Musher Biographies

Born in Charlottesville Va. 1952, Dale first came to Alaska and lived on the lower Yukon in early 1970’s.He borrowed a few local dogs to haul wood and supplies,which led to a run in the 77 Iditarod. A year later, He moved the family back to Virginia and spent 14 years as a farm manager (couldn’t stand to be away from animals).

After dreaming about returning to Alaska for years, he finally headed back in an old motor home, teenagers in tow, in 1993. The next nine years were spent operating Dot Lake Lodge on the Alaska highway,and running dogs, mainly for recreation.

He was acccepted to participate in the 02 serum run, and had a great trip with a fantastic group of people.

Kyle, 23, was born in Albany, Oregon. After high school he went to college in San Francisco for a year studying Marketing. After that year he wanted to try something new and exciting.

He started working with dogs in 2006, and raced the Seeley Lake 200 in 2008. This is his third year with Alaska Icefield Expeditions.

Lisa, of Indiana, came to AIE first in 2005 handling for Lucas Cramer and has stayed lasting friends since. Although the days of "dressing up" for dinner are long gone she now dresses to the nines as the new Lead Ground Expeditor of the Mendenhall Dog Camp. She and her fiance, Joe Pawelek (assistant manager in Skagway), met through AIE 3 years ago. Lisa is looking forward to helping everyone have a great season in Juneau!

Jeremy, at the behest of his cousin, Lisa Cummings, left the confines of the steel jungle known as Chicago where he spent most of the last 5 years watching the Cubs lose at Wrigley Field. He is looking forward to a summer filled of fun and adventure in Juneau, AK.

This is Jeremy's first year with AIE, and plans for a return engagement for 2011 have already begun bubbling to the surface.

This is Matt's 2nd year with AIE. He is 18 years old and has lived in the very remote town of Eagle, AK all his life.

Mushing dogs is a big part of his life. He has been on the runners from the age of 4 and before that in a sleeping bag tucked inside a sled.

Matt guides in Juneau, AK in the summer for AIE and in the winter for Bush Alaska Expeditions. The rest of the year is spent hunting, trapping and fishing to sustain a subsistance lifestyle (living off the land).

Click here for Matt's website.

Aaron has been working for AIE for four seasons, and wouldn't rather be anywhere else. He was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington, but frequents Alaska's Southeast and Interior. A music major - turned vet tech, Aaron hopes to finish school in a couple of years to start his own sled dog kennel in Eastern Washington. He loves dogs, loves life, and would love to give you a sled dog ride!

Dustin grew up in South Lake Tahoe, CA where he spent his time skiing and building forts in the woods. After an internet search for interesting jobs and the meaning of life, he found himself in Jackson, Wyoming. Dustin worked 4 years as a dog sled guide and finished 12th in the Pedigree Stage Stop. This is Dustin's third year with AIE and his first on the Mendenhall Glacier. In his off time you can find Dustin in Seattle, WA writing and recording music.

Click here for Dustin's website.

Kym White, Age 25 grew up in Bakersfield,California where she never once saw snow. Growing ever sick of sunny days she moved to Jackson Wyoming at the age of 19 to work as a summer caretaker for 200 sled dogs. She spent 3 winters as a dogsled guide in Wyoming for Jackson Hole Iditarod sled dog tours. This is her third summer with AIE and her first on the Mendenhall glacier. When Kym isn't mushing you can find her in Seattle Wa working as a dog walker, writing blogs, and taking photos along the way.

Caleb grew up in Ontario, moved to the states for college and ended up in Colorado. He started mushing in the winter of 2005-2006, taking out tours in Winter Park Colorado and has mushed every winter since. He stayed in colorado another winter and then decided to head further north to BC where he took out rides at two different resort towns (sun peaks, and whistler) the last two winters.

When Caleb isn't mushing in the summer months he is either working on a dude ranch in colorado or taking teens on wilderness trips. He hasn't decided which is better, working with noisy teens, or noisy dogs.

Caleb is a lucky breed that has dual citizenship to the US and Canada, which makes this continent a great one for him to live on.

Jillian is originally from Eastern Ontario, Canada, but now resides outside Homer, Alaska, with her 24 sled dogs, her partner Rich and her pet hound named Roy. She began dog mushing several years ago after writing about, and photographing, sled dog races for a newspaper in Northern Canada. Bitten by the mushing bug, she quit her newspaper job and moved to Alaska where she worked for perennial Iditarod contender Ken Anderson.

She moved to Northern Finland in 2005 where she guided multi-day trips with guests via dog team in the Finnish wilds. Upon her return to Alaska she acquired a team of her own and began racing. So far, Jillian has completed several 100-mile races, a 200- and a 300-mile race. Her goal is to complete the 1000-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and the 1000-mile Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.

When she’s not running dogs, Jillian still writes on a freelance basis, is working on her first book and enjoys her bush lifestyle without running water or electricity. She also owns and operates a small, winter tour business, guiding clients into the Caribou Hills.

Click here to visit Jillian's website or click here for her blog or you can email her here.

David Mills is 19 years old and liks long walks on the beach and candelight suppers and rocking out with his band. He's from Bend, Oregon and has lived in Eugene for the last two years. All he does is rock and roll!

Adam was born in Minnesota and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. He's fallen in love with the outdoors. When he's not outside climbing or biking, he may be working on a ceramics wheel. When he finishes college, he hopes to ride his bike from Alaska down the coast until he feels like stopping. If he get's to Argentina, that would be cool!

Claire grew up in Milwaukee, WI. She attended the University of Wisconsin Green Bay where she played soccer. She decided to come to Alaska for her last semester of school and loved it so much here that she decided to stay. Claire loves animals and nature so, naturally, she is a great fit for AIE.

Andy was born and raised in Jacksonville Florida. He spends a lot of his time kayaking, skate boarding, wake boarding, and hanging out at the beach with his friends. This is his second summer in Juneau and his first time working for AIE. Last year he was a river rafting guide, this year he is an AIE photographer. Andy loves learning and new experiences. Andy believes in living life to the fullest by making the most of every day.