The Conversation
Each November, tourists and dog sledding tour companies aorund Alaska have the following conversation:
Visitor: Hello! We’d like to go dog sledding today.
Provider: We can definitely get you out dog mushing! However, you should know that the dogs will be pulling you in a wheeled rig, not a traditional dog sled.
Visitor: What? Why not? There is snow on the ground.
Provider: I know. But there isn’t enough snow for the sleds yet.
HUH???
What we mean is that there isn’t enough snow for the brakes on the sleds to work properly. That’s right – dog sleds have brakes! That’s because huskies are bred and trained to GO, not to WHOA. So we actually have to create friction and resistance in order to stop or slow them down. (And yes, we do need to be able to stop and control our speed, so we can keep you and the dogs safe.)
Math & Physics
- On average, an Alaskan Husky can comfortably pull their own body weight — about 50 pounds.
- A dog sled carrying the driver and two passengers might weigh 500 – 600 pounds.
- We need a team of 10-12 Alaskan Huskies to pull a load of 500 – 600 pounds.
Once the dogs are in harness and pulling, they can be hard to stop! Remember, these guys are born and bred GO not WHOA! (Sorry, it’s so good, I had to repeat it.)
Our ability to stop or slow down the dog team is affected by 3 things:
- The power of the dogs
- The steepness of terrain
- The nature of the snowpack
The power of the dogs is related to the number of dogs pulling. Yes, a smaller team is easier to slow and stop. But for giving rides to people, we need what we need in terms of dog power. Our dogs are precious athletes, and it’s important that they’re never asked to pull more weight than they can safely do. So we keep that ratio at approximately one dog per 50 pounds of weight pulled.
The steepness of the terrain varies throughout Fairbanks, with flatter land to the south and east, and lots of hills to the north. Not surprisingly, it’s easier to slow down a dog team on an uphill. But you know what? Every uphill has a downhill, and speed control is much trickier there.
Finally, we come to the nature of the snowpack. Our brakes work best in dense, hardpacked snow. They are far less effective in loose, fluffy snow. Most dog sled tour providers want to have 12 – 16 inches of snowpack on the trail before we switch from dog mushing on wheels to dog mushing on sleds.
The Alternative
This may be a good time to quickly point out the difference between dog mushing and dog sledding.
Dog Mushing – A broad, general term; refers to a whole variety of dog-powered activities! At Black Spruce, whether our dogs are pulling you in a wheeled mushing rig, or on a traditional sled, that’s dog mushing.
Dog Sledding – Refers specifically to the dogs pulling you while you’re on a dog sled.
During the low- or no-snow times of year, dog mushers around the world will train their dogs using wheeled rigs. That’s right, “mushing on wheels” is a totally legit and authentic way to engage with the sport of mushing, and spend time with these incredible athletes!
For tour operators like Black Spruce Dog Sledding, who are located in gorgeous, hilly high country, we have to use a wheeled rig that also has an engine. This allows us to assist our dogs when running uphill. The dogs are still in harness, running and pulling! But we give them just a little bit of gas in order to lighten the load, and keep the experience safe and enjoyable for them.
Some tour operators, who are located in very flat country, or don’t take out as many passengers, are able to use wheeled rigs that don’t have engines. (To cut weight, these rigs usually lack suspension as well — ouch!)
The Benefits of Wheeled Mushing
You guys, there are actually SO many benefits of wheeled mushing! Here are the Big 4:
- More Togetherness. Our wheeled mushing rig accommodates 5 people (plus the driver.) In this way, you get to experience the magic of mushing, literally side by side with your besties, sig other, or family members. This is different than our traditional dog sledding tours, which break up your group members into their own individual sleds.
- More Dogs = More Wow! Because our wheeled rig is heavy, and also has incredible brakes, we love to hook up an extra large string of dogs. You’ll be blown away by the power (and the sound!) of so many dogs working together, doing what they love. This is different than our sled tours, in which we will always hook up as few dogs as possible, for safety reasons.
- Perfect Photo Opps. Because of our stellar braking ability, we can stop in the very best spots on the trail – and we can stay stopped! In this way, you’ll be sure capture those picture-perfect moments with your lead dogs and loved ones. This is different than our sled tours, in which our ability to stop and stay stopped is directly correlated to the quality of the snowpack.
- Cost. At Black Spruce, we know that wheeled mushing maybe isn’t what you had in mind when you planned your Alaskan winter vacation. So we keep the price lower than our sledding tours. In this way, we hope we can convince you to give wheeled mushing a try!
