Dog Sledding Weekend

A couple of weekends ago we had an opportunity to do an overnight dog sledding trip. A friend of ours had done it a few weeks before and had recommended it so Ben, David, Tracy and I organised to go. It was run by a Frenchman (Francois/Joel) and his Mongolian partner out of Terelj National Park under the “Winds of Mongolia” tour company. He had extensive experience as a tour guide, mountaineer and dog sledder from Europe and had been running these sorts of tours in Mongolia for the last 5 or so years.
We were picked up by “Francois” from out the front of the Big Irish pub at 8am on Saturday morning in a 4WD van (with rather dubious suspension) and driven out to the starting camp about 1 ½ hours from UB. Paige stayed in UB with Undra. We didn’t think she’d be up to the challenge and would probably only have lasted a couple of hours, not overnight.

Picture: One of the dogs with blue white eyes

Picture: The boys being shown the sleds

From the “Base Camp” we were kitted out with anything we didn’t have but would need clothing-wise. We weren’t quite sure of what to expect and what to bring and expecting some very cold weather Ben and I had bought our own cold weather clothing and a supply of munchies and the compulsory alcoholic beverages. All Ben and I needed were some slightly warmer boots and we were also issued with some excellent sheepskin mittens. Surprisingly we were all to have our own dog sleds and teams, which initially made us a little nervous. How do you steer? What do you do if you fall off? Do the dogs understand English?
We half expected big Husky-type dogs but these ones were lean, (noisy) energetic looking animals. Francois (whose real name we later learnt was Joel, but for some reason we called him Francois) assured us that these were well trained and the real-deal.
After some nervous moments and watching the harnessing of the dogs (we had either 4 or 5 dogs on each sled), we all jumped onto our sleds and followed Francois (and his partner, who had a big sled and 7 dogs) up the frozen Terelj River. The dogs were full of energy and couldn't wait to get started and it became a bit of a tangle at the commencement.

Picture: View of the dogs from the sled

At first we were all pretty nervous, but after a while it became apparent that the dogs knew what they were doing and that all you really had to do was hang on and occasionally apply the brake when it was time to stop or you needed to maintain the distance between sleds. We learnt the hard way that often if you come abreast of another team, the dogs will want to argue with each other and that can result in tangles and stoppages.

Picture: Ben sledding

Picture: Bernadette sledding

Picture: Bernadette & Ben having a break

Ben was the first one to fall off when his sled hit a rock and it tipped him off. The dogs didn’t stop so he had to get up and sprint after the sled. I was the next to come off and then later David did. Over the weekend Ben managed to get the record for the most falls: twice (3 times really as he fell off again on the remount, as the dogs just kept running, landing flat on his back amid a lot of laughter), but David held the record for the longest slide when he fell on the ice. You never have a camera ready when you need it. Tracey maintained her dignity for the weekend, managing to stay on the whole time.
On the first day we travelled about 60km, stopping every hour or so to rest the dogs. The weather was perfect, no wind and very sunny but after a couple of hours we had had enough sledding. Only another day to go! There were some nervous moments crossing the ice as it made some unsettling cracking sounds that conjured up images of falling through the ice into frozen rivers. Didn’t happen, whew!! But having watched to many Hollywood movies didn’t help my nerves.

Picture: What some of the ice looked like

Picture: Dogs resting

Surprisingly and disappointingly we saw no wildlife (you don’t consider cows, horses and dogs wildlife), but there were numerous wolf, snow hare, lynx and bear tracks. Some of the wolf tracks were absolutely enormous.
Eventually we turned around and headed to a Ger camp we’d passed an hour or 2 earlier, pulling up to a cacophony of dog barks. The camp was a local family who had an arrangement with the tour company and that’s where we’d be staying the night. Francois de-harnessed the dogs and chained them outside and we went into the main ger for dinner beef, potato and noodle soup which I really liked and a rest. The dynamics of the family what I could work out was there was a mother and father, daughter and child in one ger and in the other where we stayed was a married couple who was the son of the parents in the other. The young girl show me where the baby goats where as she had to feed the animals for the night. The family keep the baby animals in their own ger to protect them from the cold and I would say any wolves that may be around. I helped collect some fire wood which I saw one of the sons chopping, I thought it was the right thing to do as we where all going to be kept warm through the night.

Picture: Little girl showing one of the baby goats

Picture: Little girl mixing the milk

Picture: Grandmother making sure her grandchild is warm

After dinner we got stuck into the drinks. Apparently we have the honour of being the first people to set up a bar as we’d managed to bring a number of bottles of vodka, baileys and some other stuff. We shared this with the family and they shared some of their local stuff.

Picture: Bernadette with our hosts

The local stuff is the first distillation of the fermented mare’s milk and incidentally tasted astonishingly bad. Now the worst part is you don’t just have 1 of these, you have 3. Not wanting to offend, Ben screwed up his face and sculled them. They weren’t small shots but somewhere between 100 and 200ml and the last one had “floaties” in it just to add to the experience. Things got a little blurry for Ben from that point on. I think his next memory was waking up in a sleeping bag without any pants on due to me having to undress him for bed.
With six adults on the floor in sleeping bags and the couple in the small bed the ger seemed quiet cozy. At about 2am the light came on and wood was added to the firer. I took the chance to duct to the toilet but to my surprise the lady decided to join me and as I squatted behind the cart she decided to have a conversation in Mongolian with me, I wasn’t too sure what to make of this experience but when you got to go, you got to go.

Picture: The Ger camp in the morning

Picture: Cow being milked

Picture: Little girl collecting baby goat

The next morning we were offered the usual “milk tea” and rolls for brekkie. Luckily we’d brought some extra snacks as they sure came in handy. After breakfast wandered around the camp, the whole family seemed to have their own jobs to do even the little girl who wouldn’t have been much older then Paige. Her job was to collect the baby goats from their mums and put them back in the animal ger. She was quite happy to let me help. The women’s job was to milk the cows by hand where I did have a go at it; I think the ladies found it quite funny that I couldn’t get any milk. They made it look so easy. The men’s job was to herd the animals out and start on repairs around the place. Everyone had their jobs to do and after taking more photos it was time to “mount-up” and head back to base camp. On the way back we stopped for lunch and to rest the dogs. Ben and Dave decided they wanted to try sliding on the ice to see how far they could get but in theory it worked but in practice they didn’t get far.
By the time we got back to UB it was after 5pm on Sunday afternoon and we were all thoroughly weary. A great weekend and highly recommended for those who are only moderately adventurous I think it was one of the best experiences I had in the out doors of Mongolia something I will always remember.

Picture: The Mother making our lunch

Picture: Bernadette & little girl

Picture: Dave & Tracy in the ger

Picture: Ben & Dave trying to slid on the ice


Picture: Bernadette & Ben lying on the ice

Tsagaan Sar The Mongolian Lunar New Year

On the weekend we where invited to share in one of the traditional Mongolia holidays called Tsagaan Sar with Undra and her family. Undra is the lady who works in our home. Tsagaan Sar is kind of like Christmas here in Mongolia. When we arrived at Undra's home we where treated to traditional Mongolian feast that was laid out on the table. Undra's mother explain through Undra translating explained about the types of food that we where enjoying. It was very nice to be welcomed into Undra's family home and to share in a traditional holiday.

Here is a some information about Tsagaan Sar that I found on the inter net.

Tsagaan Sar (the white month), the first month of spring, has been one of the most important celebrations of Mongols for centuries. This is a time of the year when winter passes away and spring comes in. The Great Chingis Khaan played an important role to make Tsagaan Sar a State ceremony. In 1207, at the Mouse hour of the first day of the Year of the Red Rabbit, the Great Khaan, wearing all his new clothes, prayed to Blue Sky and Vast Land , paid respect to the elderly and visited his Oulen mother. In 1216, the year of the Red Mouse, the Khaan issued a decree to award people on the day of Tsagaan Sar with gold and clothing materials taken from the State reserve. The Khaan also decreed to award a special title to anyone who is over 120 years old and to release prisoners on the day of Tsagaan Sar except those convicted of the 5-cruelty case. In 1723, the "Mongol Tsaaz" (Mongol Law) stated that all governors and noblemen were obliged to wear a "Jinst Malgai" (special ceremony hat of the high society) and a "Zaht deel" (deel with a collar) on the day of Tsagaan Sar and to pray in front of the Ministry 9 times with 3 praying words each time. Tsagaan Sar is considered the beginning of the lunar calendar year. In 1911, the political and religious leader of Mongolia Bogd Khaan approved a new State flag featuring Soyombo (the national symbol) on yellow background. He ordered that all government houses, ministries, the army and monasteries keep this flag raised outside their compounds from the 30th day of the last month of winter to the 15th day of Tsagaan Sar. In other times, the flag was to be kept inside the compounds. Despite restrictions of Tsagaan Sar during the communist time, thousand years old traditions were never given up and informal celebrations continued among family and relatives especially in the countryside. Since 1990, with democratic changes in the country, Tsagaan Sar has become a nationwide celebration of people.
How Mongolians celebrate Tsagaan Sar .
Tsagaan Sar is a celebration of New Year, addition of age and safe ending of winter for animals. Tsagaan Sar is a festival of white food (food with white color - milk and diary products, rice, etc.) Tsagaan Sar represents a heartfelt spirit of people. On this day, people clean their body and mind from all bad things and start a new fresh clean life. Tsagaan Sar is the day when people express respect to elder people and relatives, renew friendship and sympathy to each other and reconfirm family ties. Family and relatives gather together.The Tsagaan Sar eve or the last day of winter is called "Bituun", which means "full darkness". It is a single night when no moon is visible in the sky. On this day people eat to be really full. It is believed that if you stay hungry, you will be hungry all the coming year around. All the Bituun ceremony is supposed to start when it gets dark outside.On the first day of the new year, people get up early before sunrise, wear new clothes, open the "Orkh" (ger's top window cover) and make a fire. Tsagaan Sar signifies the beginning of spring. Although steppes are still covered with snow, the scent of spring is already in the air. The coming year's weather is analyzed based on animals' mood and behavior as well as other signs of nature. All men go to the top of a nearby hill or mountain carrying food and make a pray to the Nature and the State. Then, men go to certain directions prescribed by the Buddhist horoscope. This ceremony is called "muruu gargakh", which means "starting your footprints". It is believed important to start your way in the right direction on the first day of the new year as prescribed by your lunar horoscope in order to be lucky all year round.With the sunrise, the greeting ceremony starts inside the family. The oldest person stays in "Hoimor" (ger's northern side) and younger family members greet him or her first and then greet each other. The younger greets the older by extending arms with palms up and holding the older's arms from underneath. Everybody greets each other except husband and wife. Usually, people hold "Khadag" (long and narrow piece of yellow, white or blue silk with a spiritual meaning) in their arms.When the greeting ceremony is over, everyone sits behind the table and starts exchanging "Khoorog" (a snuff bottle made usually of semi-precious stones and filled with finely pulverized tobacco). The typical greeting words are "Daaga dalantai, byaruu bulchintai, sureg mal targan orov uu?", which can be translated as "Does your 2-year old horse have enough fat on the withers (means good health), does your 2-year old yak have enough muscles (means good power), did all your animals pass winter safely?" and "Sar shinedee saihan orov uu? Nas suuder hed hurev?", which is used to ask an old person about his/her good health and age as people are proud of old age. Exchanging Khoorog means expressing friendly intentions to each other and is usually the starting point of introducing a stranger. Exchanging Khoorog creates a warm atmosphere between people and makes the start of a friendly talk that helps to learn the true heart of the stranger. People eat lot of "Booz" (steamed Mongolian dumplings) and drink "Airag" (fermented mare's milk). When the ceremony finishes in the family, the hosts give presents to each person. The present symbolizes a wish for wellbeing, health, wealth and power. Everyone moves to the next family starting with the next oldest person's ger first. The Tsagaan Sar celebration can continue for a month, but the first, second and third days are the most important.
Food and drinks
Following the traditions of centuries, every family prepares the Tsagaan Sar Plate, which is the main food decoration of the table. It consists of "Ih Idee" (big plate) and "Baga idée" (small plate). "Ul boov" (Mongolian traditional biscuit) are put in layers on the big plate. The number of layers should be odd. Traditionally, grandparents have 7 layers of Ul boov, parents - 5 layers, and young couples - 3 layers. "Uuts", sheep's back and tail, is a must on the table. Bigger and fatter tail is considered more delicious. Airag is the important drink during Tsagaan Sar, however, "Shimiin arkhi" (milk vodka) and regular vodka accompany food as well.

DO NOT during Tsagaan Sar;
• Do not wear a black color deel

• Do not drink too much alcohol

• Do not spend overnight in another ger (not at home)

• Do not leave animals at the pasture overnight (animals should be close to ger)

• Do not greet your husband or wife

• Do not do a haircut

• Do not embroil or fix old clothes

• Do not get anything from another ger

• Do not kiss during greetings (old people may kiss their children and grandchildren)

Mongolian Eagle Festival

An Eagle festival, a popular event among Kazakhns, was held in the Dundad zunn tourist camp at Terelj on Febuary 2nd where Ben Paige and I went. It turns out it was the first time the festival had been held so close to the city. Usually 600 Kazak hunters with eagles take part but only 22 of them traveled to Ulaanbaatar. The small number of hunters where from soums in the Altai Mountain region. It takes about four days of travelling to cover the 1700km. The oldest hunter was around 80 years of age who was a fourth generation hunter and the youngest was 18 years of age who started hunting at the age of 14. The unique hunting festival, common to Kazakh areas in Central Asia, dates back 6000 years. Mostly golden eagles are trained for hunting where their sharp eyesight and strong claws are of great use. The eagles are taken from the nest when they are small if they are to be trained. The female golden eagles are the biggest and stronger then the male eagles.

Once the opening ceremony was over it was an amazing sight to see the hunters on their horses with their eagles on their arms come over the hill. Through out the event the hunters would take the eagles to a handler and ride down the hill with a rabbit decoy trailing behind the horse that was tied with a piece of rope. Once the eagle was let go, it flew to the moving target and the hunter on horseback would collect the pray. To see this hunting in action was very interesting. The hunters worn red in their hats as this was a colour that helped the eagles see the hunters to beable to return to them once the pray had been caught. The funny thing was when reading the ticket for this event it stated that the colours red, yellow and any fox fur shouldnt be worn as it distracts the eagles. I couldnt believe how many Mongolians worn clothing with these colours and fur. I felt it was very disrespectful towards the hunters and proved once again how many Mongolians have no respect for other people. It was very cold so we didnt stay very long as Paige was coming down with a cold and wasnt herself.