Sled Dogs Leading the Way

Sled dogs pulling to victory

Story by Matt Kipp

Photos courtesy of Inlet Information Office

Mitch Lee knows how to cut through the snow at astonishing speeds—even while barely moving his ski-clad feet. Attached by a towline to two or three powerful dogs, he gets a thrill out of harnessing himself to the raw power of sled dogs and taking off through the fresh powder, a sport called skijoring. “It’s an exciting way to get out there and ski, moving along at 25 miles per hour with the dogs pulling you,” says Lee, the Assistant to the Director of Tourism in Inlet, N.Y. 

For thousands of years, sled dogs have been used to transport humans and cargo. They have another purpose—to race. Lee, like many citizens of his town, understands well the majesty of these races.  

“It’s a fun sport. It's very addicting.”

For the past four years, Inlet has hosted the Adirondack Bank Sled Dog Races, an opportunity for mushers, or sled dog drivers, to win prize money and earn points in their national standings. “We normally see anywhere from 33 to 55 teams in categories from one and two dog skijoring, three dog junior, four dog sprint at four miles, six dog sprint at six miles, and eight dog sprint at eight miles,” says Lee.

 The musher gets up early and takes their dogs around the track. The dogs are then brought to the race site, and the musher prepares the equipment. After registering and attending a driver’s meeting, it’s race time. “It’s a fun sport. It's very addicting,” says Meg Mizzoni, President of the New England Sled Dog Club (NESDC). 

Skijoring is cross-country skiing while being pulled by a dog. The dog wears a harness, and the skier wears a belt round the hip. They are attached by a towline between them. “It’s an exciting way to get out there and ski, moving along at 25mph with the dogs pulling you,” says Lee.

“You have to be a solid intermediate skier to approach hooking yourself up to a dog,” says Denise Erenstone, owner of Adirondack SkiDog. “Being hooked up to a dog adds some complexity to what you’re doing, so you really need to be able to think about that instead of your own skiing.” 

Skijoring is not an expensive sport. The cost of the harness for the dog, the towline, and the hip belt for the skier can cost an average of $115.00. “The ski gear a person has themselves would be a bigger investment than the skijoring part of it,” says Erenstone.  

Dog sled racing; however, can be an expensive sport. “There are a few high-tech sleds that cost a few thousand dollars,” says Mizzoni. Some are made out of light aluminum and others are the old-fashion sleds, made out of wood. “Both types come in different flavors, so to speak,” says Mizzoni.  

“We use white ash because it’s a hard wood and flexible,” says Steve Gothard, owner of Arden Creek Designs. “There are basically two designs… the musher sled, which is a racing sled and the trader sled, which is made to pull a lot of weight and cargo,” says Gothard.  

Various breeds of sled dogs are used in these races. Some people use their pet dogs, some buy dogs from a special breeder, and some people breed their own dogs. Huskies are not the only breed utilized in these competitions despite a popular misconception that only northern breeds have the ability to pull a sled.  

“They are lean, small, powerful, and very, very fast.”

 “A lot of the people who are breeding dogs for racing want a dog that has some of the Northern dog breeding mixed with a fast dog,” says Erenstone. “A lot of times they will mix them with a short hair German pointer or English pointer.” 

Sled dog racing is a sport that requires a lot of commitment. “It's 365 days a year, whether your running dogs or not, because you have to care for your equipment and dogs all year round,” says Mizzoni. “It all depends on the dog and what it is capable of.” 

“They are lean, small, powerful, and very, very fast,” says Lee. Whether using them for racing, cargo hauling, transportation, or simply to have fun, sled dogs have been an integral part of our culture for quite some time. 

As for the sport of dog sledding, “It takes a minute to get into it and a lifetime to get out of it,” says Mizzoni. 

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