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Photofhis poge: LeonhordSeppolowith hisSiberionHuskysleddog leom rocingin LokePlocid,NYcircoeorly1930s.photocourtesyof In_ gve/Wielheesen Collection, DigitolEnhoncement Copyright 2006Jonis A. Ingveof SledDog lmogeArchives
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G tlret;ng (lrslN0895-9668) is pubtished bim'nthlyby Smeltydog tMedia, Inc.,637R'ute94, Newt.n,New ph0ne Jerlel:'.07^860; 917-929-61 18;fax973-300-0455; Internet: www.mushing.com. contents c0pyrighted 0.2006bysmellyd0g lMedia, lnc.All rightsreserved.-Noil.fing maybereprinted or"broadcast in wholeoi iripart I ,1. with0ut pRtcES: written.permissi0n fromthepublisher. MAGAZINE pricepercopyis $4.75inthe Thenewsstand unitedstates., A 0ne'yea. (6.isucs)is $26.00{usA).$35.00rcar"oarard $47.00tinrernat s^ubsliptio^n 'r''*i onaI. t]vo-Vear subs-c'rpli0n ruSA). paymenl is $48.00 rCan2621 $63.00 ,nO*UOO0{,nterldti0nal). mustbemade:n i u.5 1unds .AD VER T IST N G :Adv er ti s i nqr ates ar epr 0v ,ded0qr eq u e s r. Mu s h i n g i s n o t re s p ; 1 s b re r0 advedisements or theviewsexpressed in them,whichmaynotnecessarily be"those ofMushing.we reserve flie 0r disc0ntinue PUBLISHER anyadvertismeit e EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: withoutexplanati0n. premecairgt z-si9-01 CregSellentin9I7-glg-6ttg info@mushing.comrightt0 de-c]ine To advertise, i i, fax 973- 300- 0455,0r w r i tetoM us hi ag,3875Gei s tR ds ui teE,B0x 2 F ai r ban4k6s ,, A K 9 9 7 0 9 -3 5 4 9 u s A . D i s l MANAGINGEDITOR:AmandaByrd 907-458-0888editor@mushing.comc0untsavallable c0NTRlBUTl0Ns:Freelancecontributionsff0mwriters,photographersandartistsarewe Pleffie write0r callt0 query_and guidelines. we arenot responsible for iosi of, or damage GRAPHIC DESTGN: to, unsolicited Smettydog N4edia material. l0r Please encl0se ans.A.s.E. if thematerial is to bereturned. MAILING LlsTs:we will;0t make0urlist ADVERTISING ACCOUNT MANAGER:CregSeilentin available t0 anyc0mpany 0r 0rganizati0n unless a careful products, screening indicates services or fund-raising pleasewritet0 us andincludea copyof youraddress jhe_majority0f 0ur readers. PROOFREADER: tabei JodiMurphy 1c-tivltiT_T-qy_lllgts] p0 Box246,3875GeistRdSuiteE,Fairbanks, C0RRESP0NDENCE:.Mushrnt, AK99709:d549'USA. E_mait: tni;@ Mush,t4g pefiodical and.a.socâ&#x201A;Źte_d_qesign log0s: Registered Trademarks postage pajd @. Jersey Mushing Magazine,3875CeistRd.SuiteE,#246Fairbanks, Tlls'l,lSJ9m Alaska99709 urry,r\M Jersey andotherOfffices.p0srMAsrER: sendaddress changes t0 Musfiing,38i5 Geistild suiteE-, www.mushl ng.com Box246,Fairbanks, AK99709-3549 USA.
NoveHaeen/DEcEMBER 2000 . Mushing
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[n his quest for knowledge,lngstad'stravels took him from North America to northern Mexico. Along the way he learnedabout Canadian Eskimos,and even venturedto find a missingtribe of Indians,Alaskan Apache Indians.Everywherehe went, Ingstadmade an impression' He served as Ingstadtraveled extensivelyaround his own Scandinavia. Governor of Svalbard,Norway,and Governor of a portion of Greenland' ln 1933, lngstad returned to Norway from Greenland with several Greenland huskies. The dogs were given away to young people who were interestedin mushing.As a result,Ingstadwas layingthe foundation of mushingas a sport in NorwaY. In the I970s Helge,and his daughterBenedictelngstad,sold a young neighborhood boy his first dog, Storm- The young boy was Robert Sorlie. Prior to the purchaseof Storm, Sorlie had been borrowing dogs to mush from the lngstads.With their support,sorlie started racing' "lf it had not been for lngstad.l,lryouldnot have been a dog musher,"says Sorlie."lthinl<he was the biggestinfluencefor me. lt was becauseof him that I dog mush." Sorlie,aisobelievesthat Helge Ingstadhad the greatest influenceon mushingin NorwaY.
Ambassadorof Norway to the United States' Other attendeesincluded Robert Sorlieas a keynotespeaker,Ingstad'sdaughterBenedicteIngstad and her son Eirik IngstadSandberg. Benedictewas the only child of Helge Ingstadand his wife Anne Stine' "My father reallywanted a son," saysBenedicte."He only got one tirl' so he wanted to make me into a boy,and he wanted me to be a dog musher." Benedicte, a medical anthropologist, has followed in her father's footstepsas a world travelerand explorer. ln 1960,Benedicteioined her parents in the discoveryof aViking settlement in Lance aux Meadows' Newfoundland.
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Helgewas an honorary member of the NorwegianSled Dog Club when the club invited Leonhard Seppalato their annual meetihg. Seppala wanted his strain of Siberiansto be imported into Norway, and it was at this meetingthat SeppalapromisedIngstada dog from his lines' That first dog was Molinka of Bow Lake. Molinkawas rumored to be named after an old girlfriend of Seppala's. In l95g the IngstadsreceivedMolinka.Helgegavethe dog to Benedicte' To Helge,a dog was a dog,and so Benedictetook on the responsibilityof caringand trainingthe dog. Molinkawas bred to the very first imported Siberian Husky, though not registered,Pogo. With that, Benedicte had started her own breedingProgram of the first racing Siberiansin Europe. After two litters with Pogo,SeppalagaveHelge and Benedicteanother
people :):'-:::'::11'j^1"1,9"Tff"::lii::':Y"ii":::lJ:i: (Eskimo) ln'*1;h,,the:Nunamiut tngrtal,m.v"a tn te4e,r"tge
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The Nunamiut used dog teams and heavywooden.t]:Ot ",S,nrn, :1: his plentifulcariboufor meac,clothing,and tent materials.Wori=led-about .rt'9,fr*,lia not in*dv"r.tentl, survivalin the harsh climate,una-*'.itl"
Eskimos o sta u g n t ln tstao rl re l rrrel prospects,the r o sp e cts,tn e EsKlm hunting unung p men's en's h sspoirocher poil och e r m
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livingwith rhe Nunamiut peoplefor nine months,che naciveeldersof the area gaveIngstada mountainas a show of appreciationand a parting
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Helge lngstaddied in 200 | . He was | 0 I yearsold.After a mandatoryfive year waitingperiod,the U.s.Board of GeographicNamesofficiallyn"*"a IngstadMountainfor the exploreron April l7 ,2006. The mountainhad been known locally as lngstad Mountain eve^in." i"-f"f, af't"-*t".k
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T he na m i n g c e r e m o n y co in cid e d wich T h e He lg e In g stad Memori al Symposium onArctic Change at the University otnfuriJiuit6".it-in. s y m pos i u m a t r r a c t e d p a r ticip a n tsfr o m No r wa y""d ;lttk",;il;;t;"
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A! age 17,'with the baselineof Siberiansin Europe stanted,"Bendicte
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,'^"J1ffi;;"ru,1::Jilil,l Iii:,x"::ff";:1,j5j Siberianhuskies:Taunik'Papik'Jet Pilot' Semliaan-dSauq' Jet Pilot itid' Suaqwere sons of the famousAstro and Nicolai'
.^-+i^r;, - ^^: :-.. import of racing Siberiansinto Scandinavia influential The next most
:il:,'::tfi"ffJ)1Trui$:;I1ili",.;,:il;l:il:*'ilJi,l' .-.-- :- ^L---^ ^r k-^^ri ^- ;^ h^. Lan n of the Benedicte was in charge -L^ breeding in her kennel' and Sold dogs to breeders i n N orw ay' S w eden and Fi nl and'A fter l earni ng of three
Above[eft: Benedicte Ings.to.d, doughterof Helge,visitsFoirbonks ond the SiberionHuskiesof Chuckond ToneDeehr.photo by AmondoByrd Above Right:LeonhordSeppoloposeswith hiseorlycenlurytrophies.photo courtesyof UAFArchives imported Norris dogs in Sweden,Benedicteand some friends located the dogs. Benedictepurchasedone of the dogsto add to her kennel,her friendsbought the other two. ln 1972,the Norwegian SiberianHusky Club was formed. Most of rhe membersusedtheir dogsfor pullingpulkasand skiers.The sport of sled dog racing started soon after the initiation of the club. Many Siberian racestook placein the | 970s. When Benedictereturned home, she took with her the now standard x-backharness, and copiedthose harnesses for her own team.,,Nobody remembersthis anymore,but I madethe first x-back harnessin Norway,"
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was Seppala's dog and he was the leader of the longestlap of the relay to get the serum into Nome. But it was the first dog into Nome that got afl of the honor." The informationis detailedin the book rhe cruelest Miles."Seppalathought thatTogo had done the hardestwork and should havebeen honored." As the storygoes,Togo,whoran in leadfor 9l mileswas Seppala's,and Balto,who led for the final 53 miles,was Gunnar Kaasen,s. Baltowas the one that receivedthe honor,and the statue in Central park.
"The other thing Seppalawas very concerned about," said Benedicte, "was the split between the showinghuskiesand the racinghusl<ies, and the fact that they were beingbred together.', In Seppala's tlfpi*:Beneaiae. Benedicte'steam was also the first in Norway to be opinion,these hookedup in undem."l re{y had^ to strugglehard to be ableco start in show huskieswere not fit for racing. ,,That was one of the reasons races.There was a-boylacin$my a boylacin$my ceam in one of the big racesand . why he gaveus the three dogs. He wanted to makesure that when the ,rhu -rhu he camewith the tqam hitchedup,inpaiisand all of the old_timerswere i, Siberianp1u5:l4i ariiied in Norway th1!,ii w.eshis lines. He was very really conternbd vlondering if it&urd be ailowed." Eventuafyit was much srressingthe fact thacwe must ke$ these lines,"staredBenedicce. -allowed rookloff. LvuNvrr' ,,'rE 'lVe did that and if I was ever toâ&#x201A;Źet more huskies, '-;"- and the rirdem *style ,;) ,' I would keep on :: {oing dhat,aSehas beenfirmly planled in my head. I would alwaysstick Benedicte met SeppalfJn Seattle, cheyearUencle ne a.a il rsez. i, ntro to these partic.ularracinglines."
beencoAlaska, I waj in my 20sand wasbackpacking. I rc,is.ih .y *.y home and I stopped in Seartlero meet him." dLnedic
letterithatJcihanrii lettersthatJohanneSunby had written writcen4bout SeppalT; Suibi nad andHetge(Husky lboitliiipp"q4 Letters:Helgalngstad andLeonhard SepSla,Miisging Magozine lssue96) were actuallyabourlettersSeppala wrote ro hei. ,,1*jt the one wio correspondedwith him, afrer the firsr letter. My father did the original contacts,I had a long correspondencewith him." During the visit in Seattle,there were two things Seppalawanted to tell Benedicte: One was theTogo - Balto issue,"Of course he was upset about it still. Togo
It has been difficultadheringto seppara!desirero keep the siberians in Europepure.lyof rhe racingstrain.Whilethe majorityof Siberiansin Eur:gpear:eth'i:racingstr:iin,Benedicteatmits things are changing.,,The show judgesof course appreciatethe show lines- you get one Best in Show and.ihen everybody wants that kind of dog.', Benedictedid succeedin keepingthe racingstrain of Siberiansin Norway for almost 50 years."We lost out in the end,but we did make a big impact."
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Noverraeen/DEcEMBEry,2OOG..Mushingls