We tried dog-sledding in Beitostølen, Norway, as part of our winter vacation in February 2022. It was a fun three-hour tour with the agency Beito Husky Tours. We got to steer our own two-person sleds propelled by five very strong and energetic Canadian huskies.
The tours starts by meeting the dogs, where the guides Jeffry and Cecilie put together the teams of dogs for each sled, and we helped attach the dogs to the sleds. It was the morning tour, and the dogs very loud and eager to start running.
Tobias at 15 was heavy enough to be able to steer a sled, but Nikolaj was not. We stopped to change during the tour, so we all – except Nikolaj – tried steering the sleds.
Other trips to Norway.
Jeffry instructed us in how to steer the sleds, and as he would be leading the pack on his sled, the dogs pulling the other sleds would follow, so we needed not worry about navigation. Essentially the main task of the driver was to reduce speed with the brake, and lean over in curves to avoid the sled from falling on its side.
The tour starts at the shore of lake Øygangen, and crosses the lake. We had a day with a clear blue sky and little wind, perfect for dog-sledding in Beitostølen, Norway.
The tour started with a challenging section of trail through a forest, and continued to cross the lake and follow trails on the opposite side.
It was not difficult to steer the sled, but one of the teams of dogs we had were especially strong, and with them it was necessary to use the breal almost all of the time.
