Yes, Angel's puppies are growing fast, here are photos at one week old.  With only two to feed, they are sure not lacking in nutrition! They are starting to try to walk, but mostly they just eat & sleep. The older puppies were exposed to being attached to the truck with the collars on them for the first time. They handled the new experience without any problem.
We had an adventure on Thursday when we went for supplies for the month. We traveled through a major snow storm the vertically shut down the highways with 45 cm of snow along with high winds causing major whiteouts. Visibility, at times was nil! We sat in the truck for a three hour delay as they cleared an accident from an overturned Lumber Truck on the Highway 31 North. This is the only road leading to Saint Michel des Saints.
We got in another good week of training running four days last week. We are now opening a 10 mile trail for this week of training & will finally be going to the sled. This is non too soon as the race in Saint Michel is next weekend.
Until next week........

Well it certainly was a week of major events here @ Miortuk. 
First: Angel had here puppies on the 20th of December. Angel had two puppies Yaluk & Tepeu. The names are of Mayan Deities to acknowledge the end of the Mayan Calender on the 21st of December. Yaluk was the Lightning God & Tepeu was the Sky God. The photos are of Angel & her puppies at two days of age. Both mother & her brood are doing fine!
Second: We had a major snow fall here this week & in two days we received 4 feet of snow. The shear volume of snow over such a short period of time basically shut down mushing activities & vehicular travel. Most of the later part of the week was spent on snow removal & digging out the dog yard.
The roof of the chalet had to have the snow removed to prevent the possibility of collapse due the volume & weight of the snow. The last time we witnessed such volume of snow in this short of a period of time was 2007 & that snow storm was in March!
However, we were able to get in 4 days of running the dogs. Their performance was great & it seems the the teams are coming together. The dogs are all in good shape & excited to run.
Hope to get the snow removed from the road today so we can get out of here for supplies.
I would also like to thank Franziska Berchtold for her continuous support of the dogs here at Miortuk. It is greatly appreciated by both the dogs & me!  
Seasons Greeting to everyone!
Here is a Christmas video for your entertainment!
CLICK HERE TO VIEW IT:

http://www.jibjab.com/view/FIV2Fj4URr6x7_AVsonc2w

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Check me out in Feliz Navidad!
www.jibjab.com


Until next week.........

We had a great week here training getting in five days of running. We were back to running 4.5 miles due to the long layoff due to the icy conditions.  
We also confirmed that Angel is going to have puppies around the 22nd of December. 
We also added Fille to the Miortuk Team. She is the sister of Blue. Fille was raised at the kennel of Laurent Gonsolin. Her father was Popeye @ Visa.
Weather was quiet here with a few snow flurries & 6" snow fall on Tuesday  The forecast for this week is for snow most days to accumulate to a total of 45cm.
 TIME WILL TELL!!!
Until next week.......

Last Sundays rain destroyed the snow & left everything in a sheet of ice! Due to the icy conditions, we were shut down a week with no training. But patience persevered prevailed & snow returned on Saturday leaving 4" of fresh snow.
We were able to return to running the dogs on Sunday in a pristine forest. We slowed the dogs down on this run as not to injure the dogs after a week without running & there is still icy conditions under the snow.
The puppies are growing rapidly, very energetic & have a ravenous appetite.
With the icy conditions, we took advantage of the time off to complete other choirs before the racing season starts.
Until next week.......

Another week of extremes, with nice snowy trails due to 4" of fresh snow, extreme cold temperatures on Wednesday Night, Thursday, Friday & Friday Night and to finish the week freezing rain late Saturday Night into Sunday.
It was so cold, with temperatures in the -20's that none of the ATV's would start, problem starting the trucks and had to resort to training on Saturday with the Snow machine! Now with the freezing rain & rain everything is coated in a sheet of ice.
The above photos were taken last week, before the snow arrived, and shows the team driving hard from the beginning to the end of the run. I am very impressed with Hok'ee, Wheel Right, running in his first year. This dog drives hard the whole run, every run, right from the start of his training. He is going to be an exceptional dog!
We were able to get in 4 great training days this week. The dogs are doing the 4.5 miles without a stop. We are now training a regiment of "negative splits" into their training runs. Negative splits are when you start the run at what is your basic pace & then increase the speed at intervals through the run to finally finish at their top speed. This type of training helps the dogs to increase their stamina & finish strong as well as to prevent the build up of Lactic Acid.
There is also a new video posted on the puppy Page.
Until next week........