A Hair-Raising Dog Sledding Adventure

Snow is still blanketing much of the country. But I’m not complaining.

In fact, I was deeply grateful for the soft, yielding snow when I was violently thrown from my dog sled. During a recent excursion in Colorado, my sled tipped over and I was dragged several yards through the snow before I tumbled off, only to be left face-down in the powder as the dogs bounded away. I couldn’t stop laughing.

It wasn’t the canines’ fault that I went catapulting from the sled. My travel companion, who had taken the reins of the two-person sled, hadn’t quite gotten a feel for the contraption and leaned too far to the right as we rounded a sharp curve, causing the sled to capsize. The dogs know what they’re doing. It’s the humans who are responsible for keeping the sled from tipping, by balancing their weight properly as they’re pulled through twisting trails.

I was in Breckenridge, Colorado — the ski resort town that’s home to spine-chilling vertical drops at 13,000 feet. But I got my biggest adrenaline rush off the slopes, being tugged through the woods by a team of speedy Siberian huskies. I was surprised to discover that recreational dog sledding is, well, a bit treacherous. Tumbles and spills are to be expected — which is exactly why those piles of powdery snow come in handy.

We booked our excursion with Good Times Adventures, the only local dog sledding operation in the Breckenridge area. The hour-long ride through the gorgeous Swan River Valley cost $70 per person.

Have you been dog sledding? Tell us about it!