It is just five days until the start the 11th edition of the internationally famous Grande Odyssée dog sledding race held in the French Savoie and Haute-Savoie departments. The 30 mushers and their 400 extraordinary sled dogs will cover 1000 km over 9 stages. Ten nationalities are represented by some of the best teams in the world.
The dog teams will climb 30,000 meters the equivalent of nearly 4 Everests on race starting at Samoens and finishing at Val Cenis with overnight stops at the Polar Base on the Col du Mont Cenis. Eight of the 9 stages are time trials with one is a mass start. There is also a sprint; think Ben Hur on snow but with dogs. The full programme can be found at the following link: http://www.grandeodyssee.com/en/124/programme-detailed/
Let’s now hope that there will be plenty of snow to satisfy huskies, malamutes and the mushers for this memorable event.