Preferably unhindered

Early in the morning we unpack everything that is warm and keeps us warm - we're going dog sledding... It's still around -20°. We booked this 20km adventure about 1 1/2 weeks ago, as dog sledding is rarely available spontaneously. The farm is called Hetta-Huskies and it is really big. There are around 200 dogs living there - some of them are "pensioners" (on this farm they are not euthanized if they can no longer pull a sled), some are puppies and the rest are cuddly, delicate-looking Alaska Huskies. These differ from the huskies we know in that they don't have such thick fur and are very agile, they want to move, they want to run!

I have 4 layers on my upper body and 3 layers on my lower body, but our guide still gives me a jacket, thick pants, and oversized shoes before the adventure begins. I feel like a Michelin Man. But as it turns out, you need this especially when you're sitting in the sleigh and not driving.

After an introduction to steering and driving a sleigh, we start at 10 a.m.:

Wilfried goes first. At the start there are 5 sleighs with 2 people each. The dogs are pulling on the leashes, are totally excited, howling and barking deafeningly! The first sledges start and we are number 4. Finally we can go, we always have to keep a few meters away. At the beginning you have to brake a little (this can be done with one or two feet on a brake lever in the middle of the sled). Depending on how hard you climb on it, the brake claws dig into the snow. When the dogs have calmed down a bit, you can let them run. At the front there is a guide driving the sleigh and every now and then another one comes with the snowmobile and checks whether everything is OK. It soon turns out that our dogs are obviously fast. Wilfried has to brake again and again to avoid getting too close to the front sled.

The landscape is a winter wonderland! The trees are covered in snow and everything glitters and shines! After about 10 km the driver will be changed. It's my turn. It's really wonderful to steer a sleigh like that. If I lived in Ramsau, I would already have one! The sleigh glides along and the lead dogs turn their heads towards me and look reproachful when I brake. You want to run at full speed!

Soon we see a hut that we are heading towards. The sledge column is stopped and the sledges have to take the narrow curve to the hut one by one and are lashed there. When it's the sleigh's turn in front of us, I'm supposed to stop with my sleigh and wait. But my dogs don’t want that! They pull and pull! I stand with my entire weight on the brakes, use all my strength and have no chance. They pull the sled, which is fully braked, so jerkily that I fall backwards off the curves and the dogs can now rush forward freely. But thank God the others are already there and everything turns out well. Our dogs are simply too strong for my weight!

In the hut there is warm chocolate and cookies and after a short break we continue. The guide offers me a swap with a sleigh pulled by weaker dogs, but I let Wilfried continue on, he brings the necessary weight to the scales to stop it if necessary. The journey continues through the magical winter landscape and at around 2 p.m. we are back at the farm, take a few more dogs to their kennels or huts and say goodbye with an experience and many beautiful impressions. Finally, two short videos that reflect the mood quite well:

https://share.icloud.com/photos/047UudPSGUDQyeYQD-b8pcO7g

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0582PJmhaAPznWzBDuJgMDiwg

As always: mark and tap open.

Our car ride (how boring...) now goes to Muonio, 80 km away, where we will have our car looked at tomorrow at 2 p.m. The oil is still dripping, although we think it's a little less. Hopefully they can fix it. After all, it's over 3000km home.