Small groups
First of all, we attach great importance to small, very personally supervised groups, i.e. a maximum of 5-6 people per group. The fixed costs are therefore only shared by a small number of participants.
No snowmobiles
We do not work with snowmobiles. Everything we need on the way is pulled by the huskies. If we were to use snowmobiles to transport food and dog food to the huts in the mountains where we want to stay overnight on the tour, we would need considerably fewer dogs in front of the sleds, as they would be lighter. Fewer dogs mean lower costs.
However, this practice would have two disadvantages, which we strictly reject: A snowmobile would have a lasting negative impact on the nature experience. This is because the success of a sledding tour would depend not only on the dogs, the participants, and the guide but also on a smelly and noisy machine.
If we had to drive to certain huts because food and dog food were waiting for us there, we would have decided on a certain route.
Norway has – of all the Scandinavian countries – the strictest set of rules regarding motorized driving in the countryside. Driving a snowmobile is in principle forbidden. There are only a few exceptions. For example, on Lake Altevatn.
In winter, remote valleys and mountain ranges can only be reached by dog sled or on skis.
Expedition style or “by fair means”
Because we carry everything on the husky sleds, we are completely autonomous in the national parks (e.g. Dividal and Rohkunbour National Park) and the surrounding mountains. This puts us in a position to react very flexibly to the snow and weather conditions and to organize the tour according to the abilities of the group, the snow conditions, and the weather conditions. We say that this is why we never actually do the same tour twice on the same route within one winter. This means that every “Expedition Dividal” follows different routes. This is exactly the style we call “expedition style”. “Expedition style” means having a goal and reaching it on the most beautiful, possibly easiest, and safest route with the means we have at our disposal under the given conditions – by fair means!
We simply enjoy it much more when we can make the most of the different conditions in a very flexible way.
A sledding tour with us should – as I said – be an intensive nature experience. This is only possible if you are far away from civilization and far away from cross-country ski trails. The groups are completely on their own. This consistency in experiencing nature is perhaps the reason for the many repeat customers: between 60% and 70% of our turnover comes from repeat customers.
Strong and healthy dogs
So we often move off the trails, which have been pulled by snowmobiles. The terrain is mountainous. Only the dogs enable us to get this far.
For these demanding tours we therefore need very good, absolutely reliable and extensive equipment. Everything we need along the way is pulled by the hard-working huskies. The terrain and the nature of our tours require very well-fed, completely healthy, and well-trained dogs as well as large husky teams. For example, each dog should have at least 500, preferably 800 kilometers of training under its paws before the start of the season. Only if we have dogs that are not overtaxed on the tours do we have dogs that are highly motivated. With such dogs, we can master everything! The dogs are at the center of our attention and they should want for nothing.
Safety
We have a very high safety standard. This is necessary as our tours take us into quite deserted mountains. In the mountains, we are of course much more exposed to the weather than in the sheltered forest. That’s why we have a very comprehensive safety briefing** to ensure that everyone behaves correctly in all situations. In addition, all groups carry the latest and best safety equipment: a satellite phone and – as a redundancy – a PLB/EPIRB.
There is a very extensive introduction (a whole day) to dog sledding before the tour and very detailed advice on equipment. Special equipment (extra warm winter boots, warm overalls, etc.) is provided free of charge.
Our motto is: Safety comes first and the style of our tours demands quality down to the last link. All this is not exactly cheap.
Catering
We also attach great importance to good food. We cater for our guests with food from the region of excellent quality. For example, we offer a lot of game and otherwise meat from animals that have only lived outside. We try to use only food from the region and a large part we make ourselves (salad, vegetables, bread, jam, bacon, ham, sausage)
Professionals
We are very experienced. Either because we have been doing the job for years and/or because we grew up here and have had huskies for decades. We live from this job. We don’t see it as a hobby. In short: we are all professional.
Valuta
Norway is one of the most interesting countries in the world thanks to its mountains, fjords, and endless, untouched landscapes. Norway’s economy has been improving year on year for 40 years, practically without interruption. Norway is not a member of the EU and therefore has its currency. In recent years, in particular, the Norwegian krone has appreciated sharply against the euro. So you get less and less kroner for one euro. Unfortunately, this also contributes to our pricing.
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