Photos by Gavin Liddell.

If you head up the dirt road to Dunckley Pass in South Routt County nearly any day from November-April, you will hear the woods filled with the excited barks and whines that come from 40 sled dogs waiting to mush.

The dogs belong to Sarah and Dan Piano who started Snow Buddy Sled Dog Adventures 13 seasons ago in their small Oak Creek backyard with seven dogs.

It was Sarah who had the idea for Snow Buddy Dog Sled Adventures. “I grew up in a ranching environment with a lot of animals,” she says. “My mom is a terrific horsewoman. She’s a very dedicated steward of her discipline and she’s a role model for me."

After an early start in the outdoor industry – rafting and guiding snowmobiles – when Sarah found dog mushing, it ended up being a sort of homecoming. “I wanted to create a business that was centered on learning how to do something well and in a way that shone a positive light on an industry that can be controversial,” she says.

With that in mind, she knew that she wanted to adopt and use dogs that no one else wanted, and Snow Buddy started as a sled dog refuge, of sorts. Sarah and Dan scaled slowly, at first acquiring dogs from an operation in Glenwood Springs that was closing down.

“The core of our business, and why we wanted to start this whole thing, was to help dogs who are in later stages of their lives – who can’t do those 1,000-mile races anymore but are still very capable of pulling sleds for tours,” Dan says.

The dogs – many of whom have run the famed Iditarod race – live on the Piano’s property in a happy medium between working and retirement. As they age, Sarah and Dan begin looking to adopt the dogs back out, this time as pets. When a dog has been trained to be more like a working pet than an elite athlete, the transition to pet life is easier. This spring, 10 dogs will go up for adoption while others will live out their lives with Sarah and Dan. “We will always honor them throughout their lives and maintain a facility and run a program above reproach in every way,” Sarah says.

“We’re trying to raise the bar in everything we do,” Dan says. "Dog care is paramount for us.” On the property, the dogs live in kennels and no chains are used. “The way we keep them is much harder for us,” Dan continues, “but the life for the dogs is so much better. It’s definitely not the easiest way to do it but that’s how we do it.”

What started with seven dogs in the backyard is now between 40 and 50 dogs. Snow Buddy Sled Dog Adventures currently runs two tours per day from November-April and employs six guides. It was a sunny afternoon in December when Dan and Sarah invited my family and me to come out and try dog sledding.

When we arrived, I was nervous about driving a sled of eight dogs (and letting my children do the same!). But Sarah, Dan and the guides were confident that anyone could do it. Sarah gave all of the participants a safety speech and the guides taught us how to harness the dogs, whose whines and barks became increasingly more desperate as if they were collectively shouting “LET’S GO!”

When we were geared up and on the sleds, two words – ready, hike – sent the dogs running. Immediately, my anxiety melted away as the sled careened gently through the groomed trail in the Little Flat Tops. A stop halfway was a break for the dogs – including copious amounts of marshmallows – and a chance for warm cookies and hot chocolate for the humans. Then it was back to the sleds where we continued on the adventure, traversing around a frozen lake and back down the trail.