Eesti
In March, the world championship of Nordic sled dogs was held in Austria.
The trip there was nearly 2000 km. We went there a few days earlier to rest before the starts.
All dogs had to pass a veterinary check before entering the competition area. The veterinarians of the competitions could not approve the health status of our dogs. At this point, we would like to thank Paarisjalga Animal Clinic, under whose professional eye all 21 dogs in our kennel are!
The first day was a disaster in terms of the weather – it was raining and while pushing the sled, my foot sank through the track up to my ankle, and so did the dogs. The dogs still gave it their all and at the end of the first day we were in a very high tenth place. However, that day was so hard for the dogs that three of them had stomach upset and we all looked like squeezed lemons. Especially young dogs competing for the first season (three out of six dogs).
The second day was beautiful in terms of weather – the 2600 meter peaks of Gastein rose all around. Despite being tired, I decided to start and try to improve the position, but in vain. An empty lemon is an empty lemon.
Foto: WSA Worldchampionships Sport Gastein
On the third day, assessing the situation, I decided to stop the race. We drove to the stake-out area in the morning and waited for Silver’s starts. At the same time, a message came from the WSA management that MD, 8 and 6 dog sled starts will be canceled altogether. It didn’t matter much to me because I wouldn’t have started anyway.
We were waiting for Silver’s starts. Silver was sure that he would catch the first place on the third day, but fate had other plans… After some time, a new message came from the management that the race would be canceled due to strong wind. Because of the wind? I couldn’t believe it. Why because of the wind?
After a while I got my answer. An old Austrian couple came to see our dogs, who specified that this wind in question was no ordinary wind. It is a SÜD WIND that comes down from the southern mountain peak with a terrible force and amplifies in the valley below and can even knock people to the ground. The track markers and fences have already been blown away. If anything had blown from the other direction, nothing would have been catastrophic.
The ski slopes of Sportgastein were also closed that day, because the gondolas would have started to circle over the nipple. So, on a total of three competition days, the mountains showed three different faces.
In conclusion, except for my ride, it still went very well:
Silver II place in the two-dog skier class – dogs Marki & Hambutu.
Silver VII place in two-dog sled – dogs HeiHopsti & Rhapsody.
Thanks to ERWIN HECKL photography for the great photos!
Thanks to the organizers of the WSA Worldchampionships Sport Gastein.