Clothing

Winter Clothing

Dogsledding is not usually a very aerobic activity so you will need to come prepared with warmer clothing than you would use for skiing, snowshoeing or other winter sports.

You will need to have a good warm hat and/or Bella clava and neck warmer to cover your head, face and neck. You will need an insulated jacket with a hood and it should be large enough to put over some other warm layers of clothing.

On your legs you will need long underwear and a couple of other warm layers with an insulated and windproof shell over top. Socks should have some wool in them. Two pairs are great, a thinner sock with a thicker one on top.

Winter snow boots with a heavy felt inner liner are a must preferably rated to at least -60 (it's just a rating and means that the boot is warmer than a -20 or -40 boot. We don't plan to drag you out in -60 temperatures!) Sorrel and Baffin boots are good. You might want to consider purchasing toe warmers to put inside your heavy snow boots. These little disposable packets of chemical granules are effective and inexpensive and will make your dog sledding experience much more pleasant especially if outside temperatures are below -26.

For your hands a glove/mitt system is ideal. By that I mean a thin glove inside a big and well-insulated mitt. That way you have finger dexterity when you remove the outer mitt to handle your camera or clip a dog to the line. We have a few big fur mitts for you to wear if you wish. Again I would recommend purchasing the disposable hand warmers if your hands tend to get uncomfortable when you are out in the cold for prolonged periods.

Additional Tips

Wear contact lenses if at all possible rather than glasses as glasses will fog up whenever you cover your face.

Charge up your camera batteries just before leaving to come dogsledding. Partially charged batteries will quickly go flat in the cold. There will be several stops along the way where you can anchor down your sled and get off to take pictures.