La Grande Odyssée
La Grande Odyssée Savoie Mont Blanc is an international sled dog race spanning in French Alps and Swiss Alps. It was first held in January 2005. The 2012 La Grande Odyssée purse was $100,000. The event has been held every year for nineteen years, as of 2023, and will hold its twentieth edition from January 13-25, 2024. The course La Grande Odyssée Savoie-Mont-Blancis intended for mushers with teams of 14 dogs who are experienced in long- and middle-distance. Through Savoie and Haute Savoie, France and Switzerland, mushers from perhaps a dozen different countries, compete for two weeks of racing over a course more than 800 km long, with a change in altitude of more than . The course takes the teams to 24 ski resorts (20 French and four Swiss). For each of the 10 stages, time-trialed (every two minutes) or mass (in parallel) starts bring thousands of spectators to the Savoie-Mont-Blanc region. The race includes three completely independent encampments: one in the firs ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sled Dog Racing
Sled dog racing (sometimes termed dog sled racing) is a winter dog sport most popular in the Arctic regions of the United States, Canada, Russia, Greenland and some European countries. It involves the timed competition of teams of sled dogs that pull a sled with the dog driver or '' musher'' standing on the runners. The team completing the marked course in the least time is judged the winner. Sled dogs, known also as sleighman dogs, sledge dogs, or sleddogs, are a highly trained dog type that are used to pull a dog sled, a wheel-less vehicle on runners, over snow or ice, by means of harnesses and lines. History The first recorded sled race in North America took place in 1908 in Alaska, the All Alaska Sweepstakes. It ran 400 miles through some of Alaska's most arduous areas from Nome to Candle and back. The International Sled Dog Racing Association lists the winners of the first and the third races: "The winning driver he firstyear was John Hegness, with a time of 11 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Flag Of Sweden
The national flag of Sweden () consists of a yellow or gold Nordic cross (i.e. a horizontal cross extending to the edges, with the crossbar closer to the hoist than the fly) on a field of light blue. The Nordic cross design traditionally represents Christianity. The design and colours of the Swedish flag are believed to have been inspired by the present coat of arms of Sweden of 1442, which is blue divided quarterly by a cross pattée of gold. Blue and yellow have been used as Swedish colours at least since Magnus III's royal coat of arms of 1275. Specifics Ratio and colour scheme The Swedish flag is one of only five that use the ratio 5:8, the others being Argentina, Guatemala, Palau, and Poland. It is one of only four flags that currently use the colour scheme of blue and yellow, the others being Kazakhstan, Palau, and Ukraine. State flag and civil ensign The dimensions of the Swedish flag are 5:2:9 horizontally and 4:2:4 vertically. The dimensions of the Swedish flag ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sled Dog Races
A sled, skid, sledge, or sleigh is a land vehicle that slides across a surface, usually of ice or snow. It is built with either a smooth underside or a separate body supported by two or more smooth, relatively narrow, longitudinal runners similar in principle to skis. This reduces the amount of friction, which helps to carry heavy loads. Some designs are used to transport passengers or cargo across relatively level ground. Others are designed to go downhill for recreation, particularly by children, or competition (compare cross-country skiing with its downhill cousin). Shades of meaning differentiating the three terms often reflect regional variations depending on historical uses and prevailing climate. In British English, ''sledge'' is the general term, and more common than ''sled''. ''Toboggan'' is sometimes used synonymously with ''sledge'' but more often to refer to a particular type of sledge without runners. ''Sleigh'' refers to a moderate to large-sized, usually ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American Dog Derby
The American Dog Derby is a dogsled race held in Ashton, Idaho. It is the oldest dogsled race in North America, with the first racing in 1917 until 1961 and then reforming in 1993. The first race was hosted in March 1917 in homage to mail delivery from West Yellowstone to Ashton and as a way to add excitement to winter. The race was paused during World War II and resumed in 1948. However, due to waning public interest and the introduction of snowmobiles, the race was discontinued after 1961. It would later be revived in 1993. In 2021 and 2022, the race temporarily moved to Bear Gulch, Idaho, part of the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, first due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then due to lack of snow. The American Dog Derby consists of a 56-mile race; a 22-mile race, a 4-mile skijor race, and a 4-mile junior race open to mushers 16 years or younger. The race also includes a "mutt race," a 100-yard race with one person and one dog, as well as a weight pull, and snowshoe race. Mus ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Yukon Quest
The Yukon Quest, formally the Yukon Quest 1,000-mile International Sled Dog Race, is a sled dog race scheduled every February since 1984 between Fairbanks, Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon, Whitehorse, Yukon, switching directions each year. Because of the harsh winter conditions, difficult trail, and the limited support that competitors are allowed, it is considered the "most difficult sled dog race in the world", or even the "toughest race in the world"—"even tougher, more selective and less attention-seeking than the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race." The originator envisioned it as "a race so rugged that only purists would participate." In the competition, first run in 1984, a dog team leader (called a mushing, musher) and a team of 6 to 14 dogs race for 10 to 20 days. The course follows the route of the historic 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, mail delivery, and transportation routes between Fairbanks, Dawson City, and Whitehorse. Mushers pack up to of equi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Iditarod
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, more commonly known as The Iditarod (), is an annual long-distance sled dog race held in Alaska in early March. It travels from Anchorage to Nome. Mushers and a team of between 12 and 16 dogs, of which at least 5 must be on the towline at the finish line, cover the distance in 8–15 days or more. The Iditarod began in 1973 as an event to test the best sled dog mushers and teams but evolved into today's highly competitive race. Teams often race through blizzards causing whiteout conditions, sub-zero temperatures and gale-force winds which can cause the wind chill to reach . A ceremonial start occurs in the city of Anchorage and is followed by the official restart in Willow, a city north of Anchorage. The restart was originally in Wasilla until 2002, but due to too little snow, the restart has been at Willow since 2004. The trail runs from Willow up the Rainy Pass of the Alaska Range into the sparsely populated interior, and then along the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arctic Alps Cup
The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway (Nordland, Troms, Finnmark, Svalbard and Jan Mayen), northernmost Sweden (Västerbotten, Norrbotten and Lapland (Sweden), Lappland), northern Finland (North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu and Lapland (Finland), Lappi), Russia (Murmansk Oblast, Murmansk, Siberia, Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Nenets Okrug, Novaya Zemlya), the United States (Alaska), Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), and northern Iceland (Grímsey and Kolbeinsey), along with the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas. Land within the Arctic region has seasonally varying cryosphere, snow and ice cover, with predominantly treeless permafrost under the tundra. Arctic seas contain seasonal sea ice in many places. The Arctic region is a unique area among Earth's ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Finnmarksløpet
Finnmarksløpet is a long distance sled dog race organized every year since 1981 in Finnmark, Norway. Finnmarksløpet is the longest sled race in Europe. History The first Finnmarksløpet was hosted in 1981 with only one "open" class and a total of three teams entering the first race. Over the years, the race has experienced substantial growth, both in terms of participants and audience. In 1985, a second "limited" class was introduced. By 1992, the race distance was extended to , with the open class setting a maximum of 12 dogs, while the limited class was restricted to 8-dog and a distance of . In 2000, the open class was expanded further to include up to 14 dogs, and the limited class distance was reduced to . In 2018, the open class was further extended to its current length at , making Finnmarksløpet the longest sled dog race in Europe and the second longest sled race in the world. A junior class open to mushers 14 to 18 years of age has also been added, with a distance of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Flag Of Slovakia
The current form of the national flag of the Slovak Republic () was adopted by Slovakia's Constitution, which came into force on 3 September 1992. The flag, like many other flags of Slavic nations, uses Pan-Slavic colours ( red, white, and blue). Pictured to the left of centre of the flag is Slovakia's national coat of arms. History Slovakia's flag in its current form (but with another coat of arms on it or without any arms) can be dated back to the revolutionary year 1848. It was also used semi-officially in Czechoslovakia before World War II, by the Slovak Republic during World War II. In 1990, the interior ministry tasked Ladislav Čisárik, a painter and heraldic artist, and Ladislav Vrtel, an expert in heraldry, with creating a new coat of arms and national flag. Čisárik and Vrtel based their designs for a modern coat of arms and flag on an existing 14th century Hungarian coat of arms. However, Čisárik and Vrtel chose to enlarge the double cross three times to emph ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Robert Sørlie
Robert Walter Sørlie (born 15 February 1958), (pronounced: /sir-lee/) commonly "Sorlie" in English, is a two-time Iditarod champion Norwegian dog musher and dog sled racer from Hurdal Municipality. Together with Kjetil Backen and his nephew, Bjørnar Andersen, he forms " Team Norway", the most well-known Norwegian dog mushing team. In 2003, he became the second non-American after Martin Buser to win the 1,049-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race across Alaska, U.S. He won it again in 2005. Norwegian races Sørlie has been racing dogs since the 1970s, and has won numerous races starting in 1991, including Femundløpet (thirteen times) and Europe's longest dog race, Finnmarksløpet (1995, 1999, and 2001). He has won the Norwegian long-distance championship twice (1993 and 1995), and the mid-distance championship once (1992). In 2008 Sørlie won the inaugural Amundsen Race, a 400 km race from Östersund, Sweden, to Røros, Norway, edging out Bjørnar Andersen by just one ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Flag Of The Czech Republic
The flag of the Czech Republic () is the same as the flag of the former Czechoslovakia. Upon the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in December 1992, the Czech Republic kept the Czechoslovak flag while Slovakia adopted Flag of Slovakia, its own flag. The first flag of Czechoslovakia was based on the flag of Bohemia and was white over red. This was almost identical to the flag of Poland (only the proportion was different), so a blue triangle was added at the Hoist (flag), hoist in 1920. The flag was banned by the Nazi Germany, Nazis in 1939 as they established a Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, government nominally in control of Bohemia and Moravia, and a horizontal tricolour of white, red, and blue was used for the duration of the war. The 1920–1939 flag was restored in 1945. History The traditional colours of the Czech lands originated from an 1192 coat of arms (depicting a rampant lion with a double silver tail on a Field (heraldry), field of red). After the establishment ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Flag Of Norway
The national flag of Norway (; ; ) is red with a navy blue Scandinavian cross bordered in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the ''Dannebrog'', the flag of Denmark. History It is difficult to establish what the earliest flag of Norway looked like. During ancient times countries did not fly flags. Kings and other rulers flew flags, especially in battle. Saint Olav used a serpent within a white mark at the Battle of Nesjar. Prior to this the raven or dragon was used. Magnus the Good used the same mark as Saint Olav. Harald Hardrade used the raven banner. This flag was flown by various Vikings, Viking chieftains and other Scandinavian rulers during the 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries AD. Inge I of Norway, Inge used a red lion on gold. Sverre of Norway, Sverre used an eagle in gold and red. The earliest known flag which could be described as a national flag of Norway is the one used today as ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |