Racing Sled Dogs Through the Alaskan Wilderness with Kristy & Anna Berington

Kristy and Anna are twin mushers who race sled dogs across Alaska’s most remote wilderness.Racing sled dogs across Alaska’s vast wilderness is one of the most physically demanding and logistically complex endurance sports in the world. It means weeks of preparation, months of training, and days spent moving through snow, wind, darkness, and isolation alongside a team that cannot speak, but communicates constantly.In this episode, I sit down with identical twin sisters Kristy and Anna of Seeing Double Sled Dog Racing. Based in rural Alaska, they live and work together caring for, training, and racing with 32 sled dogs. Kristy and Anna share how a childhood fascination with mushing turned into a full-time lifestyle, how they found their way to Alaska, and why sled dog racing is not just a sport, but a long-term commitment to animals, routine, and place.We talk about what it actually takes to train a sled dog team leading up to hundred-mile days, how race days unfold from the starting line to remote checkpoints, and what it feels like to move through the wilderness when it seems like you might be the only people on earth. Kristy and Anna explain how they communicate with their dogs through body language and instinct, how they make hard decisions in the dogs’ best interest, and why trust is the foundation of everything they do.We also explore what many people misunderstand about sled dog racing, including why the dogs want to do this work, how they live fully in the present, and what it means to survive together as a team. This episode is about endurance, care, sisterhood, and the intelligence required to move responsibly through wild places.Follow Kristy and Anna and meet their dogs here:Website: https://seeingdoublesleddogracing.comInstagram: @seeingdoublesleddogracingFacebook: Seeing Double Sled Dog RacingFollow Women in Wild PlacesInstagram: @womeninwildplacesHost: @outsidegabsSupport the show & help keep these stories alive through our PatreonJoin our community on Substack