How to… be a champion dog-sledder

Be a champion dog-sledder. By Rémy Coste

Iused to own five bakeries in Megève, a ski resort in the French Alps near Mont Blanc. I travelled all over learning my craft, from Paris to the United States, and won a competition in 2000 to find the best baker in France. Baking was a real passion of mine, but one morning when I was 25, I woke up and just stopped finding pleasure in it. It was then that I decided I needed to make a change.

I went travelling to Canada, with my wife and three children, and I happened to come across dog-sledding as a sport. I’d never encountered it before, and I remember thinking how wonderful it seemed – the nature, the dogs, the athleticism. Now it’s my whole life.

It began as a hobby: I adopted one dog, then a second, and before I knew it, I had a whole pack that I would take sledding in Megève. I sought the advice of professionals in the dog-sledding community in France and abroad – I looked at how they sled, I learnt about how to train dogs and the best food to give them, as well as about the various competitions across Europe and Scandinavia.

In 2008, I decided to sell my bakeries and embrace mushing – the term for sledding powered by dogs – full-time, training and competing in races in France and Norway. My wife and children are behind it – there’s a real sense of adventure to mushing. I’ve progressed since then because I love

There’s nothing better than the wind flying past you as you steer your dogs

to win. For me, it’s always about getting better and reaching the next stage, the next championship. The first time I participated in a race, in 2012, I won. I came seventh, second and third in La Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc, and then last year, I won it. It’s the most important race in our industry.

I didn’t grow up around dogs, and I didn’t have a particular affinity with them, but I’ve grown to love mine – I have almost 40 now. I use a cross-breed, a mix of Alaskan huskies and hunting dogs, because they’re known for their endurance, strength and loyalty. The best mushers have to earn the dog’s trust slowly. I take each step gradually and develop a relationship with the individual dog – they all have their own personalities. You build up trust by playing games repeatedly. The hours in baking were long and hard, and this is no different: there’s no respite, even in summer. All of my day, and my family’s day, goes into caring for the dogs and travelling to competitions. The kids each have their own dog that they take care of.

The best part of being a musher is the solitude: I like being alone with the animals. I can work as my own boss, doing things my way, developing training techniques, finding out what works and what doesn’t. I love being able to work in nature; it allows time to think, and it’s a healthy life. There’s nothing better than feeling the wind fly past you as you steer your dogs through the mountains, fully in charge.

La Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc dog-sled race, sponsored by Hublot, runs every January in Megève, France; grandeodyssee.com

Photograph by Gerardo Jaconelli Rémy Coste with one of his dogs, and his sled.