Alaska holds an annual contest in which teams of 16 dogs pull sledges a distance of about 1,800 kilometres through tundra and forests, crossing rivers, hills and mountain passes. The sledge driver is often called a "musher"; the word comes from the French command "Marche!" In most years the winning musher is from Alaska, but a Swiss citizen has won the event four times, and a Norwegian has won twice.
Source: tatoeba (3567709)