If you can do it on snow, you can do it in Yukon

The one thing Yukon can absolutely guarantee, year after year, is snow. Snow that covers the boreal forest, snow that coats the peaks in white, snow that melts beneath the ski, or flies from the snowmobile track, or flutters from the paws of a dog team. Snow: they’ve got it. And we’re not talking about that on-again, off-again stuff that is ice one day and water the next. No, we’re talking snow, the real stuff with the infinite variety of flakes.

From November to April, snow turns Yukon into a winter playground. It has the snow, the landscape, the facilities, the gear and the licensed wilderness adventure operators.

There is nothing quite like experiencing a Yukon winter. For some, it’s breathing in the white-clad beauty. Others hear the absolute silence. Some demand the physical challenges. Others exalt in the Northern Lights. But everyone wants the unforgettable memories.

You can experience all this mushing a team of dogs through the Yukon wilderness. Adventure operators offer a variety of dog mushing tours, for the novices, for the adventuresome, for the experienced. Day trips are available from the edge of Whitehorse but so are multi-day over-land tours that take visitors to places that will expand their sense of wonder.

Visitors can time their visit to coincide with an epic winter sports event which takes place every February - the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race. In 2009, the start is in Whitehorse - February 14th.

And they even put on a lightshow

A Yukon aurora viewing package is one thing that should be on everyone’s “top 10” list. You can see a thousand pictures of the Aurora Borealis and still not be prepared for your first sight of the real thing – or your second, or your hundredth; the show is never the same twice. It may span from horizon to horizon in a great white arc, or a band of twisting colours, or it may burst out like colossal fireworks all over the sky. Aurora is visible in Yukon skies from late August to early April.

Consider a Yukon Aurora Package as an add-on to a western Canada ski package 3 nights maximizes the opportunities to view the aurora. Yukon operators feature comfortable viewing locations including wilderness yurt camps, lodges, cabin-based retreats, unique structures built in the tradition of historic wall tents complete with wood fired barrel stove, and the Takhini Hot Springs.

Whitehorse is the gateway to Yukon adventure

Just 2.5 hours from Vancouver, BC by regularly scheduled jet service offered by Air Canada and Air North. There’s also scheduled service from Edmonton or Calgary, Alberta to Whitehorse via Air North.

What’s the winter weather like?

Yukon can get it all, from above 0º (rare) to very cold spells of -40ºc. But mid-February to early April is usually predictably good for outdoor winter activities.

For more Yukon information, log on to Travelyukon.com.

To book a package?

Windowsonthewild.com
Skisafari.com
Frontier-travel.co.uk