Sled dog snow day

For Richie Camden and his team of rescued huskies, Missouri's record low temperatures in mid-February brought a unique opportunity. While the rest of St. Louis stayed away from the cold, Camden and his team, The Breakaway Siberians, his the trail. The nine-dog sled racing team rarely gets snow deep enough to train with a sled. They typically use a cart with wheels to train on dry land, but nothing can replace the feeling of breaking a trail through fresh powder. "These past two weeks have been amazing for us," said Camden. "The dogs love the snow and they love this cold weather, and I've honestly spent more time outside this winter than I did all last summer."

Richie Camden gets his nine-dog sled team into their harnesses before a training run on the Katy Trail near Defiance, Missouri on Feb. 16, 2021. The past few weeks of snow have been a special treat for the team which runs "dry-land" training when the ground isn't covered.

Richie Camden's sled dog team break trail through the snow on the Katy Trail. Breaking through fresh powder is an extra workout for the dogs, and good practice for snowy races.

Richie Camden's dogs Marleau, top, and Kaiya poke their heads out, ready to be harnessed and get out to the fresh snow

Richie Camden lays out the line to attach his dog's harnesses, preparing to get his nine-dog team ready to go on a training run on untouched snow of the Katy Trail

Sled dogs Juneau, left, and Teemu hop out of Richie Camden's van, in their harnesses and ready to be attached to the line.

Booties used to protect the dogs paws from the snow lay on the ground, waiting to be put on. Some dogs need certain sizes of booties, while others don't need them at all.

Richie Camden gets a booty on the paw of one of his sled dog team. The booties protect their paws from the cold snow, and come in multiple sizes, denoted by color.

Richie Camden gets his nine-dog sled team into their harnesses before a training run on the Katy Trail.

Sled dogs Teemu, left, and Juneau burrow their heads into the snow as Richie Camden works to get their harnesses onto the line.

Richie Camden's sled dogs Juneau, left, and Teemu bark in excitement as the team is assembled behind them.

Sled dogs Juneau, front left, and Teemu, front right, break the trail through the snow for the rest of Richie Camden's during a training run on the Katy Trail.

Richie Camden watches his team break trail on the fresh snow of Katy Trail near Defiance on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. While the snow causes problems for most, it provides a special opportunity for Camden to get his team behind a sled rather than a wheeled cart for training.

Snow flakes stick to the face of Richie Camden's sled dog Jeneau as she waits for the rest of the team to get ready to go.