Hello everyone! 👋🏽 This post is actually my Virtual History Fair Project! Today’s post is going to be about snowmobiling and dog sledding! They are both really great methods of winter travel, and they are both awesome! I have a video attached here so make sure to watch it!

The history of dog sledding dates back to wayyyy before North America was even colonized, and dog sledding was what the natives used to get around. According to the Outdoor World Website, dog sledding was probably invented by the Inuit people of Northern Canada, to help them carry food, supplies, and medicine to where ever they needed to go. Dog sleds became the primary means of communication and transportation in subarctic communities around the world.

When the pioneers arrived, they saw the natives using dog sleds, and one of them, Alfred H. Brooks wrote, ”Countless generations of Alaskan Natives have used the dog for transport, and he is to Alaska as the yak is to India or the llama to Peru.” 🦙 At first, one to three dogs were used to pull small-sized handmade sleds. There was no lead dog and they ran along each other in one straight line, with no lead dog. In 1700 the Russian explorers were credited for arranging the dogs in pairs, and training a lead dog to take specific commands and keep the team in line.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Alaskan Gold Rush brought an increase in demand for sled dogs. Sled dogs were used to transport the things from gold camps and hunting camps during the winter. These camps were only accessible by sled, so from here on out, sled dogs were bred heavily because of high demand.

There are a few famous sled dogs like Balto and Togo. Maybe you’ve heard of them or watched the movies? Balto and Togo were part of the dog sledding team that relied on them to get the diphtheria medicine to Nome, Alaska. Even though Balto is more well known than Togo, Togo was the lead dog who ran the most of the way to Nome. Once Togo was not able to lead the team, Balto took over and finished the journey. Balto got his own movie made by Universal Pictures, and Togo got one by Disney. Balto is now a stuffed animal, and on display at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. That’s something I don’t think I want to see… wouldn’t it be the same as a wake at the funeral?

Now a days, most dog sledding is mainly for fun. Some even race their dogs in an iconic race called the Iditarod. Our dog sledding guide or a musher competed in a few races, in which he won some awards. Even now, there are still some people that use the dog sled as their mode of transportation. I have a question for you, “What KIND of dog do you think about when you think about dog sledding?”

Maybe this?

Or this?

How about this?

Yes, yes, they are ADORABLE, I know🥰🥰🥰😍😍😍🥰🥰🥰

But, that is NOT what we got to see when we went dog sledding! We didn’t get fluffy and furry Huskies that looked like they came straight out of a movie. We got dogs that kinda just looked like normal dogs. They were Alaskan Racing Huskies, and they were still very cute and very strong. It took seven of them to pull me, my mom, and our musher, and then nine dogs for my dad and his musher.

There are four major dog breads that are often used for dog sledding; the Alaskan Malamute, the Siberian Husky, the Chinook and Samoyed Breeds, and the Alaskan Husky. (all very CUTE)

I also got to DRIVE the dog sled! I got to be a musher, along with our tour guide! It was very cool, because I got to steer, and also got to stand on the back on the sled. I have a video attached on this post. You will see me with the musher! Quick little note; If you think that a musher is a crazy guy with a whip who is mean to his poor dogs, and forces them to pull a sled, that is WRONG! These dogs are very loved and looked after! Some of the dogs are even rescued dogs from the shelter!

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If you want to go dog sledding, and find yourself in Revelstoke, check out: Revelstoke Dog Adventures!

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And now, I’m going to talk about the modern way that you can travel through the snow – Snowmobiling! Carl Eliason of Wisconsin, USA patented a motor toboggan in 1927. In 1935 Joseph-Armand Bombardier, a French-Canadian assembled and successfully tested the first snowmobile. It was a vehicle with a sprocket wheel and a track drive system, and it was steered by skis. The idea for snowmobiles came to him one day when he was trapped in a fierce blizzard trying to take his son to the hospital because his son was sick. His son actually ended up dying because they weren’t able to get to the hospital in time. That gave Bombardier the ideas to make other (smaller) vehicles, other than cars, especially for snow travel.

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Of course the first snowmobiles he made didn’t quite look like the shiny Ski-doos we see today. The one he invented was more like a tank, and they weren’t very fast. According to Canadian Encyclopedia, in 1958, Bombardier built a prototype for a small snowmobile with a lighter engine. Production of this recreational model began the next year under the Ski-Doo trademark. This type of snowmobile, about the size of a motorcycle, became very popular in snowy climates. Now there’s so many different brands and designs that’s for sale today. Some of them are very, very fast!

I really like snowmobiling, and to me snowmobiling is just like a roller coaster that you can control! I actually JUST came back from my second time snowmobiling the other day! Apart from it being super cold, it is a very fun thing to do! Make sure to dress accordingly, because my hands were the first to freeze, then it was my toes. And I had on gloves, a winter coat, snow pants, and and a nice warm helmet to protect my brain. I got to ride with my dad when we stopped to have some fun driving in the big open field. My dad tried to get me to drive the snowmobile. I tried, but just for a little bit.

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We went snowmobiling in Vernon. It was three hour drive from Osoyoos, and we drove the snowmobiles on the Silver Star Mountain. If you are going to visit Vernon, British Columbia, and you want to try to snowmobile check out Okanagan Recreational Rentals. They have a great snowmobile trail and great snowmobiles. They also provide helmets, boots, jacket, snow pants, and gloves!

If you were given a chance to go dog sledding or snowmobiling, would you give them a try?

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