This weekend I went to the Priest Lake Sled Dog Races. It was the first sled dog event with snow that I have attended and my take is… being a part of sled dog racing is not for everyone. It is different in both culture and spirit of the sport than the ordinary.

While most people this weekend were ramping up for the Super Bowl, there was an entire parking lot full, of not just the mushers with their dogs but also, of spectators. For someone who is new to the entire mentality of sled dog racing the idea that there are spectators for sled dog mushing is a foreign thought to me. The spectators happily waited for each class to come in, even giving applause for a job well done for the last musher of each class. While waiting, some children were sledding on a mound of snow, a couple people were throwing snowballs to pass the time, and most just mingled and talked.

As more time passed at the sled dog race, I found myself learning about a culture of people that comes together for the sport of sled dog racing. The community that forms between the mushers, and even the spectators, is different from any other sport I’ve ever seen. The normal competitiveness of a sport doesn’t bring out the musher’s teeth towards one another, there isn’t bragging or boasting. It’s more relaxed than that. The most frenzied movements are from the dogs themselves as they run or as they pace waiting. There are old-timer mushers who take care of the younger generations and advice is swapped between mushers. As a whole it is different.

Overall, after leaving the dog sled races, you get the sense that most people will never experience the difference between sled dog racing and more pedestrian sports. In a way, it’s as if the entire community and culture of the races are lost to a different time, but at the race there is homage to the roots and traditions of sled dogs. Not because the sleds are made the same or the dog breeds haven’t changed since dog sledding has come about but because of the community and people of the sport.

This is why I think dog sledding is not for everyone; to be a part of dog sledding (either being a musher or spectator), you have to be okay with a different experience.