The official sport of Alaska since 1973, Dog sledding comes with its own history among the Alaskan People. Siberian Huskies and Malamutes were among the choice of sled dogs because of their strength, desire to work and thick padded paws and fur however these days dog sled teams consist of smaller huskies with a great lineage. Dog sledding was used by the Alaskan natives long before it became a sport or before Alaska even became a state! Dogs were used to help haul firewood, hunt and transport goods between villages and cities. When the gold rush happened in the 1900’s, it brought a significant increase to the amount of people in Alaska and dog sledding became more common for travel, transportation and mail delivery. Most Mining camps were inaccessible by anything other than sled dog teams once winter set in so it became the modern way of life in the Arctic.
Most people have heard about the story of Balto in the 1900’s when sled dog teams worked together to bring the lifesaving diphtheria medicine to the city of Nome. The engines in Anchorage where the serum was at were frozen and the only way to deliver the medicine was by dog sled. The serum was delivered by train to Nenana, Alaska and then the 674 miles all the way to Nome. The trek took 20 people and 150 sled dogs to complete and although Balto is credited with most of the journey, but it was Togo who completed 260 miles of the journey by himself with Balto finishing the journey at the end. The trek took 5 and a half days. This Journey was dubbed “the last great race” because with the invention of the plane in the 1920’s and the invention of the snowmobile in the 1960’s (we call them snow machines here), dog sledding became less popular.
There are now two main big dog races through Alaska but many minor races as well. Due to the increasing lack of interest in the dog sledding culture, The Iditarod race was created to hold onto the beauty and history of the dog sledding sport. Dorothy Page begin the initiative as a 100th
anniversary of being a US territory to preserve the history of Dog Sledding and the Iditarod was born. The Iditarod is a roughly 1100 mile race from Willow to Anchorage and many cities of Alaska contribute to the race by offering food along the way, making blankets for the dogs or helping along the overall race trail. You can read more about the history of the Iditarod at https://iditarod.com/edu/the-history-of-the-iditarod-trail-sled-dog-race/.
The Yukon quest is an international race that is also famous in Alaska. The race runs every year in February regardless of how cold it is (February is generally one of the coldest months in Alaska). The race goes through Fairbanks the Yukon and Whitehorse and takes approximately 8-15 days to complete depending on the skill level of the musher and the weather. The route follows the dog sled and gold rush trails of the 1800’s when Alaska was booming and has run every February since 1984. To learn more about the Yukon Quest you can check out the official page here https://www.yukonquest.com/about.
Now a days, we use the convenience of the roads, planes and other forms of modern transportation but Dog Sledding is and always will be a part of Alaskan History. Should you find the time to go, you can experience a dog sled ride of your own and understand the magic and beauty of living history in the now.
