Between feeding, cleaning up after and running 24 pure-bred Siberian huskies, the Ellis' are 'living the dream'.

Mike Ellis, 37, is among the nearly 30 mushers signed up for the 25th anniversary edition of the 1,600-kilometre Yukon Quest sled-dog race starting on Feb. 9 in Fairbanks and running to Whitehorse.

While Mike and his wife, Sue, normally call New Hampshire home, last October, the couple quit their full-time jobs and mortgaged their house. They packed up a trailer and began a journey northwest with their dogs in tow, so the team could focus on full preparation for Mike's entry into the long-distance race.

Thanks to another rookie Quest musher Jeremie Matrishon and his wife, Moe Boksa, who are long-time friends the Ellis duo was able to move into an extra cabin on Matrishon's and Boksa's property off Annie Lake Road.

'They had the cabin, they invited us to stay for the winter so here we are,' Mike said in an interview at their Tsuga Siberians kennel.

Had they not had a place to stay in the territory, the Ellis' likely would have continued on into Alaska, he said.

With a different climate and snow conditions in New Hampshire, the couple decided spending the winter in the North would be the best way to prepare for the race, which Ellis simply hopes to complete.

'We're not in it to win it,' he said.

The dry, cold climate has been great for the couple's huskies, allowing training to be pushed more quickly than it would in New Hampshire, due to better trail conditions.

'Back home, we'd be dealing with mud and ice, and here, it's just kind of dry snow and we're able to go farther, faster than we are at home,' Mike said, though he acknowledged much of the season has been spent training by ATV due to a lack of snow.

He's also noticed his dogs handling the cold weather better with their heavy coats than they handle the warmer weather in the South.

The Ellis' noted they both like the nature of the Siberian breed and believe they and Wisconsin musher Donald Smidt (who is also entered as a rookie in next month's Quest) are among the few, if any, in the history of the Quest to compete with pure-bred Siberian huskies.

Training in areas like the Canol Road has also meant encountering numerous other dog teams compared to home, where they might encounter more snowmachines.

The dogs are also learning to handle overflow on trails, something that would be rare on the trails down south.

Spending the winter preparing for the Quest which has included building 24 dog houses over two weeks when they first got to town and then running the race are expected to cost the couple upwards of $60,000.

To top off the financial hardship, this marks the first year since 1976 that the Canadian dollar was higher than the American dollar.

'I go to the store, I spend money, I look at my bank statement and it's not the same,' Sue said.

'Finally,' Mike noted, the Canadian dollar has retreated to hover below the American dollar, but prices in the territory are still high, the couple noted.

Still, they are happy to be realizing the dream of competing in the Quest.

'It's the adventure of a lifetime,' Mike said, as both he and Sue commented they likely won't have the opportunity to do it again.

It was through his work as a handler for former Quest musher George Cook that Mike began mushing.

He handled for a couple of mushers, hearing a lot about the Quest, then taking up the sport himself.

Mushing is among a long list of adventurous sports Mike has done, such as skiing, rock climbing and mountaineering, which he gave up for mushing, 'to try something new'.

It was his years in farming that gave him a love of both animals and the outdoors which translated into mushing for him.

The sport has taken him to numerous races down south for the past 14 years, including the CAN-Am Crown 250 from 2004 until 2007 as well as the Taiga 300 last winter.

As for what the couple plans for after the Quest: 'We honestly have no idea.'

For years, the focus has been on getting to the Quest, they both said.

'This has been our long-term goal,' Mike commented.

Occasionally, the couple talks about what their post-Quest life will hold when they go back to New Hampshire and start looking for work again.

While Mike may be able to get back his job as a land surveyor, Sue is unsure exactly what the future will hold. She gave up her job running a special education school to spend the winter in the North helping Mike and the dogs prepare for the race.

For now, though, the team will continue its work to get ready to get out of the starting chute and on the trail from Fairbanks on Feb. 9.