2015 finland trip report
- Thread starter Red Fox
- Start date
-
Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.
I did this trip and thought myself prepared, I do cold camps in this country and have had no issues. My thoughts were that it will be the same thing just colder....WOW was i wrong.
From the moment we landed at Kittila airport I knew that this was going to be a challenge like no other i had faced, not because of the harsh cold but more because of the level of mental strength that was required to do EVERYTHING.
We landed at Kittila and proceeded to load the toboggans, I personally took about 54kg (which was the full baggage allowance) including my 6kg of food (to share). What i learned here was that i could have left probably half the kit i took at home. The main bulk of my baggage was taken by clothing, which because i was scared of the cold i took FAR too much of. I took 4 pairs of base layers when i should of had 2, 4 jumpers when 2 would have done etc. etc. at least a third of the clothing that i took didn't even make it out of my luggage (which made packing up to leave a little easier lol). I found that my optimal temp was reached (even in -32C) with a long sleeved poly base layer (i didn't get on with the merino i brought with me as it was a tad short...Aldi's customers are obviously not 6'2" lol) with a short sleeved thermal t-shirt and then a jumper and snow smock. When i was going to do something physical i took of the jumper and put the snow smock back on.
This leads me to an interesting point and my first real mistake of the trip; after the longish walk in 10km from the airport, I noticed that i had been sweating on the trip (big no no by the way) and due to my inexperience thought it would be a good idea to take off my damp snow smock in order to lose some heat. DO NOT DO THIS as my smock froze solid whilst i was erecting my tent and took me the better part of the next day to get it completely dry, the smocks breath and the best way to dry them is to take of a layer underneath then as your sweat freezes on the outside of the smock just dust it off, the smock will dry very quickly.
My second mistake came when i got into bed that night, after little sleep in helsinki and a long walk and the graft of putting up the tent i started thinking negatively, i began to question whether i had what it took to complete the trip. This led to one of the most miserable k=nights of my life and a full blown panic attack. I can honestly say that if i was offered a ticket back to helsinki that night i would have taken it. What i did instead was talk to my team (Riam in particular) who got me through the worst of it and made me a cuppa soup to warm me up. I made a conscious decision to think positively and whilst it was tough, it helped dramatically. Once i was over that first hurdle things got better and better, and when I woke up on the 3rd morning and the Thermometer outside my tent read -32C i was in my element.
I wanted to make sure that i wasn't a burden to my team so spent as much time as poss doing things like processing wood and melting snow, which people seemed to appreciate. This all helped with my mental strength, feeling like an active member of a team gives great self satisfaction and confidence.
By the end of the week i was fully acclimatised to the cold and was absolutely loving my time in the arctic. It all came down to confidence for me in the end, after i had faced that early challenge everything felt easier, I am glad to have done the trip and found it very rewarding on many levels.
My highlights from the trip were overcoming the negative voices in my own head, the Sammi restaurant, and the northern lights (although i didnt see them as clearly as some of the guys). The comraderie of good friends was important but just as important were the hours lain awake with not a sound other than the ringing in your ears and the odd thump of snow falling from the trees, I learned a lot about myself on this trip, and am really glad i chose to push myself to do it.
Now knowing what to expect i reckon my kit will be a whole lot lighter, i can ditch the stove i took with me and chose never to light (decided to cold camp the entire week and after some of the issues that the boys had with wet sleeping kit etc. I'm glad i did) and also leave half the clothing at home, this will either mean i can do lightweight OR take more fun stuff with me on the next trip. I will definitely do this again though my fitness level needs addressing before this as that made things harder than they had to be.
All in all it was a magical trip with great people, the locals were friendly and helpful and the area we went to was stunningly beautiful. Not many pics from me because my camera didnt like the cold. but the ones i have will be put up soon.
Thanks
Dave
From the moment we landed at Kittila airport I knew that this was going to be a challenge like no other i had faced, not because of the harsh cold but more because of the level of mental strength that was required to do EVERYTHING.
We landed at Kittila and proceeded to load the toboggans, I personally took about 54kg (which was the full baggage allowance) including my 6kg of food (to share). What i learned here was that i could have left probably half the kit i took at home. The main bulk of my baggage was taken by clothing, which because i was scared of the cold i took FAR too much of. I took 4 pairs of base layers when i should of had 2, 4 jumpers when 2 would have done etc. etc. at least a third of the clothing that i took didn't even make it out of my luggage (which made packing up to leave a little easier lol). I found that my optimal temp was reached (even in -32C) with a long sleeved poly base layer (i didn't get on with the merino i brought with me as it was a tad short...Aldi's customers are obviously not 6'2" lol) with a short sleeved thermal t-shirt and then a jumper and snow smock. When i was going to do something physical i took of the jumper and put the snow smock back on.
This leads me to an interesting point and my first real mistake of the trip; after the longish walk in 10km from the airport, I noticed that i had been sweating on the trip (big no no by the way) and due to my inexperience thought it would be a good idea to take off my damp snow smock in order to lose some heat. DO NOT DO THIS as my smock froze solid whilst i was erecting my tent and took me the better part of the next day to get it completely dry, the smocks breath and the best way to dry them is to take of a layer underneath then as your sweat freezes on the outside of the smock just dust it off, the smock will dry very quickly.
My second mistake came when i got into bed that night, after little sleep in helsinki and a long walk and the graft of putting up the tent i started thinking negatively, i began to question whether i had what it took to complete the trip. This led to one of the most miserable k=nights of my life and a full blown panic attack. I can honestly say that if i was offered a ticket back to helsinki that night i would have taken it. What i did instead was talk to my team (Riam in particular) who got me through the worst of it and made me a cuppa soup to warm me up. I made a conscious decision to think positively and whilst it was tough, it helped dramatically. Once i was over that first hurdle things got better and better, and when I woke up on the 3rd morning and the Thermometer outside my tent read -32C i was in my element.
I wanted to make sure that i wasn't a burden to my team so spent as much time as poss doing things like processing wood and melting snow, which people seemed to appreciate. This all helped with my mental strength, feeling like an active member of a team gives great self satisfaction and confidence.
By the end of the week i was fully acclimatised to the cold and was absolutely loving my time in the arctic. It all came down to confidence for me in the end, after i had faced that early challenge everything felt easier, I am glad to have done the trip and found it very rewarding on many levels.
My highlights from the trip were overcoming the negative voices in my own head, the Sammi restaurant, and the northern lights (although i didnt see them as clearly as some of the guys). The comraderie of good friends was important but just as important were the hours lain awake with not a sound other than the ringing in your ears and the odd thump of snow falling from the trees, I learned a lot about myself on this trip, and am really glad i chose to push myself to do it.
Now knowing what to expect i reckon my kit will be a whole lot lighter, i can ditch the stove i took with me and chose never to light (decided to cold camp the entire week and after some of the issues that the boys had with wet sleeping kit etc. I'm glad i did) and also leave half the clothing at home, this will either mean i can do lightweight OR take more fun stuff with me on the next trip. I will definitely do this again though my fitness level needs addressing before this as that made things harder than they had to be.
All in all it was a magical trip with great people, the locals were friendly and helpful and the area we went to was stunningly beautiful. Not many pics from me because my camera didnt like the cold. but the ones i have will be put up soon.
Thanks
Dave
There's a first time for everything and it's best to take it in and see what one can learn from it. Sounds like you learned loads! Gear, packing and yourself.
Next time you know all of this and are ready to learn loads more. And hell yeah, who wouldn't appreciate hot water and ready firewood when it's -32
Great Pics Riam and honest writeup Dave. My own head is often my biggest enemy on trips. I even need a couple of days to acclimatise on family holidays. I'm looking forward to picking everyone's heads at the next meet on lessons learnt, things that worked, things that didnt.
Thanks Gary
I definitely learned a lot about myself and my capabilities in Finland, it sounds cliche to say that it changed my life but it actually did. Every problem that seemed so insurmountable before now seem like a trifle, it really has put things into clear focus and perspective. Probably had the worst and best times of my life on this trip.
For anyone thinking of doing this kind of trip i would heartily recommend it, though i would make sure that you go with a group of friends that are capable of easing your burden should you need them to.
Thanks to all the guys on the trip for making it what it was, especially Riam who helped me massively, and Mad Dave whos words of encouragement made hard tasks easier.
Thanks guys
Dave
I definitely learned a lot about myself and my capabilities in Finland, it sounds cliche to say that it changed my life but it actually did. Every problem that seemed so insurmountable before now seem like a trifle, it really has put things into clear focus and perspective. Probably had the worst and best times of my life on this trip.
For anyone thinking of doing this kind of trip i would heartily recommend it, though i would make sure that you go with a group of friends that are capable of easing your burden should you need them to.
Thanks to all the guys on the trip for making it what it was, especially Riam who helped me massively, and Mad Dave whos words of encouragement made hard tasks easier.
Thanks guys
Dave
we are suppsoed to be getting together to have an editing session, there are about 40 different videos that need editing and pasting all together to make the finished vid, will post a link here when we do.
Thanks
Dave
Thanks
Dave
Dave, what can I say. A truly honest write up from the heart. Makes me very,very proud to be your friend and your adopted brother lol. Massive, massive well done to all you guys, I'm extremely jealous and extremly pleased you all had a great time and stayed safe.
great honest right up. looks like a cracking trip. will be reading again. Great pictures. Well done one and all. There is a reason the military use arctic and jungle as advanced training its the friction of the environment impact that really tests the individuals personnel admin and resolve. Well done Dave for rising to the occasion and to the rest of you for helping him get there.
Similar threads
