2015 Yukon Quest starts today!

It is finally here!
The first of the two "big" races in the great white north starts today in Whitehorse YT, the 2015 Yukon Quest.

We're wishing our friends Brent Sass of Wild & Free Mushing, and Mike Ellis of Team Tsuga Siberians and their teams a great race and good luck.

Our boys Buddy and Silver are ready to cheer on "their" teams!

2012 champ, and participant in our recent "Wild Eyed Tsuga" weekend, Hugh Neff is also at the start, along with many more former Quest and Iditarod champions.

Back-to-back champ, and 2012 runner-up, Allen Moore is first out of the chute today, followed by Brent. This should be an amazing race right from the start.

4-time Quest & 4-time Iditarod champion Lance Mackey is back running the Quest, as is '89 champion and 4-time Iditarod winner Jeff King.

For a complete list of competitors, see "Meet the 2015 Mushers"


Coming up a week from today, is the 30th annual Race to the Sky in Montana.

For more information about the race and mushers, check out their website here.

Happy Holidays & New Year 2015!

It's been way too long since we posted here, but the shop kept us busy, which is always a good thing.

In October, we welcomed our friends Brent Sass, Mike Ellis and Hugh Neff to Central Oregon for our "Wild Eyed Tsuga" weekend. 15 teams with almost 200 sled dogs showed up for a camp out and a few days of running, training and talking dogs. Based on the feedback we received, everyone had a great time and is already wondering what next fall will bring. We will have to wait and see.

Here are some of the pictures and a great write-up by Carol Pepsick.

A few additions to our cart program are going to be made public in the beginning of 2015. No entirely new designs, but a couple nice options to round out our current models. Be sure to keep an eye on this blog and our facebook page for pictures and details.

We're also in the final planning stages for a new adventure in early 2015, and another event here in Central Oregon in spring, and will post details here as well, as soon as everything's ready to go.

Thank you all for your support throughout the year and we hope to see many of you out on the trails in the new year!

Arctis is, once again, a proud supporter of North Wapiti Kennels, Wild & Free Mushing and Team Tsuga Siberians through 2015.

West Coast Dryland Mushing Events, Fall 2014

Just a few more weeks, and mushing season 2014/15 will be here!
Here are a few scheduled events for the western US and Canada:

September 21 & 28: CDMA Dryland Race, Chugiak AK
October 4-5: Camp K Dryland Challenge, Cle Elum WA
October 13: So Mush Fun, Vacaville CA
October 18-19: Rosebud Dryland, Didsbury AB
October 18-19: Pacific NW Dryland Championships, Cle Elum WA
November 1-2: Dirt Rondy, Spokane WA
November 8-10: La Pine Mushing Weekend, La Pine OR

For additional races throughout North America, please see Sled Dog Central's race schedule.

While we are completely booked for the remainder of the year, please contact us if there's a new cart in your future, so you'll be ready to hit the trails in spring.

For more information about our carts, please see:

Arctis 3-Wheel

Arctis Mid-Size 4-Wheel

Arctis Heavy 4-Wheel

Did you check all your lines and harnesses before starting the new season?

If you need replacements, please see our friends at Alpine Outfitters for quality gear.

For non-mushing related pet supplies, please see Pet Club Online.

Wild Eyed Tsuga Weekend!

After our successful "Wild & Free Weekend" last October, we thought we'd add a couple more mushers to the mix, so this year we'll have Brent Sass of Wild & Free Mushing, Mike Ellis of Team Tsuga Siberians and Hugh Neff of Laughing Eyes Kennel visiting Central Oregon for a weekend.

Come join us the weekend of 10/31 - 11/02 2014 in La Pine, OR. for a few days of running dogs, camping, good food and good company. We're located in Oregon's vast pine forest and our property borders public land with literally 100s of miles of forest trails.

Brent, Mike and Hugh will be available for questions and advice about anything sled dogs as well just a relaxed chat by the campfire. In short: good times! Click here for pictures of last year's event and a nice write-up by Carol Pepsick here (scroll past the white Siberian).

A couple of changes for this year:

- Food for everyone will be taken care of by Cow Camp Cookin' & BBQ of La Pine, OR.
Catering is sponsored by Pawsatch Mushing, UT

- Depending on truck/trailer size, there will be room for about 15 teams this year.

- Trail maps and signs will be available.

As mentioned, we have room for ~ 15 trucks along with camping gear. There are restroom/shower facilities on the property along with a heated space which can be used as a common area, hang-out or sleeping area. There is also a small kitchen with stove, microwave and oven plus two refrigerators. There are several water sources on the property, cell phone/wifi connectivity and a hot tub. In case of wet weather, we can use our workshop to keep out of the rain dry equipment. Last year's weather was upper 10s and low 20s overnight, mid 60s during the day and dry throughout the weekend.

This will be a rain or shine event.
If you have any questions, please contact me by e-mail or call 949-280-7019


Facebook links for:
Wild & Free Mushing
Team Tsuga Siberians
Laughing Eyes Kennel
Pawsatch Mushing
Arctis Carts

Dryland Cart orders for spring, or should it be fall?

It's been way, way too long since our last blog post, but hopefully, you're keeping up with all our activities on our facebook page, too.

Very little snow, especially in the western part of the US, brought us quite a few orders which will keep us easily occupied way into May, and there are more customers "hovering". It may sound crazy at this time of year, but if you're looking for new Arctis Cart for fall training, it may be a good time to get in touch with us right about now.



Our latest batch of orders brought carts all over the US, from Oregon to Minnesota, Alaska to Colorado, and the next batch will stretch from Washington to Vermont and California to Alaska.
Over the winter months, signal colors seemed to be the trend, yellow, orange and red. The next ones to come will be a bit different :-)

We are looking to expand production substantially this year, after moving to our new location one year ago and doing some major upgrades in tools and machinery throughout the year.

Several new developments are in the works to make that happen. One new addition to our cart program is currently being built and will most likely be on the market later this month or early April.

...and just a reminder, that the 2014 Iditarod is in full swing at this moment. Click here for current standings.


Our sponsored teams in the race are Karen Ramstead's "Pretty Sled Dogs" and Mike Ellis' "Tsuga Siberians".
Unfortunately, Brent Sass' team "Wild & Free" had to withdraw, due to Brent's injury he suffered during the recent Yukon Quest.
Please click on the links to visit their pages (and support their teams!).



Speaking of the Yukon Quest, here are a couple of wonderful videos from this year's race:

West Coast Dryland Mushing Events, Fall 2013

Fall dryland season is finally here!
Here are some of the events scheduled in the western US:

Oct 26/27: Pacific Northwest Dryland Championship - Cle Elum WA - More Info
Nov 2:       IDidaRace - Park City UT - More Info
Nov 9/10:  La Pine Mushing Weekend - La Pine OR - More Info
Nov 9/10:  South Park Dryland Challenge - Hartsell CO - More Info
Nov 16/17: Dirt Rondy - Spokane WA - More Info
Nov 16/17: Adventure Unlimited - Buena Vista CO - More Info

We're going to be at two or three of the above listed events.

Speaking of dryland events: our recent "Wild & Free Weekend" was a huge success!
Thanks to Brent Sass for making his way down to the lower 48 and spending some time with us "Americans", as well as all those teams that showed up from near and far to run dogs, talk dogs and just enjoy great food and company. We had 12 teams from 4 states with about 150 dogs show up and explore our local trails. Here are some pictures.

Last, not least: after Brent got back to the real world in Alaska's interior, he hopped right back on his 4-wheel cart to continue his training for this season's upcoming races. So far, all his training miles have been on our carts, not atv's as in previous years. We'll keep our fingers crossed for a successful season!

Fall training season is here!

Summer is finally coming to an end, and training season gets underway.
For us, this means crunch time to get orders finished and carts delivered to our customers. Most of our carts are going to Alaska this fall, with a few more staying close in Washington and Colorado. Thanks again to all our customer who trust our products!

For teams getting ready for this season's long distance races, it means getting the dogs out and everyone back into running mode, figuring out who will make the "A-Team" and then getting that team ready for "showtime".

We're proud to support three teams this season that will take on Iditarod and Yukon Quest in 2014:

Wild & Free Mushing, Eureka, Alaska

Brent Sass has been good friends with us for a few years now and a big believer in Arctis training carts. He has put our 3-wheeler to the test like no one else and was the first to run the all new 4-wheeler.
Wild & Free will go for another Yukon Quest and Iditarod this year!

Please visit their website and facebook page for more about Brent and the team as well as sponsorship opportunities.

North Wapiti Kennels, Perryvale, Alberta

Karen Ramstead was one of the first Iditarod mushers we met many years ago. She came to visit our group in southern California on several occasions, came to our new location in Oregon and also invited us for a few days at her kennel back in 2010. Famous for her "Pretty Curly Tails" all Siberian Husky sled dog team, Karen will run Iditarod in 2014 for the last time.

To support Karen and her team, and for more information about the kennel, including the entire cast of characters, please see their blog and facebook page, as well as their fundraising page.

Team Tsuga Siberians, Fairbanks, Alaska

We met Mike Ellis at the New England Trade Fair a couple of years ago, and he was really interested in the concept of training his team with a cart vs an atv. One of the requirements was, however, that it would be a heavy 4-wheel cart to possibly train a full team. So, this year we finally finished that project and Mike will be one of the first mushers to train with the new cart. He also was kind enough to visit us here in Oregon and give a presentation about his dogs, races and life in Alaska, that got fantastic reviews by all who attended.

Mike and Sue also run an all Siberian Husky team.

Team Tsuga will be back at the Yukon Quest this season, after their rookie Iditarod in 2013.

Please see their website and facebook page for information and yes, plenty of pictures of their beautiful team, that has always room for another sponsor for a bag of kibble. 

Good luck and happy trails to all of "our" teams, our customers and friends and everyone else who shares the same passion for this wonderful sport.

Wild & Free Weekend!

Come join us for a weekend of running dogs, camping, bbq and good company from October 4^th - 6^th in central Oregon.

Why “wild & free”?
Yukon Quest and Iditarod veteran Brent Sass of Wild & FreeMushing will join the fun and is ready to answer your questions and give pointers about raising, training and running dogs, his racing experiences and the wild & free life in Alaska's wilderness.

This will be an informal, free flowing weekend with a small group (~10-12 teams) and there will be plenty of time to run the dogs, get some one-on-one time with Brent, and have a group of like minded folks to share experiences and our love for the sport. Brent will be glad to share his expertise and experiences, and yes, he'll bring plenty of pictures to share, too.

This weekend will be open to anyone interested in running dogs, no matter what size team you have, be it a full team of 16, a “sled pet” and a scooter, or no dogs and are just interested in the experience.

We can accommodate 10-12 trucks/trailers on the property. Final number will depend on the size of each team vehicle. We are located in central Oregon's vast pine forest, near the city of La Pine, and have direct trail access to public land (BLM, National Forest) with literally 100s of miles of forest trails. There is room for tents or campers, plus we have a separate guest space that could be shared by those that prefer more solid surroundings. Guest space also includes bathroom/shower and full kitchen with stove, microwave and fridge. There are several water sources for your dogs, a fire pit as well as a hot tub. We also have decent cell phone reception and wifi, if you need to be connected to the world.

Trails on the property can accommodate teams of all sizes. Large teams with carts and atv have a wide enough trail to access public lands right from the campsite. There's a fun, single track trail system right on the property for small teams with scooters, too.

This will be a rain or shine event. In case of wet conditions, we can dry out gear and equipment in our heated shop. Temperatures at that time of year average between 20s (overnight low) and 50s (daytime high).

All available spaces have been filled. Thanks to all who signed up!

Spots will be available on a first come, first serve basis.

If you have any questions in regards to this event, please contact me at henning@arctis-carts.com or 949-280-7019

Mike Ellis of Team Tsuga Siberians in Portland OR

Please join us for a live audio and video presentation by Mike Ellis on Sunday August 11th in Portland OR. 

Mike and his "Team Tsuga Siberian Huskies" are multiple Yukon Quest finishers and Iditarod rookies in 2013 and they are preparing for another Quest and possibly Iditarod in 2014.

Picture courtesy of Akphotograph.com

Mike's presentation will include a slideshow and videos of his journey from the early days to finishing the two 1000-mile races. Questions are always welcome along the way and there will be time for pictures and autographs as well.

100% of the proceeds will go to Mike's kennel.

The presentation will be held at the Norse Hall - 111 NE 11th Ave - Portland OR (map)

near the I-5 & I-84 interchange

Sunday August 11th at 2pm.

Tickets are $25 (per person) at the door.

Any questions? Please call (949) 280-7019

Summertime...and the shop is busy!

Even during the hot southern California summer days, there's plenty of work to be done in the shop. It's rather odd to be working on dog sledding equipment when it's in the upper 90s outside.

We're just finishing up the last summer orders for carts that are on their way to destinations all over North America. So far this year, we've pretty much covered the entire continent, from central Mexico to Alaska, from Oregon to Newfoundland and many places in between. Once again, a big "Thank you!!!" to all our customers.

Once those carts are on their way, work is beginning on our new project which will be announced in a few weeks right here on this blog, so stay tuned for some exciting news.

In the meantime, our friends at NWSDA in Washington have announced their fall schedule:
September 29th - Fall Warm-Up at Camp K in Cle Elum WA
October 13th - Dryland Challenge at Camp K in Cle Elum WA
October 27th - Pacific Northwest Dryland Championships at Camp K in Cle Elum WA
For more information about NWSDA events, please see their website or facebook page.

Also scheduled is Sierra Nevada Dog Drivers' annual mushing clinic on
October 20th & 21st in Truckee CA
Please see their website for more information.

Last, not least: the annual Veterans Day Mushing Weekend on
November 10th - 12th in La Pine OR
For more information click here.


In other news, our friends at Alpine Outfitters have just introduced a new product to their catalog:
the "See Me Safety Vest" . Check it out here.

New Jump Seat for Arctis Dryland Cart

Time flies when you're busy, so our blog posts are unfortunately less frequent than they used to be.
Our "off season" really wasn't and while we're still filling spring orders, we have already booked the first few orders for fall training.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all our customers! We really appreciate your confidence in our carts!

We just completed another cart for a customer in the great white north who requested an update to our jumpseat, something a little more comfortable than the original one. So, we went to work, and here's the result.

Just like the original, the seat comes with attached foot boards for the passenger, reinforced frame as well as the wider front tire (same as the rear ones, Bridgestone 3.00-12 off road).

Price for this jump seat is $245

If you have any questions in regards to our products, please contact us at info@arctis-carts.com


Stay tuned for some big Arctis news coming this fall.

2012 Yukon Quest results and Iditarod preview

The 2012 Yukon Quest is in the books.

Veteran musher Hugh Neff won the 1000 mile race by a mere 26 seconds ahead of Allen Moore...how amazing is that!?

Our friend Brent Sass and his Wild & Free team finished in 5th place and the 2nd Wild & Free team with Kyla Durham finished 11th.

Another friend of ours, Mike Ellis and his team of Siberian Huskies unfortunately had to scratch, after Mike got injured on the trail. Here's to a quick recovery, Mike!

Another notable story is Russian musher Michael Telpin and his team of Chuckchi Huskies. While most, if not all, other teams started with 14 dogs, he started and finished the race with 9. Yes, he won the coveted "red lantern" award, but he and his team did an amazing job.

Congratulations to all mushers, dog teams, handlers and organizers! Great job!

Now we're just a few days away from the 2012 Iditarod in Alaska.

Our friend Brent Sass and his Wild & Free dogs are at the start for their first Iditarod ever!

An Iditarod veteran, and also a very good friend of ours, Karen Ramstead and her team of "Pretty Sled Dogs" is back for their 10th "last great race".

We'll be following the race closely on the computer right here in southern California, and wishing our friends and all other competitors good luck!

Wild & Free!

Finally a moment to update the blog after a long drought.
Yes, we're still here and have been spending pretty much all of our time on the trails and in the shop, so updates on our website, blog and facebook have been few and far between.

Someone else has also been very, very busy recently: our good friend Brent Sass of Wild & Free Mushing in Fairbanks, AK.
Brent is a 5-time Yukon Quest Veteran and in addition to signing up for his 6th time at the YQ, he also decided to run his first Iditarod this season, going for "the double"!

We met Brent in September of 2010 when he was visiting family in our area. By accident, he was at our mushing group's staging area when we returned from a weekend morning fun run. When he saw our carts he immediately said "I want one!".
Sure enough, after he finished his amazing 2010/11 season, he called and placed his order for one of our carts, the famed Bumble Bee.
Initially, the cart was supposed to be used for puppy training at his kennel, but Brent scrapped the idea as soon as he received the cart, and hooked up the first 6-dog team of his mainstring to the cart...the first of 4 teams to go out the first day. The next day he added two more dogs to the team and after about 2 weeks, he trained up to 10 of his race veterans on the cart every day.



During his fall training, he constantly kept us updated about how the cart performed and what updates/upgrades would have to be done to run a team of his caliber with the cart. Once his season comes to an end in April, we should have the "Brentified Arctis Cart" ready for him to test. That will be our first all new cart design since we started on the 3-wheel cart.

Since Brent has been such a great advocate of our carts, we decided to start sponsoring Team Wild & Free for the current season. In addition to being a general team supporter, we also sponsor "our boys" Scroggie & Braeburn and looking forward to seeing those boys cross the finish line in Whitehorse and Nome (albeit not in person, unfortunately).



Brent's enthusiasm for the dogs, the sport and life in general is absolutely amazing a definitely infectious. He is held in high regards by his peers and a great ambassador to the sport of dog sledding.

Feel free to check out his website Wild & Free Mushing, see the dogs and read up on any news regarding the races this season. There's also a link to Wild & Free gear and, last, not least, opportunities for sponsorships!

If you check out his facebook page, you'll see plenty of picture and video updates of the team's training regimen as well as the trials and tribulations of training sled dogs in Alaska.

Be wild and free!


As always, if you're looking for a cart for this season, please contact us for current wait times and delivery schedule. Our e-mail is info@arctis-carts.com and phone # is (949) 280-7019

Ready for dryland mushing season?

Dryland season? Now? It's only June and we're just about to head into summer, right? Right!
But: fall is only three months away and the first dryland events on the west coast have been posted:

- Oct 1st & 2nd: SNDD 14th annual mushing clinic, Truckee, CA.
- Oct. 8th & 9th: NWSDA Dryland Challenge at Camp K, Cle Elum, WA
- Oct. 22nd & 23rd: Pacific Northwest Dryland Championships, Camp K, Cle Elum, WA
- Nov. 11th - 13th: La Pine Mushing Weekend, La Pine State Park, OR
...and many more to come!

Are you ready for the new season? All your equipment in good working condition? How about that new cart? After our "Bumble Bee" made it up to Fairbanks, AK, we received quite a bit of publicity and interest in our carts, thanks to Brent and his Wild & Free Mushing team. Slowly, but surely orders are coming in, and since all our carts are handmade to order, production slots are filling up. As of today (June 20th), our next available cart would be ready in the 2nd week of July, so it won't take much and we'll be in August, and boom, fall his here. Mix in work on one or two brand new products and our own road trips to various events, and time will run out before you know it. So now would be a great time to contact us in order to receive your cart just in time for the new season.



On a different note: are you interested in being a handler for a racing dog kennel?
Our friends Wild & Free Mushing in Fairbanks, AK and Kipp D'Amundsen Kennels in Strömsund, Sweden are looking for kennel help for the upcoming season.

Arctis Cart in the Arctic...well almost.

Our "Bumble Bee" made it to Fairbanks, Alaska, almost all the way to the Arctic Circle...just about 2 degrees short.
Our friend Brent Sass of Wild & Free Mushing picked it up at the Fairbanks freight terminal the other day, unpacked it and put it right to work. He's currently running 8 of his Yukon Quest proven dogs at a time on midnight runs on local trails. Here are some of his first impressions:



If you are a facebook member, check out Brent's videos on his profile page, too.

Wild & Free's "Silver" lined out and ready to lead his team.

He recently made an announcement regarding his BIG plans for the upcoming season on his website and also mentioned his new training tool (aka Arctis Cart).
Thanks again Brent! All the best and good luck in the upcoming season and beyond!

Missing Iditarod Musher Melanie Gould Found!

Update 6/11: GOOD NEWS: Melanie has been found and she is alive and safe.
Alaska Dispatch Story Here
Update 6/13

Sledding season coming to an end

Slowly, but surely, dog sledding season 10/11 is coming to an end.
Alaska's Iditarod ended with Alaska native John Baker crossing the finish line first in a new record time, ahead of Ramey Smith and Hans Gatt. Overall, 47 mushers completed this year's race.
For complete results, please click here.

In Europe, the annual Finnmarksløpet ended with an overwhelming victory by Norwegian mushers, who finished in 1st through 7th in the 1000km race. In the 500km race even more Norwegians placed in top positions.
For 500km and 1000km results, please click here.

The last distance race for the season will be the Kobuk 440 in Kotzebue, AK, starting on April 14.
Up-to-date information can be found here.


So, now it's back to the dirt trails for several dryland events up and down the coast, as well as across the country.
On the weekend of April 9/10 Pacific Sled Dog & Skijoring Assocation will host a fun run/ race weekend near Sisters, OR. For up-to-date information about this event, please check Tumnatki Siberians' website.

At the end of April (23rd & 24th), NWSDA is hosting their Spring Fling at Camp K in Cle Elum, WA.
Team Arctis will be there again to join the fun!

Iditarod, Serum Run & Iron Dog

Alaska is a busy place this time of year.
Last weekend, the 39th Iditarod started in Anchorage. 62 mushers are on the 1049 mile trail to Nome. Lance Mackey is trying to win his 5th Iditarod in a row. Is he going to succeed, or is this the year when Sebastian Schnülle is finally going to be the first to reach Nome? Are Hugh Neff and Hans Gatt able to make up for scratching in the Yukon Quest a few weeks ago?
Click here for current standings, provided by the Alaska Daily News.



At the same time, the bi-annual Norman Vaughn '25 Serum Run is still going on.
The run started on February 20th and at last check, the teams made it into Unalakleet.
Some of the faster Iditarod teams might just pass them on their way to Nome.
Wishing our friends Don Duncan, Margaret Black and Von Martin a great adventure, lots of fun and, of course, happy trails!



Last, not least, the 2000 mile Iron Dog snowmobile race just finished in Fairbanks. Apparently, participants of this race also crossed paths with the Serum Run teams.
Who knew, there was this much traffic in the Alaskan wilderness in winter???

Yukon Quest @ halftime & Race to the Sky

The first mushers competing in this year's Yukon Quest sled dog race have made it to Alaska and reached the halfway point of the race. Way in front of the pack is Hugh Neff and his team, who has carved out a 12 hour lead, ahead of Hans Gatt, Brent Sass (pick it up, Brent!) and Ken Anderson.

Hugh Neff is going to be hard to beat with a lead like this, but you never know.
Watch live updates on the Yukon Quest website.

In Montana, the 2011 Race to the Sky is underway. Keeping our fingers crossed for our friends Laura Daugereau (Night Runner Kennel) and Steve Madsen (Sirius Sled Dogs).