dogsled

I fell off a dogsled down a frozen waterfall and landed on sharp ice on a kneecap.

As Karina Bernlow’s dogsledding pups happily played in the swirling snow on a mid-January afternoon, she also feared the prospect of warmer seasons.

The pastor herself travels to celebrate services beyond the church – including once at Green Dog, a dogsledding outfit half a dozen miles from Longyearbyen in a broad valley.

Last summer, a few dogsledding tours had to be canceled so the dogs wouldn’t overheat.

Residents drive snow machines and all-terrain vehicles that have replaced dogsleds for hunting.