Page 46 - Travel Guide Fly Alaska Winter Edition

Running Toward Wonder at Snowhook Adventure Guides

In 2016, the couple officially launched adventurous, and deeply human — this is it.
Snowhook Adventure Guides. Their first winter The Heartbeat of Dog Mushing
brought in around 100 guests, and last year, Snowhook offers tours, day trips, and
more than 11,000 people from around the activities for every season, but it is also a
world visited their kennel and participated in working kennel, meaning the four mushers
one of the many activities they offer. who work there race the dogs, with one
A Kennel Built on Compassion musher just completing the qualifiers for the
One of the things that struck my sister and Iditarod. It is easy for outsiders to view dog
me most during our visit was the affection mushing simply as sport or spectacle. But
and care shown toward the dogs. Retired after spending time at Snowhook, it becomes
sled dogs lounged comfortably around the clear that mushing is built on something much
property, sleeping by the fire, chasing off the deeper: trust—that indeniable bond between
occasional moose, or wandering like beloved musher and dog.
family pets. And unlike many other kennels, “My favorite moment of running Iditarod
guests were encouraged to interact and play was actually coming back into the dog yard
with the dogs. after I’d gotten back,” said Justin. “You see all
One dog climbed onto the roof of her these dogs that you ran with, and they’re so
house and immediately rested her paws on happy to see you. You just have that private
my shoulders, staring straight into my eyes as moment where you can sit down and be with
though she had been waiting her entire life for them and reflect on what you went through
There are Alaska experiences that feel like me to arrive. Another flopped onto their back together.”
excursions, brief, scheduled, almost sanitized, without hesitation, demanding an endless What makes the best kind of musher?
and then there are the ones that settle into stream of belly rubs. When you see a mushing “When your dogs look at you,” Justin said,
your soul long after the snow has melted team lined up in harnesses at the start of a “they need to look at you like, that guy’s going
from your boots. My sister and I discovered race, what stands out is their intensity and to take care of me. They are one of the only
that difference the moment we arrived at determination. These dogs are elite athletes, animals on the planet that are excited just to
Snowhook Adventure Guides in Willow, fully focused on the miles ahead, yet behind be with you, and your job is to be worthy of
Alaska. that fierce drive are affectionate companions that.”
Upon getting out of the van, we were who crave connection, attention, and the As our musher and team glided us through
immediately greeted by a welcome simple joy of having their bellies scratched. the snow-covered forest and across the frozen
committee of retired mushing dogs. The place “One of the reasons our kennel is that big is rivers lit only by the glow of a full moon and an
was alive with excitement and energy. Snow because we don’t get rid of dogs as they quit endless array of twinkling stars in the night sky,
sparkled beneath towering pine trees, and running and retire,” Justin explained. “If a dog the dogs and musher worked as one cohesive
somewhere in the distance, frozen ribbons of comes to us and even puts in ten seconds of unit. Listening. Giving commands. Executing.
rivers glistened as they looped through the being our dog, then it’s our responsibility to Doing what they are bred to do—run across
forested terrain. We had come to experience take care of them for the entirety of its life.” lakes and over hills, through twists and turns in
dog mushing—moonlit dog mushing to be As one musher told me, “They provided us the forest floor, and at that moment, it felt less
precise. What we found instead was a story a life, and we will provide for them, for life.” like a tourist activity and more like stepping
about family, risk, adventure, and a deep That philosophy defines the entire into the living heartbeat of Alaska itself.
respect for the dogs that make it all possible. Snowhook experience.
From Two Puppies to an Alaska Dream “We want our guests to leave feeling like More Than a Tour
Snowhook’s story begins not with a they accomplished and learned more than And perhaps that is what Snowhook does
business plan, but with a puppy. when they got there,” Justin said. “We want best. It doesn’t simply offer tours. It invites
“My wife Rebecca decided we needed a them to feel like they’re leaving as friends, not people into an authentic Alaska story — one
puppy,” owner Justin Savidis said, laughing. just somebody who went on a tour.” built by two dreamers, genuine Alaskan
“And then Rebecca decided that first puppy Reinventing the Alaska Adventure guides who are exceptionally qualified, a team
needed a friend.” What began as dog sledding tours has of extraordinary dogs, and the enduring spirit
Those two sled dogs would eventually evolved into one of Alaska’s most ambitious of adventure that still defines the Last Frontier.
change the course of their lives. year-round adventure destinations. Today, For more information or to book a tour,
Originally from Idaho and attending the Snowhook offers snowmobiling, snowshoeing, visit: www.snowhookadventures.com
University of Utah at the time, Justin and ice fishing, ATV excursions, e-bike tours,
Rebecca finished college, packed everything glacier adventures, overnight northern lights
they owned into a trailer, and headed north to experiences, and year-round dog mushing,
Alaska with little more than a dream, a rocking because race dogs have to train even in the
chair strapped to the top of their trailer, and summer.
fifteen dollars left to their names. Their most remarkable project may be the
“We got up here and had no place to remote mountain lodge they built at Hatcher
live and no idea what we were doing,” Justin Pass.
recalled. Situated on 53 acres surrounded by
Instead of going the traditional route, they dramatic alpine scenery, the property includes
added more dogs. What followed was years cabins, a sauna, a hot tub, a bathhouse, and
of learning, racing, and slowly building a life access to some of Alaska’s most breathtaking
around sled dogs. Justin’s very first race was backcountry terrain. In winter, guests begin
100 miles with dog sledding before snowmobiling 26
“That seemed like a huge, huge deal,” he miles into the mountains to spend the night
said. “But now I could go that distance without beneath the northern lights. In summer, ATVs
wearing shoes!” transport guests to the lodge, where they can
50,000 miles later behind a sled dog team, fish, hike, or just relax and enjoy the midnight
Justin has completed the Iditarod six times, sun and views of Denali.
started a tour company, and added more For visitors seeking the Alaska they’ve
dogs. Now, 80 in total, including rescue dogs. imagined their entire lives — rugged, wild,
44 ® WINTER EDITION