Friday, December 29, 2006

Christmas


Reading this Blog one might get the impression that I spend all my time up in the mountain. Well, I have to admit, this is not true. I also spend some time on the sofa, like today. But, for the moment, the training of the dogs is the main them of this Blog.
Anyway, the subject to day is Christmas. First I have to say that I am not a Christmas person. So this year, again, I ran away from the holyday together whit some friends, Jossan and Jørgen and their 10 months old daughter Vega. Jørgen and me running dogs, while Jossan were skiing whit Vega in the pulk.
On the way in to Devdesbua ( a log cabin in the woods) Jossan were skijouring behind my dogteam. It was quite deep snow, so the speed was not too high. It looked like Vega had a good trip, sleeping all the way. How much Vega understood of what was going on I dont know, but it looked like she had a good time. And if I know her parents right, this is not her last wilderness trip.
The weather was not the best, whit heavy wind from west. Still we were able to make a run above the tree line after leaving Jossan and Vega at Devdesbua

On the 24 Jørgen and me took a 60 kilometers run whit the dogs before returning to the cabin for dinner. A perfect steak of Rudolf the reindeer. So if you wonder why Santa did not come for Christmas, well it is because he had no reindeer to pull his sled.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Christmas day and time for an other day of mushing. This time we broke some new trail in Skakterdalen. Windblown snow maid some hard work for the dogs, but they have to experience that as well. After dinner and a short nap we returned back home after a day of 70 kilometers on the sledrunners. This day the dogs passed 2000 kilometers of training. This might sound like a lot, but compared to many other mushers, its not that much.

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Dogs again


On the 12 we were up in the mountains again. And again it was wood transportation that was the prime object. But of course, it is good training as well. Since my brother Espen also came along we had to bring all the dogs along, pups and retired dogs as well as the race dogs. The young and old were left at the base camp cabin while we were up in the mountains. For the 7 months pups, Tutta and Smirre, its good training to do some running whit the adults. Staying on the stake out line on new places is also a valuable experience. When it comes to running, the pups are really looking good. They seem to love running, are hard pullers and are really serious when at work.

The weather is a story of its own. No wind and partly clouded. This made for some fantastic colors. The sky was going from pink and orange to deep blue. The snow was kind of pink and deep blue. Moments like this make up for all the hours spend training the dogs on the ATV in pouring rain in September and October, all the hours spend looking for good snow conditions early in the season.

In the evening, Tommy and Ronny came up whit their 21 dogs. All together we had 43 dogs sleeping outside the cabin. One would think that this would ad up to a lot of barking. But the dogs know that they are supposed to be quiet. Except for feeding time, and when taking of in the morning, the forest is silent.


The second day me, Espen and Tommy went up to Dærtahytta whit 12 dogs each while Ronny was taking care of pups on old dogs down by the cabin. This day was all you can ask for. The dogs were really eager. They were working hard and running fast. Going in to Dærta, whit 150-200 kilos in the sleds we used one and a half hour on the 22 kilometer run. Going back again we were going whit an average speed of 15,8 km/h. We were satisfied. The next day the dogs was even more enthusiastic, using just under one and a half hour on the run to Dærtahytta. Going home they averaged 17,6 km/h. This is a speed and enthusiasm that make us satisfied. But, it´s still early in the season.

Whit the bad snow conditions we have had the last weeks, Devvdes and Dærta area is one of the few areas in Troms whit good training conditions. And now this is “safe” to write, because at last is`s snowing. So hopefully I can take some training runs at home this week.

LATEST NEWS: It was snowing all weekend and Monday as well. The last couple of days have been deep snow swimming on the trails back home.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Training dogs in the Polar night.



As I start my first entry in this blog the so-called Polar Night surround us. I say the so-called, because we still have a lot of light. We are not surrounded by a pitch-black night, but by a lot of light. There is more or less 6 hours of light, going from dusk to dawn, 6 hours whit the blue colors that is so significant for dusk and dawn. On a clear day you se the orange glow of the sun in the south (although it is under the horizon),going over to pink and then blue up in the sky.
As long as you get outside there is plenty of light for those who want to go out and play. But of course, if you spend the day inside you get the impression that it is a dark day outside.

The last days I have been up in the mountain in Dividalen National Park whit some friends and our dogs. There we are combining training for the Finnmarksløpet (www.finnmarkslopet.no), and transporting wood to Dærtahytta, one of Troms Turlags cabins (www.turistforeningen.no/tromsturlag). This is a roundtrip of 45 kilometers. Whit good snow conditions the roundtrip takes us 4 hours. Going in to the cabin the sleds are loaded whit about 150 kg of wood, the sled itself is about 45 kilo and the lazy musher standing on the sled is 90 kilo. And in front 12 alaskan huskies that love to work.
Training up in the mountains gives the dogs a lot of good experiences. They learn to travel without a fixed trail, which is a good quality in a lead-dog. And when the weather gets tough, the dogs get tough. On one of the trips the combination of atrong wind and snow gave us almost zero visibility. Make it a headwind, and it is tough for the dogs. This is when you appreciate a good lead-dog, and its also a good opportunity to give new lead-dogs the necessary experience they need to become good leaders. And on top of it all you ad 200 reindeers (looks like Santa is early this year). The adult dogs know that reindeers is something you are not hunting, but the yearlings had to learn. And what is better for them than being pulled by the adults trough all this potential food?

Well, back to the Polar Night (which in my opinion is no night). The next day the wind had died, and the sky was clear. For me there is no better place to be on a clear day than above the tree line. You are traveling through a blue light, a constant dusk that slowly transform into dawn. Its a landscape whit no shadows, the snow is a bluish kind of white. The low horizon is going from orange to pink. You are traveling in solitude, you are alone whit the dogs. Nature is hibernating, or almost hibernating. There are always some grouse taking flight when we are coming and some of Santa´s reindeers (or maybe its the Sami´s reindeers) are feeding in the hills. This is a good place to be this time of the year. And in a couple of days I will be back up in the mountains together whit the dogs.