Old fashioned freight dogs in old fashioned freight harnesses (click on the small images for a larger picture). The Denali Park dogs are owned by the federal government and patrol the park in winter. These pictures are from the demonstrations held during the summer to show tourists what the dogs do, and to keep them at least a little occupied (the sled has steel wheels and is run on a little gravel track). July 2000

I should have life this good!!!

Miscellaneous pictures of pulks and dogs at the IFSS world finals
in Fairbanks, Feb- March 2001.

Fjellpulken pulk	Fjellpulken pulk	Fjellpulken brake assembly
Fjellpulken racing pulk	Homemade racing pulk	Homemade racing pulk

One of the many eurohounds- this one was
a GSP/ greyhound on the Norwegian team.

Eurohound owned by Kirsten Ballard - note that
this dog has a tail, it was just wagging too fast. :)

This is Kirsten Ballard's Bernie Willis pulk, and looks like it might
be just the ticket for extended backcountry skijoring. Bernie is
a very popular sled maker in Anchorage and can be reached at
(907) 346-3004.
Kirsten says if you want one of these, you should probably talk
to Bernie a year in advance- apparently he's staying very busy!

Her comments:

There are 2 pr. of "levers" on each side of what's essentially a second, spring-loaded (bungee) driving bow to keep it stable against the bow and allow it to be depressed by hand. There are two brake "spikes" on the end of the bow. Obviously, the rear-runners have been cut-off, so you can ski up to the bow. There's a central "hole" bracket between the driving bow (not the braking one) made of wood that is the guide for the skijor bungee (mine's about 15' long - start with a shorter one). The pulk "floats" between you and the dogs - the dogs pull the sled, you ski like mad behind it, using the bungee to control turns and to reel yourself into the sled BEFORE you go down a hill. Takes a lot of skill & practice (start on flatlands).