Who We Are

Raphael

… grew up in the small Swiss mountain village of Vals, where nature shaped everyday life from an early age. Time on alpine farms, hunting trips with his uncle, snowboarding, hiking, climbing or fishing—life mostly happened outdoors.

His jobs as a bricklayer and ski instructor kept him close to the elements. But after his first sled dog tour in winter 2015, he knew he had found something truly special. That same year, he began working as a guide for husky, snowmobile and snowshoe tours—and hasn’t looked back since.

When he’s not on the sled, Raffi is usually behind the camera. Photography is one of his passions, and Lapland offers the perfect mix of light, wildlife and wildness to explore it.

Yvonne

… comes from a peaceful village in Thuringia, Germany. As a child she could always be found outside with her dogs—regardless of the weather. At 14 she decided (quite seriously) that she would one day move to Scandinavia and start a husky kennel.

After studying law in Berlin, she worked in Munich as a lawyer for white collar crime at an international firm. But her dream didn’t let go. Since 2011, she spent every holiday on sled dog tours—until she finally made the leap in 2014 and started working with sled dogs full-time.

Over the years, she has trained both tour and race dogs, guided guests, managed communication and logistics—and now works part-time as a veterinary nurse, adding medical know-how to the daily care of their pack.

Together

… We met in Finland, where our shared love for dogs and the North brought us together. Our journey took us to Norway, where we worked with Barbara and Emil Inauen in Grimsbu, training race dogs and even participating in races ourselves. From there, we continued to Innset and later to Kiruna in Sweden, where we helped Mats Pettersson train his Iditarod team and guided multi-day tours.

In 2020 — after a short break in Germany for the birth of our son Joël — we returned to Swedish Lapland and began building our own kennel from the ground up. Since then, we’ve welcomed many guests, shared many trails, and also found our way back into the world of long-distance racing — where the bond between dog and musher truly comes to life.

Joël

… was born in autumn 2019 and has grown up surrounded by 28 wagging tails. Today, he’s a real part of the team—helping with daily routines, feeding the dogs, and soaking up everything that comes with life in a kennel. He’s already had his first tries at mushing, and currently we’re still debating who will drive the Femundløpet next time—Yvonne or him 😉