Dog Sledding Safaris in Sweden

Bergsvein Wongraven, who lives in Sweden sharescongenial experience. Food comprises a mixture of
his expertise pertaining to dog sledding excursionsEuropean continental, English and local specialties from
with Norm Goldman, Editor of the travel site, Today,the wild life around us. The food is plentiful and
Norm Goldman Editor of is pleased to have as ournourishing, tasty and special. We do also cater to
guest, Bergsvein Wongraven. Bergsvein lives inguests with special dietary requirements.
Sweden with his wife Kim and he is a self-educatedSince we offer package tours with everything
musher and guide. They are also owners of Huskyincluded in the price, we do not charge for beer and
Holiday.wine consumed.
Good day Bergsvein and thank you for participating inNorm:
our interview.Could you describe a typical day on one of these
Norm:tours?
What is a musher? How did you become interestedBergsvein:
in mushing?Let me refer to our Munken Combi as an example. It
is a tour where every day we return to the
Bergsvein:comforts of our farmhouse. The day begins at 8
A Musher is the person on a dog sled who remainsA.M., when we meet for breakfast and where
standing while he controls a team of dogs pulling theporridge and bread are served. This keeps you going
sled. He is in reality the dog driver. The art of drivingfor a few hours and our guests even enjoy it. Next,
is called mushing.the guests proceed to the changing room, where
I grew up in a tiny mountains village in North Norwaythey pick out suitable clothing for the day's journey.
where there was a great deal of snow. While I wasWe encourage everyone to have as much contact
cross-country skiing, I always dreamed of cruisingwith the dogs as possible. The huskies are attention
across lakes and over mountains with a dog pullingcraving, friendly and loving animals. Group members
me.have the opportunity to join in performing daily duties
I started experiencing the skijoring (skiing while beingin the dog yard before we venture out on a
pulled by a dog) more than 30 years ago, but thesnowshoe walk with a pack of free running puppies.
actual sled driving was something I took up muchMost days include a drive with the huskies. They love
later. This was due to the fact that I had acquiredgetting out and their enthusiasm is infectious. We
too many dogs to be able to control them on skis.quickly journey into the Swedish forests, and after a
When the mushing gets into your blood you are15 mile run, we attend to the dogs' needs prior to
addicted!our enjoying in our teepee a big grill feast of meat,
A musher can drive any type of dog and almost anyfish, bread, potatoes and vegetables.
dog will pull the sled, but the most frequently usedAfter lunch we sometimes split up some guests
sled- dog is the Alaskan Husky. However, the polarenjoy cross- country skiing, while others want to
breeds such as Malamutes, Eskimo dogs and thehave a quick ride on the snowmobile down to the
Siberian Huskies are also popular mushing dogs.lake and try their luck at ice fishing. Usually when
Norm:children are present there is often a great enthusiasm
What are dog sledding safaris and could you give ourfor tobogganing on our home- made slope.
readers a brief description of the ones you offer?We return around 5 P.M. for coffee and snacks, a
Where do they take place in Sweden and how longquick shower and some relaxation before we all get
does a typical safari last?together for dinner. If we aren't too tired after the
Bergsvein:day's activities in the snow we sometimes watch
Dog sledding safaris are the trips where we challengefilms from the Iditarod in Alaska, or just relax talking,
our own and our dogs' physical and mental endurancegetting a massage, reading a book or simply creeping
with long daily trips that includes outdoor campinginto bed.
spread over 3-10 nights. We eventually return to ourNorm:
homestead (farm house) proud and in high spirits.What is the average age group that participates in
Usually we associate a safari with Africa however ourthese tours?
challenging Mushing Survival and Minitarod areBergsvein:
examples of true meetings with the elements.Since we offer 5 different tours, we cater to any
The region of Jämtland in Sweden offers, withage and ability. In fact, we have people of all ages
its vast woodlands, gentle hills, mountains andvisiting there was even a baby of 6 month and a
numerous ice covered lakes, excellent opportunitieslady of 82 participating in our activities and tours last
for great outdoor and wild life experiences.season. Since we have qualified staff to take care of
There is an initial training period from our lodge andour guests, we are confident that everyone will have
then we load up the necessary gear for ourselvesthe most enjoyable holiday with us whatever age
and the huskies in order to venture out on a severalthey are as long as they book the most appropriate
day safari trip, where we rely on our dogs, ourtour for themselves.
equipment and ourselves.Norm:
The daily rides depend entirely on weather conditionsWhere do these tours start from and how would
and generally a typical steady tempo day along theone travel from North America or Europe to the site?
marked snowmobile will involve a 30 mile run. A groupBergsvein:
of a maximum of 8 persons, including guides, set up,Geographically we are situated centrally in Sweden,
before dark every day, a tent and a teepee camp.40 miles north of the city Östersund, which is
Everyone shares the work which involves thean hour by plane from the capitol of Sweden,
feeding and taking care of dogs and people. There isStockholm, and where all inland flights commence.
a bonding experience after a hard but rewarding dayThere are frequent flights from a number of
when we sit together in the teepee around ainternational airports to Stockholm and regular
light-smoky fire to keep us warm. Our journeytransfers to Östersund, where we pick up our
continues after breaking camp in the morning-guests.
something that occurs every day until we returnNorm:
home. Our participants have described these safaris inHow safe are these tours?
a several ways, and one of our guests even called itBergsvein:
"character building."They are very safe. Accidents can of course happen,
Normbut we haven't had any incidents that have caused
If you had to choose the most romantic and uniqueinjuries to people. We place a lot of emphasis on
of your sledding safaris, which ones would youteaching our guests how to drive their team of
choose and why?huskies. It should be noted that we have highly skilled
Bergsvein:dog teams and well prepared trails. Above everything
Our Minisafari Husky Special is 3 days of learning allelse, it is our experience and attitude to the task of
about dogs and driving your own team. There is antaking hundreds of people on dog-sledding safaris
opportunity every day to try other winter activitiesyear after year without risk their to their health and
such as cross country skiing, tobogganing, snowstill offering our guests the thrill of a speedy dog
shooing, where couples enjoy playing in the snow,team leading you around the vast wilderness of
while returning to the warmth of a house everySweden.
night.Norm:
On the fourth day we pack our sleds and drive outWhen is the best time of the year to take one of
on an overnight tour. After taking care of your dogthese tours?
team, participants enjoy many hours under the starsBergsvein:
watching out for northern lights and simply enjoyingThe entire winter season has its charm. From my
the silence. Could this be why a number ofpersonal experience, any week in our almost 5
honeymooners have chosen exactly this trip?months of winter season is equally good.
Norm:November-December with the short days and winds,
What equipment and clothing must one have beforesnow drifts, swinging temperatures and northern
embarking on one of these tours?lights and the mushing in the dark with just a head
Bergsvein:torch January- with its true mystic and real winter
We recommend our guests bring warm, longFebruary- when winter nights are getting shorter
underwear, preferably several layers, as well asMarch- with the beauty of the glittering sun and chilly
gloves, hats and one or more sweaters. As with anights April- with its warm days and soft snow are all
number of our colleagues, Husky Holiday does supplywhat a fantastic winter is made up from. The
complete sets of warm winter clothing- insulatedadventure is truly great what ever time one chooses
coveralls and Canadian boots that withstand theto come.
lowest temperatures. You can find a clothing andNorm:
equipment list on our homepage. We also send outIs there anything else you wish to add that we have
an individual information package prior to arrival,not covered?
covering what we suggest people should bring along.Bergsvein
Norm:We offer dog-sledding adventures to guests as our
What can one expect by way of lodging and foodvocation and which we enjoy doing. It started with
when participating in one of these tours?the love for dogs and the outdoors, a hobby has
Bergsvein:been turned into profession, and I can still say that
Our homestead (farmhouse) has 4 guest rooms, 2most days I still enjoy it. I am delighted to see how
with bathrooms, 2 sharing a bath. The rooms arecheerful our guests are after each day of mushing
pleasantly decorated and furnished, with goodand after a week's husky holiday. The feed back we
ventilation and heating. Since we only accept veryreceived only makes us more excited in receiving
small groups, our standard is 6, we can also acceptnew guests every Sunday.
up to 7 guests per week. Our house is open to ourThanks once again Bergsvein for your informative
guests to enjoy. The cozy atmosphere of the livinginterview and good luck with all of your future
room and the study help make our evenings aendeavors.