. Just don’t let me fall off the sled again next time please!
Good job everyone! Goodbye~