After looking for a suitable Valentines Day present and failing miserably I was pointed in the direction of Husky Sledging. With lots of clients asking whats great to do in Morzine and Avoriaz its only right I let you know what is like. I am admittedly a massive animal lover and a big fan of dogs, if you are too then the Husky Sledging is something not to be missed!
Booking is fairly easy with a €100 deposit to reserve a spot on multiple bookings, once booked in your told to meet at the Col de Joux Verte which is on the road up to Avoriaz past the Seraussaix chair on the left. Getting there slightly early is a must, with about 50 Huskies all chilling out in the snow it’s a great chance to pet and play whist getting to know some of the dogs. All the dogs are used to being around people but some do look scarier than others. If you see Pumba, just give him a wide berth!
After a bit of time with the dogs you get introduced to the equipment including harnesses, sledges and how to break and turn. Once everyone has asked their questions the harnesses are placed in front of the dogs depending on their size. It’s then up to you to start preparing the dogs for the trip, its really enjoyable to take part in the whole process, until the scarier looking Huskies are all thats left. I nervously approached a big, angry looking chap called Houston. He instantly rolled onto his back to get his belly rubbed until the guide came over and gave me a hand. To be honest all the dogs are lovely and even Pumba was great at having us all manhandle him into the harnesses, he was just incredibly grumpy in between!
Setting off is a downhill start with two switchbacks, interesting if your dogs decide to try and cut the corner a little! You get 3-4 dogs depending on how heavy you are. Everyone does the corners one by one and then you’re onto a straighter track where you can come off the brake and get some speed up. After a few more switchbacks, where Pumba cut a corner by 10m dragging his sledge down a bank of powder. You’ll start to enter more technical terrain off the piste basher track. Constantly on the breaks so you don’t catch the dogs with the sleigh, its really is great fun trying to stay on. As the dogs constantly want to pull you have to hold on 100% of the time, even stationary one of my dogs would jump, pull and generally try to unbalance me in a bid to get going again.
Now its time to head home, as the start is mostly down hill its a fair trip back up hill to get there. I had three dogs and we ran together most of the way, wear something light so that you can jog or walk comfortably as it gets very warm otherwise! Getting back takes a little while but its worth it as you unharness the dogs and reward them with stokes and cuddles for their hard work.
All in all the Husky Sleigh Ride experience is well worth the €100 (adult) and €50 (child) fee.
Check it out at http://laventureentraineau.com/