An Alaska dog sled tour operator to avoid
Going on a dog sled tour is a dream trip for many people around the world, and the Yukon and Alaska are 2 of the places most dreamed out. They are also 2 of the most expensive places to go mushing, and I feel very sorry for people who get ripped off when they arrive for their dream trip.
A few days ago, Lyn from Australia posted a very negative review of Austin’s Alaska Adventures on TripAdvisor. The review was immediately deleted by TripAdvisor staff (as I was reading it), so I followed up with Lyn, and asked for photos to back up the claims. I’ve now posted the comments and photos below. The review has been re-posted in 2 places at TripAdvisor, and another traveler from the UK has already posted a similar review in response. While I still have a link to Jerry Austin’s operation from ExploreNorth’s Sled Dog Tours page [now gone], there is also a link to this commentary.
Keep in mind as you read this that airfare from Anchorage to St. Michael where this tour began runs about $1,100 and the 7-day tour is $2,500.
Going on a dog sled tour is a dream trip for many people around the world, and the Yukon and Alaska are 2 of the places most dreamed out. They are also 2 of the most expensive places to go mushing, and I feel very sorry for people who get ripped off when they arrive for their dream trip.
A few days ago, Lyn from Australia posted a very negative review of Austin’s Alaska Adventures on TripAdvisor. The review was immediately deleted by TripAdvisor staff (as I was reading it), so I followed up with Lyn, and asked for photos to back up the claims. I’ve now posted the comments and photos below. The review has been re-posted in 2 places at TripAdvisor, and another traveler from the UK has already posted a similar review in response. While I still have a link to Jerry Austin’s operation from ExploreNorth’s Sled Dog Tours page [now gone], there is also a link to this commentary.
Keep in mind as you read this that airfare from Anchorage to St. Michael where this tour began runs about $1,100 and the 7-day tour is $2,500.
I don’t like to be negative but I must tell it like it was to save someone else from this experience. As you will see from my pages at TripAdvisor [now gone] I’ve had a lot of adventures, and this was the worst.
Dog mushing was at the top of my bucket list, and it’s expensive and a long way to go from Australia to Alaska. I had to overnight in Anchorage and again overnight in Nome. Due to bad weather we had yet another night in Nome on the way to St Michael.
I have to say Austin’s web site makes it all look good. HA! Jerry Austin met us at the plane stinking of alcohol, and we thought this was his Dad – his web site says he is 51 years old but the photo is clearly out of date. I calculated from what I can find on the web that he is 10 years older. As you can see he has a knee brace and walks with a stick. He also has the shakes. Not what we expected. [Photo: Jerry Austin]
We were taken to the daughter’s house, she is in Anchorage, and it was dirty and dilapidated with bare electrical wires. There was rubbish in the kitchen from the previous mushers 2 weeks before. We were told the toilet doesn’t work and to go to Jerry’s house! They did fix it. Also told the shower doesn’t work so one of the girls went to their house for a shower and was told off for coming close to meal time. [Photo: this wire was above the couch we sat on, another was over a ‘bed’]
There were 6 of us and only 5 beds. I slept on a mattress on the floor behind the couch and one of the guys slept on the couch. The 2 ‘bedrooms’ where the others slept had no doors. No privacy. [Photos: my mattress on the floor behind the couch the other guy slept on; the bathroom vanity]
After ‘dinner’ that night Jerry lay on the couch watching TV and Clara told us to shush. Clara is rude, surly and ill tempered and she and Jerry argued. Breakfast the next morning was at 10 am, and Clara was rude to me when I went over to their cabin before that to ask for a hot drink! We were made to feel like a damn nuisance.
They had hired help who took us to the stinking garage and was hard put to find gear without broken zips and holes. [Photos: the stinking garage; the garage where we got Mushing 101 from Terence. He was the one taking us, not Austin.]
Despite the claims on the web site Jerry had nothing to do with our mushing, he followed on a snowmobile. [Photo: sleds]
After mushing up to their ‘lodge’ at Klikitarik, a home made shack, we were given a dinner of roast meat just cooked around the edges and mostly raw and raw carrots and celery! The tent we slept in had only 5 camp beds so one guy slept with the hired help, who is rude and ill mannered, in a tent with no heating. When I asked Clara about the King Crab boasted about on their web site she acted surprised and told me we don’t get that. In response to my reference to the promises made on the web site she stated she has never seen it. [Photos: the tent we slept in at Klikitarik; my bed, complete with rubbish from previous trip, and disgusting pillow; would you put your head on that pillow hanging there?]
We were concerned at the conditions the dogs are kept in. They have kennels they can’t get into and food is put onto the snow where they poop and pee! [Photos: dog yard #1; dog yard #2; dog yard #3]
Due to bad weather we had to spend an extra night and 2 days at that place. The second day one of the guys went to their house at 2.30pm to ask about lunch for us, and was sent back with 2 boxes of Pringles and a bag of Doritos. I kid you not.
We finally left for Nome at 5.45pm and of course all had flights onwards. Since being home I have been directed to comments posted on TripAdvisor about this trip. I can’t believe I didn’t see it before as I spent hours on the Net. I hope to save others from this experience. Don’t go with Austin’s it’s expensive and a rip off.
lyntraveler – Perth, Western Australia
For those of you who have never seen a sled dog kennel in the winter so have no basis for comparison, Lyn just sent a couple of photos of Vern Halter’s kennel (Dream a Dream Kennels) that she also visited:
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