Sadly our training at Axehandle Mountain in Sweden has come to an end. Tomorrow morning we head south to Switzerland for the start of the Alpen Trail 2009 :o)
 
This year, our time with Graham and Bettan has passed so quickly… great memorable times… and many laughs amongst us all… including Tim, Oz and Seaweed… a pleasure to work with as part of the Axehandle Mountain team.
 
With training… we have managed to get a good 600kms on the dogs on snow. But have decided to change entered AT class from eight dog to six dog. I will post laters once in Switzerland the dogs elected for the pool.
 
Happy trails…

Tuesday, January 13, 2009 10:15:56 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

off to the mountains…. today… GK, Barbara, Cathy, John, Tim and I set off to the mountains… a 130km round trip on sled in two days.

Base camp at the mountains is an old style Swedish mountain farm which doubles up as a ranger station. We enjoyed good food in the restaurant along with lots of laughs and retired for the night in fine cabins … wonderful company, superb service and beautiful wild scenery.

In the morning, breakfast and coffee was served before we all embarked on our return trip to Axehandle Mountain.

Early morning in the mountains…

Sheenjek and daughter Storm…

On the way back over the lake…

We arrived back at the dog yard around 3pm on Friday, leading into a warm entertaining evening drinking and eating in the main guest house :o)

Interested in taking up the adventure… please visit the Axehandle Mountain website for details

Thursday, January 08, 2009 10:09:26 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [1] 

Yesterday we started with the consistency of the 32km river runs from the Axe Handle Mountain base camp… beautiful wild scenery along with low level sun… while watching a tri moose group running majestically away in front of us on the trail.

Today... going up the river

Heading back to the dog yard into the sun

Well deserved rest after todays run... Chrome looking cute

Sting in the straw

Kia is there somewhere

Sheenjek and daughter Storm 

Monday, December 29, 2008 5:35:04 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Dogs and I arrived at Axe Handle Mountain in Sweden last night safe and sound around 10PM, just have sore eyes from all that driving!!!

Lots of snow here this year… much more then last year… in our 32km run this morning, we had to break trail for some part of it and at one point, Risk’s body just disappeared beneath the snow… bobbing up and down :o)

More fun to come at Axe Handle Mountain… post more soon!!!

Happy trails.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008 5:14:03 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Well the time has finally arrived for my trip to Axehandle Mountain in Sweden. I am feeling very excited but also thinking about the long drive I have ahead of me. The dogs are all sleeping at the moment and I know they will all be full of energy on our arrival to the colder climate.

Many thanks to family and good friends for their help and support prior to my journey. Especially the following people: Wife Donna, Mark Alloway, Malcomb Goodwin.

I will be posting regular updates once I have arrived in Sweden.  Cya soon Graham & Betan, have my steak ready :o)

Saturday, December 20, 2008 7:30:48 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Still it persists to rain here in the UK… making every training run a mud pool :o( I think it’s the wettest November we have had for a long time… guess it’s kind of good for the dogs though, as they have to work very hard to pull the 585lbs quad through the sticky muddy parts of the trail.

Sorry about the blurred pictures!

Sunday, November 30, 2008 7:51:30 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Lü:
40 km trail with approx. 1200 metres of elevation.
From Lü there is at first a light rise then becomes steeper until the highest point of the trail. After that a beautiful descent to S-charl. Restart in S-charl. Then the same trail back to Lü. A challenging and very beautiful trail in high-alpine terrain in bad weather should not be underestimated.

Prags / Cortina:
55 km trail and approx. 1600 metres of elevation, however, this year no restart in Cortina.
The start is in Prags at the Kammeriot-Wiesen, passing Brückele and then up to the Plätzwiese. From there down to Schluderbach partly on cross-country ski trails towards Cortina. Turning point at the old hospice and then returning and passing by Schluderbach just before Toblach. Turning point at the Dürrensee and returning to Schluderbach and then again up to Plätzwiese, thereafter descending to guesthouse Brückele on the toboggan trail.
A fantastic beautiful trail. Technically not very difficult.

Sexten:
50 km trail with approx. 1200 metres of elevation.
After the mass start on the Rotwandbahn in Sexton/Moos it passes by the campground over to the Kreuzbergpass passing by the Alpe Coltrondo (1880m) to the Nemes Hütte (1877m). Thereafter, initially towards Sexten, then up to the Klammbachhütte (1944m) again, then subsequently back over the Kniebergsattl (2325m) to Kreuzbergpass then down to the finish in Sexten. 
The trail leads from time to time up and downhill in between beautiful valleys. Besides the landscape the mass start is the highlight. Technically the most challenging trail of the race.

Monday, November 24, 2008 9:37:05 PM (GMT Standard Time, UTC+00:00)    Comments [0] 

Eagerly waiting on a temperature drop… the last week has just been that!!! This morning was a nice 5.5c with a relatively low humidity. Dogs got loaded into the van/truck, and we hit the forest with a very crazy eager to run team :o) Just need to build up there muscles now!!!

This season, basically is going to be a repeat of last year… fall training in England… sled training in Sweden… and then onto the 12th addition of the Aplen Trail, that takes place in the magnificent Alps.

One of our yearlings after her run...

The Alpen Trail 2009 participants list has been growing fast… for more info please visit Alpen Trail 2009

Have a great season...

Saturday, October 04, 2008 5:27:10 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)    Comments [0] 

Tragic death of Didier Dagueneau...

The 52 year od former Alpen-Trail musher died in a flying accident on Sept. 17, 2008. He plunged with his ultra light aircraft 50 meters to the ground in Dordogne, France and thereby being killed.
 
Didier drove in his youth sidecar motocross and then later sled dog sport. His first Alpen-Trail race was in 1998 with Siberian Huskies in the 12 dog class.

In the 1980’s he began with winegrowing. He was one of the best Sauvignon Blanc producers and received many world-wide awards and honors.

Our sympathy goes out to his family, his partner Susanne Cremer and their two children.

Our memory will always be with you.

Your Alpen-Trail family

Friday, September 19, 2008 7:25:08 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)    Comments [0] 

Opportunity to work with Siberians in Sweden…
Handler/Apprentice Guide Wanted (September thru to April)

This is a great opportunity to learn and work at a professional sled dog tour kennel, as a handler/apprentice guide.
For any further information, please contact Graham at...
Axehandle Mountain Sled dog tour kennel
Sweden
Phone +46 644 700 06
GSM +46 70 6887290
Eml: graham.kent@telia.com
www.axehandle.be

Wednesday, August 20, 2008 6:54:42 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)    Comments [0]