Snowflakes scarce wayout west

MAN’S BEST FRIEND: ABPH Jarrad Oliffe with his Alaskan Malamute, Sasha. ABPH Oliffe is president of All Dogs Sledding and Carting of Western Australia.

MUSH: Dog sledding is one of the fastest growing sports in Australia. With the lack of snow in Australia, mushers (handlers who ride the sleds) use two-wheeled scooters and three or four-wheeled carts.

Photos: ABPH Quentin Mushins & Kimberley Wagner-Fewson

By Michael Brooke

Try to envisage a dog-sled race in the heat and sand of Western Australia rather than the shivering cold and snow of Alaska and you’ll have an inkling of one sailor’s idea of a good weekend.

The notion of dog-sled racing in sand and blistering heat is almost as unimaginable as Eskimo body surfers or Zulu ice-skaters but don’t tell that to ABPH Jarrad Oliffe.

ABPH Oliffe, 29, a photographer at HMAS Stirling, loves nothing better than competing in dog sled races in the barren, sandy hills around Perth.

“Would you believe that there are only a few major differences between dog sled racing in Australia and Alaska, the most obvious one being that we don’t race in snow,” he said with a chuckle.

The other difference is that the Aussie Huskies and Alaskan Malamutes, which are the same breed as the hounds used for ‘mushing’ in Alaska, haul wheel-mounted carts and not sleds, he said.

ABPH Oliffe said he looks forward to the racing on weekends when he can strap his dog Sasha, an Alaskan Malamute, to a cart and compete against other like minded “mushers”.

“People might think that we are crazy but I only took up mushing a year or so ago as a way to exercise my dog because she is hyper-active,” he said.

Dog-sled racing is not unique to Western Australia and is actually a national competition. However, the race season in Australia is quite short because the heat takes a toll on the sled dogs.

“We mostly race at night, and only from June to August, when its cool enough for the dogs,” said ABPH Oliffe.

ABPH Oliffe likened dog-sled racing in Australia to charioting.

“It’s a definite adrenalin rush and I would have to compare it to the chariot race in Ben Hur.”

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