A small husky kennel
in Tunturi-Lapland

We both completed our wilderness and nature guide training in Muonio in 2012–2013. Already then we got to try driving a sled-dog team during our internship, and we have worked with sled dogs ever since.

For Esa, sled dogs have been a dream since childhood. He took his first “sled rides” before he was ten with his parents’ two Samoyeds – a very different experience from a real sled, of course. Esa’s uncle bred Siberian huskies for years, but Esa was only allowed to watch his older siblings drive them. That clearly stuck with him, and the spark for sled dogs stayed alive for years.

Alma’s first contact with sled dogs came at 15, doing summer work cleaning a kennel yard. Over time, that small spark grew into a real passion.

We started our career working first the winter seasons and later year-round at a large kennel where we were responsible for a pack of about 50 dogs. From the start we have dreamed of our own small kennel, where the dogs would be part of our family and we would spend as much time as possible with them. Our family also includes two two-legged sons, who join in eagerly with the dog care and the sled rides.

All of our dogs are pure-bred, work-line Siberian huskies. We have raised every one of them from a puppy so we can be sure they fit our pack and our way of life. We breed under the kennel name Utkuvaaran. Esa’s first husky, Essi, joined us in 2014, and Alma got her own Riepu in 2016.

Today around 30 Siberian huskies live in our yard. We aim to keep the number close to 30 so we can give every dog the best possible care. The dogs live in spacious enclosures with warm houses, and the whole area is surrounded by a large fenced free-running yard where they run loose every day.

We race our dogs, and in the future we want to focus more on long-distance racing. Still, what matters most to us is the trips we take together as a family with the dogs – and we’re happy to take you along to experience those moments.

The wellbeing of our dogs is absolutely vital to us. We aim to breed healthy, arctic work-line Siberian huskies who can live happy lives doing what their ancestors have done for thousands of years.

We completed our own home in the spring of 2020, and since then we have built up the facilities for our four-legged family members and developed our operations continuously. We founded our shared company in the summer of 2024 and now work with the sled dogs full time. We also build dog houses for sale, and so far sleds for our own use.

Esa is also qualified as a trained masseur and natural-product processor. We try to make as much of our gear ourselves as possible – handicraft and a natural way of living have always mattered to us.