Alaskan Dog-Sledding

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Text by Alex Marashian   Photos by Rainer Hosch

Alaskan Dog-Sledding and a Picnic in the Snow

Part of the fun of the Tour du Monde so far has been finding increasingly novel or unlikely modes of transport. Until today, we had gotten around by vintage Range Rover and 12-seater Cessna in Kenya, by classic sailing schooner in the Seychelles, and by gondola, ski lift, snowmobiles and helicopter in Megève. But this morning, we decided to take it even further with a day of Alaskan-style dog-sledding.

After a trek in ice and snow part way up Mont du Villard, just outside Megève, we were met by our host and guide for the day, Bruno Cornali, a certified musher and the founder of this unusual attraction. Roaring up on his four-wheel-drive ATV (or all-terrain-vehicle, yet another new mode of transport for us), Bruno packed Team DEDON and our gear aboard and, in several trips, hauled us up to his facilities. Most remarkably, he also managed to mount an ORBIT lounger atop his little beast of a vehicle.

On the snow covered field where Bruno does his mushing, a team of gorgeous Alaskan Malamutes was awaiting us. Not to be confused with the Siberian Husky, which it closely resembles, the Malamute was specially bred as a sled dog in its native Alaska. Though he can be a brusk with humans, Bruno seemed to communicate perfectly with these hearty, furry canines. The dogs hung on his every command, even when hauling an ORBIT full of passengers around and around their piste.

It was Bobby, riding alone on the ORBIT, who appeared to take the fastest lap — until, that is, his ORBIT rolled off the sled, taking him down with it. When he hopped out from under the lounger, all in one piece, it felt like the right time to give the Malamutes a rest and enjoy a picnic in the snow. Baguettes, reblochon cheese, a range of salamis and meats, snow-cooled red wine and beer — fighting for survival in the Alaskan wilderness we were not.

After our picnic, we moved the ORBIT to another part of the hill, where a long line-up of dogs looked on as our photographer, Rainer, snapped away. Uncle Seppi and Yannick Dekesyer joined our professional models, Scott and Sabine, in a number of pictures,  but the true supermodels of the day were the beautiful Malamutes – two adults and two puppies — who hopped right in and handled their new duties with cool, calm and grace. I hope Anoushka the dog, whose modeling skills I lauded in a previous post, won’t be upset.