Extreme cold, storms slow Iqaluit dogsledders

After ten days of fighting heavy snow, extreme cold and stormy weather, Sarah McNair-Landry and her partner Erik Boomer gave their dogs a rest Friday. 

"The worst thing we don't want to do is burn them out on the first leg," says McNair-Landry from a satellite phone on the land between Iqaluit and Pangnirtung. "We still have at least another 100 days to go with them."

The adventurous pair is on a 4,000-kilometre trek to Igloolik and back, recreating a trip McNair-Landry's parents took 25 years ago. 

"It's going a bit slower than expected, partly because of storms and ... a lot of deep snow that's hard to get that sled through."

McNair-Landry says the dog team pushed through some stormy weather, which was a challenge because of the "white and flat" nature of the tundra.

"Yesterday we got into this little rocky ravine of ice and there's a lot of overflow water that was coming up on top of the ice," says McNair-Landry. "And the dogs did not like that."

"They did not want to run into it, so it took us everything we could to encourage them to run across it."

The 14 dogs aren't alone in their struggle against the cold. McNair-Landry and Boomer have been fighting the extreme temperatures on the land and in their tent. 

"We're also skiing beside the dog sled which helps us keep warm, so we're constantly moving all the time," she says. "As soon as we stop and we're standing around we get really, really cold."

When it comes time to stop for the night, the team uses "several really warm sleeping bags" and a few stoves. 

After the pair completes this lengthy trek, they hope to make a documentary and write a book about dogsledding.