As you land on the Norris Glacier, a chorus of 150 Alaskan Huskies will welcome you. As you get ready for your mush, the huskies will howl and spring into the air with excitement. To these athletes, being able to run and mush is everything. When they see you arrive by helicopter they have learned that the fun is about to begin.

Linwood Fiedler's Iditarod race kennel is where the majority of the huskies come from. You'll be mushing dogs that are veterans of the 1200 mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. These dogs have been bred for speed and endurance and are easily able to mush over 100 miles a day. The summer mushing that you'll be involved in keeps our race team in shape and has helped us place high in the races we enter. Your mush with us is actually a big part of our training and conditioning program. So consider yourself part of the team!

The Alaskan Husky is a mixed bred dog with a pedigree. They average 45 lbs. for females and 55 lbs. for males. They have a double coat of fur that keeps them comfortable in sub-zero temperatures and they also have lots of fur between their toes to protect their feet from ice and abrasive snow. They are a wonderfully loyal, and have gotten more than one musher out of a life threatening jam on winter trails.

The commands that are learned by the leaders are "GEE" for right, "HAW" for left and the hardest command to teach, "WHOA" for stop. Mushers also use a variety of whistles for picking up the pace and in passing other teams.