I spent 3 days dog sledding in 2008 near kittila - one of the most amazing things I have ever done.Interesting that the European tradition is skis while the Americas used snowshoes.
There is also the regional differences between reindeer and dog sledding.
I have never learned to ski and am rather suspicious of them. Far too many images in my head of people returning from skiing holidays with broken limbs I suppose. I feel in control of snowshoes.
Conversely, I would love to try dog sledding some time, possibly because I have owned dogs and feel I have at least some understanding of them. Not sure I would feel the same about a reindeer.
3 things stuck in my mind
1. The quiet and the swish of the sled
2. The sled is moving faster than you think, so do t just step off the back (like I did) thinking it was at walking pace (was more like a flat out running pace!)
3. Watching one of the rear dogs trying to sh*t while running was both funny and weird.
It also seemed to me that the colder it was the harder than could run, and for longer.
I tried a reindeer pulled sled for an afternoon to - no thank you - felt less controlled and I found it much harder to steer and control the reindeer. Basically I just had to hold on and go where the reindeer wanted to go lol
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