A dog camp atop a Juneau glacier keeps mushing afloat during Alaska’s summer tourism season

1 month ago

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Dog sledding is an iconic portion of Alaska’s history. From its roots successful Alaska Native civilization to nan Klondike Gold Rush to nan Iditarod, it’s withstood nan trial of time.

Now, it’s taken connected a caller shape to thief it survive: excursions for Juneau’s ever-booming cruise vessel tourism industry.

Taking disconnected successful a chopper from Douglas Island, nan greenish rainforest that engulfs downtown quickly turned to achromatic arsenic nan cruise ships successful nan Gastineau Channel fell retired of view.

Soon, nan passengers were flying complete nan Juneau Icefield. Home to complete a 1000 glaciers, it stretches crossed 15,000 quadrate miles of upland terrain betwixt nan superior and British Columbia. Looking down from above, each you tin spot is nan bluish of glaciers weaving done nan acheronian mountains and achromatic patches of snow.

But, location was thing other retired there, too. As nan chopper moved closer, it looked for illustration a bunch of ants successful nan snow. Closer still, and nan ants started to look benignant of fluffy.

But then, nan barking came into earshot — it’s nan Norris Glacier canine sledding camp.

Each twelvemonth from precocious April done mid-August, astir 200 dogs from each complete nan U.S. unrecorded connected nan glacier. It’s located 3,100 feet supra oversea level. The campy has existed for much than 20 years, and everything location is flown up and down by chopper — including nan dogs.

Josi Thyr is nan camp’s head and a master musher. She owns 27 of nan dogs astatine nan camp. For astir of nan year, she’s based successful Fairbanks.

“I consciousness for illustration for Alaska, it’s benignant of what nan cowboy is for nan American West,” she said. “The quality is we still are doing this.”

Last year, she vanished her first-ever Iditarod, nan iconic 1,000-mile trek from Anchorage to Nome. Now, her squad is training for her second.

“These dogs are athletes, and truthful we want to support them moving,” she said. “The style that they’re successful aft coming disconnected nan glacier, I deliberation makes a large quality successful really they execute successful nan wintertime.”

Right now, she’s building her squad and figuring retired which pups person what it takes to spell nan distance.

Thyr’s husband, JJ Shelley, selected 10 dogs — pinch names for illustration Fifa and Seabiscuit – and hooked their harnesses up to a multi-person sled. As they sewage lined up, immoderate dogs were borderline screaming successful anticipation, while others jumped up and down.

Riding down nan way connected nan backmost of nan sled, Shelley said training successful acold places for illustration nan icefield is important to keeping nan dogs successful style during nan basking summertime months.

He said it besides serves arsenic a measurement for mushers to support a dependable income during nan summertime via nan tours they springiness to group who sojourn nan camp. In caller years, mushing has go progressively expensive.

“People inquire america nan large mobility of ‘These guys are moving complete 100 miles a day, what are they eating?’ The reply is, my wallet. They eat possibly astir $30,000 worthy of nutrient each year,” he said, laughing.

Even successful April of this year, race organizers for nan Iditarod said financial woes for illustration increasing inflation, nonaccomplishment of sponsors and declining gross frighten nan race’s future. That’s why Shelley says much and much mushers are turning to tourism.

“The mushing organization successful wide is very reliant connected tourism for I mean, that’s really we make our money,” he said. “We trust connected it for canine nutrient money and each that worldly and title introduction fees and everything — this is really we make our living.”

Dog mushing tours connected nan icefield tally betwixt $600 to $700 per personification online. But for group for illustration Cindy Spender, it’s worthy each penny. She traveled to Alaska from Colorado to observe her 60th birthday.

“It was really connected my database to spell to Alaska, that was connected my ‘live list.’ And truthful I asked my girlfriends if they would beryllium up for it, and they’re like, ‘Heck, yeah,’” she said. “We benignant of chose things that we each wanted to do, and canine sledding was 1 of them.”

On a emblematic time during nan bosom of tourism season, astir 150 group are flown up to return a tour. Jack White is nan circuit head for NorthStar Helicopters, nan institution that flies group up to nan camp.

“We trust connected cruise ships for 90% of our business, truthful they’re a immense portion of it,” he said.

White said galore of nan group who do nan travel telephone it an acquisition they’ll ne'er forget. It’s besides a measurement to get group retired of downtown Juneau during the congested summertime months.

But for nan dogs, it’s conscionable different time successful nan office. Their agency conscionable happens to beryllium up successful nan mountains, connected a elephantine hunk of ice.

Source Alaska Public