"Give me winter, give me dogs and you can keep the rest." So said Knut Rasmussen, the Dane who explored Greenland in the early 20th century. If you, like Rasmussen, feel the call of the wild, consider driving your own canine crew on holiday: one afternoon managing the tangle of tugging harnesses and sled brakes as the huskies yelp and yowl, and you may never get back in your car. The dogs can run up to 5,000 km in a season, often through snow crystals at -25°C. "There is a strong feeling of being dependent on the small but incredibly strong huskies to reach our goals each day," says Espen Prestbakmo, a trip leader in Norway. Choose from a variety of sites: Alaska for the wildlife (Alaska's Trails and Tails, tel: [1-888] 300 6874;
www.dogsledtours.com); Greenland for the Inuit culture (Ilulissat Travel, tel: [299] 94 43 00;
www.ilulissattravel.gl); and for chic ice hotels and easy access, Norway (Undervegs, tel: [47] 98 00 1213;
www.undervegs.no) and Sweden (Axehandle Mountain, tel: [46] 70 688 7290;
www.axehandle.nu). And if dog-powered sports leave you panting like a husky, bow out and watch Alaska's annual Iditarod race in March (tel: [1-907] 376 5155;
www.iditarod.com).
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