Every year in February, the largest long distance sled dog race in Europe, Femundløpet, takes place in the great wilderness area south of Røros. Following the Lake Femunden next to the Swedish border and going through high mountain areas near the Østerdalen valley, the race gives the participants a great challenge and an intense nature experience. In 2006 several of the NSHK-mushers (Norwegian Siberian Husky club) participated, and Ulf followed one of the teams as a handler. The team, owned, trained and driven by Tom Arne Kristiansen, finished as one of the best SH teams ever in the race. No 9 out of 52 teams finishing! 88 teams started and 36 scratched. The conditions changed from mild and wet to cold, windy and with heavy snowfall.
For long distance rookies like ourselves, handling in a race like this give us an idea of what this is all about. Tons of very important knowledge is concentrated in to a few, intense days. Dog care, strategy and run/rest plans together with logistic planning of accommodation, depot gear and packing; for the teams wanting to do well in the race this is what counts! And the handler must understand this, and support the musher 110% all the way to the finish line (and in the hours after!)! One of Ulf’s conclusions is that everyone who plans to participate in long distance racing should try handling first! If you try to learn from what you see and must do, you’ll probably have an advantage compared to other rookies not having the handler experience…
Ulf
