Iditarod Musher Profile

Sebastian Schnuelle, 40, was born in Wuppertal, Germany. After studying Environmental Engineering in Germany he moved to Canada in 1996 "in search of adventure." Sebastian started out in Ontario but then moved to the Yukon in 1997. First working as a motor home rental agent,  he then opened his tour business, Blue Kennels, which he now runs full time year round. In the summer he offers helicopter supported dog sled tours out of Juneau, Alaska in cooperation with Coastal Helicopters and in the winter he offers overnight trips in the Yukon and Alaska´s Denali Highway area. 

Sebastian has run many mid-distance races and in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009, he ran both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod. Sebastian is the recipient of the Veterinarians Choice award as well as the Sportsmanship award in the 2007 Yukon Quest and he was the 2009 Yukon Quest Champion. He was the second place finisher in the 2009 Iditarod and received the Alaska Airlines Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian award in the 2010 Iditarod.

For the 2011 Iditarod, Sebastian has partnered up with 12 time Iditarod finisher Aaron Burmeister from Flat Dog Kennels in Nenana to field a team comprised of the best dogs from both kennels. Sebastian is a member of Mush with P.R.I.D.E. and says that his hobby is sailing.