Back in November we posted an in-depth series about hooking up the dogs to go out for a run. It wasn’t until one of you wrote to ask, “What are all those lines on the front of the sled?” that we realized we forgot to tell you about a pretty important piece of the puzzle. So, here’s Aliy to show you all about what we do to hook up the sled, before we start hooking up the dogs!
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I guess during races when passing through or leaving a checkpoint after a race, they only use one hook and rely on the team to not move until the ready command – is that right? Does that mean the dogs learn the difference or they are just more worn out – or does the young team musher use more hooks during race time?
As a former rock climber, I always find rope systems interesting. Quick question though – how do the carabiners hold up in those types of temperatures? I would think there might be issues with the screw gates freezing shut on the locking ones. Especially if you have any thaw/refreeze cycles going on, which does seem to happen occasionally on the Iditarod. Also, I see mushers fiddling with things in bare hands all the time – wouldn't touching metal be an issue?
At checkpoints: Mushers typically use only one hook. BUT, there's aways someone — a volunteer, checker, etc. — there to stand on the brake. A musher would not — under any circumstances — walk away from the back of a sled and trust one snow hook. They will walk in front, but that's because they could grab the sled as it goes by. So, there's no real difference to the dogs.
The carabiners hold up fine. Keep in mind that we use heavy duty ones… WAY more than needed for the job… and always locking style. Plus, they don't get adjusted very often… Less than once a day on average. So, while the gates do sometimes stick, we're not in a position where we're hanging on or anything. You can whack 'em until they open. Working bare handed in the cold is always a problem… especially touching metal… but we sometimes don't have much choice!
Thank you for the video. It all makes sense now. I'm doing better with photos then words, unless it's German. LOL
Thanks for the closeup look. Are you using poly or cable filled ganglines? Do you use shock cords? How is the video camera mounted on the handlebar of the sled? Thanks for your reply. Dave in NC