Try your hand at sled dogs in Flaine!

What is mushing?

Practised for thousands of years, dog sledding is the ancestral means of transport in the Arctic. According to researchers, people have been using dogs to get around for at least 9,500 years (La Science magazine, 26 June 2020). The conditions of life in a wilderness with sometimes extreme climatic conditions and the impressive expanses of the Far North led these peoples to breed dogs capable of travelling long distances, in a pack and pulling a team. Today, mushing is practised in Europe and elsewhere as a sporting activity involving dog sledding. Numerous competitions have been set up around the world. Every year, the French Alps host one of the biggest sled dog races, the Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont-Blanc.

Dog sledding in a nutshell

The mushers work with their pack every day. The competition dogs are trained every day, summer and winter. Selected for their physical qualities, they are also placed at the heart of the team according to each dog's aptitudes and strategy. The dogs occupy well-defined positions in what is known as the draft line. There are :

• The lead dogs, who follow the direction given by the musher and set the pace for the team - Then, just behind the lead dogs, come the swing dogs, whose role is to assist them by setting the pace in the race - The individuals who make up the body of the team - And finally the steering dogs (wheels), placed just in front of the sled. Wheels are dogs selected for their strength to support the load of the sled.

Mushing is practised in different ways, depending on the number of dogs, the type of distance and whether it is competitive or recreational. Would you like to try this unique experience in the heart of the Grand Massif? Several sled dog "schools" have been set up in this superb Alpine region, offering introductory sled dog driving lessons supervised by professional mushers during the winter months. You can try your hand at driving a team or let yourself be guided through the snowy trails from the comfort of your own seat.

Cani trekking is a type of hiking in which the hiker is accompanied and pulled by a dog. The dog pulling ahead is attached to the hiker's waist by a harness. This discipline is classed as a canine sport in the same way as canicross or cani-VTT.

During the summer months, the Alpine mushers devote part of their time to introducing interested parties to this outdoor activity with their dogs. Come and discover the pack and the kennels before taking a walk with one of the dogs. And make no mistake, a canirando is much more sporting than a traditional hike! Another unique experience to be enjoyed in the pure Nordic dog tradition in Haute-Savoie.

• Évasion Nordique: Les Molliets at 74 300 Les Carroz d'Araches (https://evasion-nordique.com/Evasion-Nordique-74)

• Les Granges de Heidi, two sites depending on the season: Les Carroz (summer) and la Combe de Vernant (winter)(https://chien-traineau-haute-savoie.fr/index.php/fr/)

It's impossible not to mention one of the major mushing events you can attend if you stay in Flaine.

The first edition of La Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont-Blanc took place in 2005. It was created by musher Nicolas Vanier and his friend Henry Kam, who was one of his sponsors for his crossing of the North American continent entitled l'Odyssée Blanche. It was after this race that they came up with the idea of organising a major sled dog race in Europe.