Skiing Expedition ‘Arctic Odyssey’ - Lapland, March 2003

HMS VIVID

 

In March 2003 a team of 7 Naval Reservists from HMS VIVID, together with a Territorial Army Corporal from 37 Signal Regiment, set out on an ambitious expedition to the remote Arctic mountains of Swedish Lapland. After a marathon 36 hour journey from the UK, which involved travelling by air, train, bus and finally snow scooter, the team reached their base camp in Saltoluokta, a small Sami settlement 150 km north of the Arctic Circle.

The next three days were spent learning how to live and move in the Arctic, with individuals having to master many new skills such as cross country skiing, digging emergency snow shelters, and assessing mountain slopes for avalanche risk. The team then set out on a 3 day, 50 km ski tour into the Sarek, Europe's most northerly and remote mountain range. During this phase of the expedition the group had to be entirely self-sufficient, carrying all equipment and food in rucksacks and pulks and sleeping in remote mountain huts. The expedition concluded with the team experiencing one of the Arctic's oldest and most traditional modes of transport, husky dog sledding.

With the exception of the expedition leaders, it was everyone else's first experience of the Arctic. All were agreed that it had been a uniquely challenging venture, testing both mental and physical endurance, whilst at the same time giving the immense satisfaction of having successfully survived in one of the world's most demanding but stunningly beautiful environments.