Crew Bios

  • Dan Turner, Owner

  • Dog Sled Camp | Dan TurnerIn 1994 Dan accompanied a Japanese extreme skiing team to the Juneau Icefield. Sixteen sled dogs from his Yukon Quest team went along to provide the skiers support in hauling supplies. This was the first time sled dogs ventured to the Juneau Icefield.
  • This was a new venture in 1995. We began the lengthy process of securing a USFS permit to operate on the Juneau Icefield which is in the Tongass National Forest; securing a helicopter company to work with and promoting the product. Finally, in 1999 our first camp went up on the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska. The dream of sharing this incredibly beautiful area with visitors to Alaska and providing a summer home for sled dogs became a reality. Today, Alaska Icefield Expeditions, Inc. has a glacier camp on the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau and the Denver Glacier in Skagway. To meet the visitors desire for more sled dogs we expanded to Gold Rush Dog Tours, LLC which provides an educational cart tour in Juneau and a sled dog demonstration at the Klondike Gold Fields in Skagway.
  • The company has received numerous awards for providing an excellent visitor experience.
  • Dan and Christine Turner are pleased to be part of this once in a life time experience for so many visitors to Alaska.

  • Christine Turner, Owner/Secretary

  • Dog Sled Camp | Christine TurnerChris Turner, 50, lives and works out of the AIE home base in Haines Alaska. Chris moved to Alaska in 1967 and has spent the majority of her life in SE Alaska.
  • In 1988 a small team of Siberian Husky sled dogs made their home with us. My husband, Dan and our two children Matt and Sarah have been involved with sled dogs ever since.
  • The team of 4 quickly grew to 8 and then to 30. We spent many miles on the back of a sled on recreational excursions and training for racing. In 1994 we started Chilkoot Sled Dog Adventures providing sled dog demonstrations to visitors to SE Alaska and winter tours. That business grew into Alaska Icefield Expeditions, Inc.
  • Since 1998 I have been involved in the development of Alaska Icefield Expeditions, Inc. (AIE) and its daily operations. As the company grew we expanded operations to include a glacier dog sledding camp in Juneau on the Mendenhall Glacier, in Skagway on the Denver Glacier and our most recent camp is the Summer Camp in the Sheep Creek Valley in Juneau.

  • Matt Hayashida, General Manager

  • Dog Sled Camp | Matt HayashidaMatt Hayashida was born in Massachusetts but moved west to pursue his passion for the outdoors. He worked in Wyoming for three years as a river/fishing guide during the summer and a dog sled tour guide in the winter. In 1993, he began mushing for personal ambitions and set his sights on the Iditarod the first time he stepped on the runners.
  • Matt moved to Alaska in 1993 to work with Martin Buser and has been running dogs almost year-round ever since. He makes his living as a sled tour guide on Alaskan glaciers in the summer and trains when the tourist season drops off.

    • Check out Matt’s site here

  • Joel Kersting, Musher

  • Dog Sled Camp | Joel KerstingJoel Kersting started running dogs in 1992 and has been hooked ever since. After racing mid-distance races in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan for about ten years, Joel committed himself to sharing the joys of sled dogs with others and founded Suomi Hills Kennels.
  • Joel now gives sled dog rides in Minnesota from December through March and in Alaska from May through August. In the winter Joel also works part-time as an EMT for Meds 1 EMS in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. In his spare time he loves flying a Champ.
  • Click here for Joel’s website.

  • Molly McCarty, Musher

  • Dog Sled Camp | Molly McCartyMolly McCarty, born in Portland, Oregon, began running sled dogs almost 20 years ago. She started mushing with Australian Shepherds and gradually added Siberian huskies from the local animal shelter. She entered a local sled race in 1998 and although came in last, still found it to be fun. It was there that she was introduced to the Alaskan Husky by other racers and started filling her team with them. Her first season racing Alaskan Huskies she was awarded the Pacific Northwest Championship for 6 dog mid distance class.
  • She relocated to Willow, Alaska in 2004 and spends her winters raising and training pups and adults for racing. Most of her dogs are other mushers cast-offs and dogs rescued from the animal shelter. Since 2005, she has spent her summers giving tours by dogsled on the Denver Glacier outside of Skagway, Alaska. She currently has 25 Alaskan Huskies, 5 Siberian Huskies and one Border Collie in her kennel.

  • Tonya Schlentner, Musher

  • Dog Sled Camp | Tonya Schlentner When Tonya was growing up sled dogs were often her family’s only form of transportation. When she was 9 years old she had her own 3 dog team to use to dog mush to the 2 room school that was 2 miles away in the village of Manley Hot Springs. Later, they moved further into the wilderness where she and her sister were “Home schooled” by their Mom. Her Step-dad gave her a 5 mile long Trapline near their home. If it snowed a lot sometimes she would snowshoe in front of the dogs in order to make a packed down trail for the dogs to travel on.
  • When Tonya was 11 years old she watched the start of the inaugural 1,000 mile long Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race that went from Fairbanks, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon Territories in Canada. So, as soon as she turned 18 she participated in the 1991 Yukon Quest. She finished 23rd out of 24 finishers. Twelve mushers “scratched” (did not finish the race) during that years race. She is proud that she trained her own team and that 6 of her 12 dogs she had raised from puppies.
  • Although she has finished some other races Tonya prefers to spend her time teaching people of all ages how to become dogmushers. She likes to take go on “Spring Trips” in March. Usually the trips are about 150 miles long and consist of spending several nights along the trail. She usually sleeps in her sled in her warm Slumberjack sleeping bag. If she brings friends along then she usually brings a tent that can be heated with a wood stove. Traveling through the Alaskan Wilderness by dogteam is her favorite past-time. Currently she divides her time between the wilderness village of Lake Minchumina and the city of Fairbanks, both in Interior Alaska.
  • Click here for Tonya’s website.
Gold Rush Dog Tours, Dog Demo