Silvia Furtwängler was born and raised in Germany. She began mushing 27 years ago and became interested in running the Iditarod when she crossed the finish line of the Yukon Quest in 2003. In 2008, “I went in the footstep of Roald Amundsen and crossed the Hardangervidda with sled dogs a little bit like Amundsen, he went with ski. After this I was convinced that this is the right place to live. In 2008, I emigrated to Norway.” For the last three years she has owned her own tour guide business. Silvia has two adult children, Maurice and Raffaella and Steven, 15. She lists her hobbies as hiking, cooking and photography.