PRAZ DE LYS-SOMMAND, France (Reuters) — High in the French Alps, musher Remy Coste has taken the early lead of La Grande Odyssee (The Great Odyssey) dog sled race.
The race is an 11-day trek over a 670 kilometre (415 mile) course which organisers say feels more like 1,000 km for the dogs and their handlers because of its 20,000 meter elevation.
Set among snow-capped mountains between Savoie and Haute-Savoie in France, 500 dogs will race across the Alps in a series of challenges for the race.
Frenchman Coste was the early leader of the event, which was first held in 2005 and features many stages raced in darkness and outside of ski areas.
This year’s run ends on January 18 at Bonneval sur Arc.
