TODAY was one of those memorable days out on the road when I get to do something really special.
I am at Big White, the ski resort an hour above the BC city of Kelowna, and I spent the morning with a family of dogs that lives on the side of the hill during winter ready to take visitors on thrilling sled rides along some of the destination's long Nordic trails.
The dogs spend the winter living in simple kennels set in the snow in a quiet corner below the village, and the summer on the owner’s property in another part of BC where they romp in the lakes and run in the bush.
I knew I was in the right place long before I saw the sign above the entrance because the dogs make a lot of noise when they know it’s time for a run, and two sleds were ready to take myself another visitor on a ride through the white landscape.
The sledding experience begins by meeting each one of the animals, and because most are rescue dogs they really appreciate the attention, and while some were happy to laze on the snowy ground others were hiding in their boxes scared by the avalanche blasting that was happening up on the mountain.
After greeting each dog the owners selected 14 animals to pull the sleds, six on my vehicle and eight on the other which was a little larger and carrying more weight, and then wrestled them into place.
That was no easy task with the dogs barking and yelping, jumping and twisting with absolute excitement, and the rest of the pack adding to the chorus because they also wanted to be included in the fun.
The ride covered about 10km along a trail that followed the edge of the mountain, providing a view across the valley below, and we went really fast with the racing feet in front kicking the snow into pebbles that flew back and hit me in the face.
I was lucky enough to drive for a couple of kilometres and completely forgot about my surroundings because I had to pay careful attention to the team and make sure the line stayed tight and that no animal was doing any more work than another.
These dogs love to run, and don’t need a command to take off but start galloping as soon as the anchor is lifted, and when it was time for me to stop driving and climb back into the sled for the dash home I stood on the brake with both feet and even then we were only just stopped.
What a wonderful experience, being with such beautiful animals when they are doing the one thing that makes them completely happy.
