Dog Sledding on Norris Glacier

Juneau, Alaska

What's the one thing that you can only do in a place like Alaska?  Go for a ride on a dog sled!  So that's what we did!  To get to the snow, we took a helicopter ride through the mountains and over glaciers and up onto Norris Glacier where Dog World is located.  230 dogs live there and 18 people.  Many of these dogs have done, or will do, the Iditarod Sled Dog Race (the race across Alaska).  In fact, the lead dog from our pack had done the Iditarod TWICE!  Read more about the day below.

Special Glacier Boots The fleet of Helicopters .

In preparation for the event, they had us  wear glacier boots over our regular footwear and made sure everyone had eye protection.  Even though it was a cloudy day, the reflection off the glacier made it so bright it hurt your eyes.  We also had to wear life jackets in the helicopter as we flew over water. 

The helicopter ride took about 20 minutes and went through some of the most beautiful country we've ever seen.  The light reflection made the glacier crevices a glowing sky blue color.  Our first sight of Dog World seemed like specs of dirt in the vast whiteness of the glacier.  As we approached, you could make out hundreds white igloo-style doghouses with a dog attached to each.  When the noise of the helicopters died, it was replaced by the loud call of barking dogs.  The guide explained to us that the dogs are bred to run and that's all they want to do.  When they see the helicopters come, they know some of them will get to run.  As the mushers put them in harnesses, the barking escalates.  We were told not to try to pet the dogs before the ride - we'd meet them afterwards. 

The three of us were assigned a musher.  Ten dogs pull two sleds with two people on each sled.  Because it is warm for the dogs in the summer (they like 15 degrees BELOW F and it was in the 40's), the musher stopped three times in 2 1/2 miles so as to not overheat the dogs.  That gave us time to change places so we all got to drive, even Bear.  Amazingly, the dogs heeded Bear's commands.  "All right, all right!" to go and "Whoa" to stop.  At the end of the ride, we pet the dogs and they were really, really hot and sweaty.  The helicopters returned and we completed the trip with a ride back over the glaciers.  It was a once in a lifetime experience and we were really glad we had done it.