Winter dog sports keep athletes on dozens of toes

Stephanie Hebert

February 29, 2008 | It looked like a scene out of a Jack London novel.

Frost was hanging in mid air creating a misty veil that added a moist chill to the already frigid temperature. It was snowing so lightly that you could see the individual flakes as they fell to the ground. The wind was blowing, stirring together the frost and snow until it was hard to tell which was which. It was a perfect day for the local outdoor recreational clubs to showcase their outdoor winter activities at Hardware Ranch in Blacksmith Fork Canyon in Hyrum.

Then there were the dogs; and these canines are more than man's best friend. They are sled dogs, born and bred for generations to work in snow and ice. Dog sledding goes back thousands of years as a necessary means of transportation across brutal icy terrain. Sled dog racing, as an organized sport, first came on the scene in the early 20th century and has grown in popularity ever since.

Some dogs are long, lean running machines like Olympic track runners and some are built like football players a little heavier in muscle. They come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Some have eyes so ice blue that you would think their cold homelands froze them that color. Others have deep brown eyes that look like you could stare into them as long as you want but you would never get to the bottom of them. Some have one brown eye, and one blue eye a little odd, but they see just as well as a dog with two eyes of the same color. Their coat color varies just as much from white, orange, black, and gray to all combinations of colors.

The dogs and their activities were as individual as their sizes, colors and personalities. Some were resting quietly after their workout while others were alertly attentive to the surrounding activity. A significant proportion of the four-legged gathering engaged in social hour, eating, drinking, or talking to anybody who would stop long enough for a chat.

Most people run Alaskan Huskies because they are long and lean and average 13 to15 mph while pulling a sled. There are also Siberian Huskies, which are a little slower but have the staying power to finish long races and pull heavier loads.

Besides dog sledding people also Skijor with their dogs. Skijoring is cross country skiing with a twist, the twist being that one or two dogs attached to the skier by a braided nylon rope which hooks to a special belt around the skier's waist. Skijoring started in Scandinavia with reindeer and has since evolved to use either dogs or horses. An interesting Trivial Pursuit factoid: “Trolling for wolves” is the term used when one is no longer vertical on the skies (or sled) but the dog team is still merrily running over the snow.

“They're winter dogs, and we always felt guilty that we would go cross country skiing and they would stay home,” Gayle Knapp said. Knapp and her husband trail run in the summer and Skijor in the winter months with their Siberian Huskies, Chili, and Nikiska.

Skijoring is done competitively and recreationally. Knapp's husband is training for a 50 mile trail race with their younger husky Chili. Knapp is Skijoring with Nikiska who is almost 10 1ž2 years old so she is retired from the racing scene. However she gets out Skijoring at least once a week and out for walks every day. Nikiska is not ready to be fully retired yet even though she had surgery last year to repair her anterior cruciate ligament. She looked as spry as some of her younger counterparts. She pulled against her harness with ease, as if Knapp were no more that a feather. In perfect harmony, they floated around the trail as if they were simply gliding on air rather than working to cross the snow.

“They're trained with mostly the traditional dog sledding commands; they've also learned a few other things over the years. She (Nikiska) picked up work. It started in the summer. I was getting tired going up a steep slope I said come, Niki, work, work, pull, and she takes work as “pull Gayle”, ” Knapp said.

These dogs are all trained with verbal commands because when they are out in front pulling all they have to rely on is voice commands. Knapp explained that “gee” means turn right; “gee come gee” means turn right 180 degrees; “haw” means turn left; “haw come haw” means turn 180 degrees left. The 180 degree turns are unique to Skijoring so they can turn around in small places, dog sled teams are usually to large to make that tight of a turn. It would be like trying to turn a school bus compared to trying to turn a VW Bug.

Amy Eskelsen and her team of six dogs had just come back from a 5-mile round-trip run. Eskelsen explained that winter dog sports are as individual as the people who enjoy them. There are Skijoring, distance mushers who run long races with a team of dogs, sprinters who run short races with a team of dogs, and people like herself who just do short runs (yes five miles is a “short run”) for the sheer joy of being with their dogs outdoors in the winter.

Eskelsen runs a team of six dogs all Siberian Huskies. Sam is just one of those of dogs. “He was picked up at Sam's Club, that's how he got his name, Sam,” Amy Eskelsen said. Sam is very vocal, if you are trying to pet another dog he howls at you until you give him the attention that he thinks he deserves. Sam is kenneled with Eskelsen's puppy and Eskelsen said that the two of them play all day long “he never gets enough,” he will play until the puppy is too tired to play. All but one of Eskelsen's team are dogs that she rescued from local dog rescues they all needed a home and she needed a team.

“I find that, you know it's something these guys love to do and we do together. I love to be with my dogs and this is a great opportunity to be with them and hang with them and do stuff,” Eskelsen said.

Michael and Cathy Carmichael are serious mushers. The Carmichaels' dogs were all hitched to the side of their truck and attached to a chain. They were shuffling around excited by all the activity. The dogs Carmichael are running today are his young team. This is going to be their first outing, “so we'll expect to go no where,” Carmichael said. The dogs were just like a group of first-graders on their first day of school, fidgeting with anticipation. Carmichael did bring some veteran dogs to help the inexperienced team, and they sat patiently waiting, conserving their energy for the task ahead.

Carmichael just got back from a 200 mile race in the Cascade Mountains. All told it took him and his team of 12 dogs 45 hours to complete the 200 mile race. A race of this length includes overnight stays, camping out.

“That's what I like the most, camping with the dogs,” Carmichael said. Carmichael started Skijoring in college and worked his way into dog sledding for more power. In his twenty years of enjoying this sport he has only lost his team twice while out sledding. When that happens, Carmichael says, you pray for a snowmobiler and if there isn't one you start walking. He doesn't worry about finding them only about their safety while they are on their own.

“What's going to happen is going to happen. I'll get them eventually. I'm more worried about them hurting themselves or getting tangled,” Carmichael said. Luckily both times Carmichael was able to hitch a ride with a snowmobiler and caught up with his dogs before anyone was hurt.

For those of you who have heard the call of the wild Carmichael and Eskelsen, in conjunction with the Cache Valley Mushers host the K-9 Classic in Cache Valley in the winter to promote their sport in the valley. The K-9 Classic is an 18-mile dog sled race in Logan Canyon. For more information about this sport, you can go to their website, k9challenge.squarespace.com.

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