Create lasting impressions

• January 18, 2011

By Alexandra Reid

Last Saturday, I experienced one of the greatest excursions of my life: dog sledding down hills, through forests and over a frozen lake for an entire afternoon. It was a very cold day with heavy snowfall, so my boyfriend and I bundled up accordingly in balaclavas, long johns, layered shirts, snow pants, heavy jackets, double socks, high boots, thick mitts and scarves. All prepared and tucky-warm, we ventured out into the rolling, snow-covered hills of Quebec’s backcountry.

It was here that we experienced our first roadblock. Our car is rear-wheel drive and struggled to get up the hills. We spun out, slid side-to-side and nearly ended up in a ditch before we made it to the final and steepest hill before our destination. We looked up the hill and admitted our defeat. I called the folks at Nordik Adventures to tell them we couldn’t make it.

“That’s not a problem at all,” said France Robertson, co-owner of the business along with her husband, Eric. “I’ll come and pick you up in my truck. Be there in five.”

Sure enough, France came roaring down the hill in a robust, four-wheel drive pick-up truck. We drove up to the property to meet the other two couples who would be joining us on our trip. A full party consisted of just six people plus two guides, which made it a very warm and personal experience. Standing in the snow, we introduced ourselves and chatted casually until we leisurely made our way over to the dogs.

We heard the deep voices of the 72 full-grown Huskies, plus the yips of a litter of pups, barking wildly as we approached their forest home. I pictured in my mind a regimented and rugged pack of wolf-like creatures that were well accustomed to living outdoors. What I saw wasn’t completely discordant, but upon approach, the temperament of these creatures was a little surprising. As I passed each well-fed and positively over-joyed doggie, they leapt up onto my shoulders as if to give me a hug.

They simply couldn’t receive or give enough love in return. The owners let us play with them for about a half an hour while they set up our sleds. As it became apparent to the dogs that they were about to go for a run, they were utterly beside themselves with excitement, some leaping feet into the air and barking hysterically.

“This is not really a trip for your grandma,” said Eric as he gave us our first lesson in dog sledding. “We’re going to go very fast down some very steep hills within the first 10 minutes of our trip so you can quickly get the hang of it. Lots of people wipe out, and you’ll get a big bruise if you do. But, hey, that’s the fun of it, right?”

He wasn’t exaggerating. We went down, and we went fast, through narrow trails that wove between thick tree trunks. Three of us bailed hard around the first corner. With dogs jumping over dogs, it seemed like chaos. But it wasn’t. The well-trained and obedient dogs stopped on command and waited patiently until everything was sorted out and we could be on our way.

We eventually got the hang of it and the rest of the trip was positively magical. At slower parts, I could even chat back and forth with my dog-sledding neighbours. We asked France questions regarding the business, how she came to do this, what they feed the dogs to keep them energetic and how many times she’s run the trails, all of which she responded to cheerily and positively.

When we returned to our starting point, we helped France and Eric unleash the dogs and bring them each to their doghouses. We were encouraged to pet them all once more and thank them for their job well done.

“Just wait until we leave,” said France. “They’ll all thank you back and say goodbye.”

Sure enough, as we walked over the little hill towards our car, the dog pack began to howl.

The moral of the story for businesses? Create personal experiences that resonate with people. inmedia‘s Leo Valiquette had a similarly positive experience at Cedar Hill Berry Farm this winter that encouraged him to share his story with many others. France and Eric run such a successful business, they could have hired other guides to take over for them. They could have organized it with two people per sleigh to increase their profits. They could have chosen tamer and shorter trails. They could have rushed us through. But they didn’t. They were lively, lovely, conversational and informative. They are people who truly care about their business and by demonstrating it through their actions, they got me to tell their story for the rest of my life.