Is anyone planning an arctic trip for January 2016?

[Wayland]

Yeh, I saw your other post Wayland, I wouldnt think of trying to intrude on that. Dont worry I wont be popping up outside your cabin window shouting 'let me in Gary' <Snip

You would be very welcome. We would never turn someone away in those conditions.

The reason we booked a cabin last time was to have a safe retreat for anyone if needed but it turns out that if you want to visit the market, there's not much time left over for the camp admin that makes life comfortable.

 

[bopdude]

Sleeping system is easy: two three-sided bags one inside the other. Add a poplin bivy and you are done.

Sleep system is sorted via a Canadian forces cold weather system.

 

[ged]

Come and visit me in January...

I think these guys are talking about the magic of being north of 66.67 degrees latitude - heck, I'm further north than you are and I'm in Derbyshire!

Admittedly you have the edge on altitudes there, by about 2,000 metres.

But it's still a very kind and tempting offer! How big is this back yard?

 

[Dave]

Ive had a couple of members with arctic experience contact me, and show an interest, anyone else?

Any of the /Swedish/Norwegian members willing to meet up?

[You know were all big fans of your Scandinavian wilderness.]

 

[sunndog]

maybe a long weekend in tromso for me and the mrs this winter but thats about it


Speaking of boggens. I'v only ever used a small pulk. So i'm gonna make me a boggen just to try out of a 1000ltr IBC i cut up
Looks like i'll have a three foot load bed at about 2 1/2 foot wide. Should be interesting

 

[honisoitquimalypense]

m8. im looking at a short trip to abisko before end yr. maybe very early dec or late nov. short notice. depends on ryan air flts. 15 quid each way to stockholm at mo with train N about 85 quid return. so cheap as chips. 3/4/5 max days in wilderness. northern lights. camp. prob tarps mix with natural shelter. depends weather. if plenty snow. quinze or hole. ????? small hikes. cook. enjoy cold fresh air. only got one m8 who i do a bit with who is considering. if u or any other wanna join in most welcome if reasonable outdoor winter low temp exp and warm kit. PM me

 

[Dave]

Im not ruling anything out, but January is by far my preference.

Average temp in Kiruna in november is about -7&#730;C

It'll be colder than that in scotland!

Ideally I want 7-14 days outdoors, in a bivi under a conifer tree, in the boreal forest, in January, at -30&#730;C. [Finland, Sweden Norrbotten, Norway] inside the circle.

[Last year, it even forecast rain in Jokkmokk in February!]

I'll be taking a golite SL5, with a titanium stove, and a swedish clothes hanger, which just hangs inside the tent, from the main pole, four wooden poles, around the main pole, and the stove to dry underwear and anything else.
Also works as an emergency bug out shelter if it gets too cold.
My kit will be on a toboggan, in the Connover style of travel. [If I ever get a toboggan, or can get some others to join my group buy]

 

[Imagedude]

I may be doing a trip in March. Planning to fly into Kittila then walking/skiing about 100 miles north to Hetta where I'll do 8 days dog sledding then I'll walk back south to the airport.

 

[Dave]

Thats sounds challenging.

 

[honisoitquimalypense]

haha. average temp in scotland nov isnt -7. wish it was mind.lol. last yr last week nov to first week dec went from 7 below to 14 below early dec. as said its a quick dash idea. 3hrs max hike in from roadhead and then chill. trying to do something cheap. well not thousand quid.

your trip sounds good idea. 2 weeks food to carry haul. hard work. never really got with a pulk. ok for skiing but im not sure about them. totally flat terrain defo but anything else hard work for me these days. been there done that. stick to 20kg max on the back and slowly slowly. also when i have hauled no matter i always overload. my fault i know.
as for golite 5. what like in high winds. ok????? thinking about the LiteOutdoors titanium woodburner. looks nice piece of kit and would seriously warm up bivi. tarp. tent and may well reduce weight elsewhere. thoughts. anyone got one??
as for 30 below. interesting as most weather stations arctic norway /sweden rarely record that low. spent 3 months arctic years back with one night feb 34 below. sounds a gr8 idea u have. can u fish. well ice fish???

 

[Martti]

Ideally I want 7-14 days outdoors, in a bivi under a conifer tree, in the boreal forest, in January, at -30&#730;C. [Finland, Sweden Norrbotten, Norway] inside the circle.

Here are the top five Finnish weather stations with the lowest average temperature in January between 1981-2010. Do notice that the coldest station is actually south of the Arctic circle! Kuusamo also has more snow in average in January than the other stations (46 cm on the 15th of January).

1. Kiutaköngäs in Kuusamo. -14.5°C.
2. Alamuonio in Muonio. -14.2°C.
3. Pokka in Kittilä and Kevo in Utsjoki. -14.0°C.
4. Lokka in Sodankylä. -13.7°C.
5. Savukoski and Sodankylä. -13.5°C.

 

[Dave]

So are you saying that there is no possibility of seeing -30&#730;C in Finland in January? Or Norway, or Sweden for that matter?

Do those temperatures take windchill into account out of interest?

 

[honisoitquimalypense]

not that often. quite rare. thats the point. many people include wind chills not saying u are. lowest recorded ever was around 43 below nr kiruna. very cold area. late 90s. recent yrs nothing anywhere near that generally. thats my point. global warming maybe. too many false temp reading.
someone was on u tube talking about nearly 50 below last yr
nr troms. absolute bollox. said so as well.
so im saying more likely to be 20 to 25 below. cold very cold.

 

[honisoitquimalypense]

Here are the top five Finnish weather stations with the lowest average temperature in January between 1981-2010. Do notice that the coldest station is actually south of the Arctic circle! Kuusamo also has more snow in average in January than the other stations (46 cm on the 15th of January).

1. Kiutaköngäs in Kuusamo. -14.5°C.
2. Alamuonio in Muonio. -14.2°C.
3. Pokka in Kittilä and Kevo in Utsjoki. -14.0°C.
4. Lokka in Sodankylä. -13.7°C.
5. Savukoski and Sodankylä. -13.5°C.

thank you. interesting. is finland colder generally that sweden/norway in arctic martti. went finland 91. exercises nr lapeenranta hope thats right. aug. bitten alive!!! beautiful country.

 

[Martti]

So are you saying that there is no possibility of seeing -30&#730;C in Finland in January? Or Norway, or Sweden for that matter?

The lowest temperature ever measured in Kiutaköngäs in Kuusamo is -48.0&#730;C (in 1985). However, out of the 7-14 days, most likely that half of these are in range of 15-20 degrees below and only a couple are in the region of 25-30 degrees below.

Temperature diagram from one of the coldest winters ever, i.e. January 1999, in Sodankylä station. Notice how the temperature was hovering around zero between 16 and 22 January and then plunged down to -40 degrees in a day. After a few days of extreme cold, the temperature back to -10 degrees. From fmi.fi:

 

[honisoitquimalypense]

not at all. just saying what averages are. no thats not including wind chill. so for example 22-23c below with a 30 mph wind takes you way down to -35. frostbite under 10mins potential. ouch. arctic winters are warming up. this summer kiruna in july hit 30c. wow. how cold you wanna get Dave?
seriously horrible lows if your after n. america. embarrass. minnesota considers 30 below in feb balmy. lol.

 

[honisoitquimalypense]

lots record lows set 1999 n. europe.

 

[Dave]

how cold you wanna get Dave?

I'd like to see dry cold, so -15 to -30 would be fine.

I just cannot see it being cold enough ion November thats all.

Shame they dont do cheap flights to the USA

I had a look at direct flights to Kiruna from Gatwick a while back, and it was around £240 in Jan.

I dont feel as though Ive got any further since I began the thread yet, but hey, keep throwing the ideas out guys......Something might click.

 

[honisoitquimalypense]

nov wont be anywhere near that!!!! could hover around 0. didnt know a direct flight from shatwick to kiruna. RESULT!!! airline? being lazy wont look it up. yeah but if you did consider states the only high cost is flight out. cheap to stock up. live. anyways. cheers.

 

[Dave]

I have just had a quick look, and you can get a return flight from Leeds/Bradford to sub arctic Ontario, in January, 2 weeks, for under £500! [£440 BA Return]

Now thats gotta be worth considering. Anyone....anyone......anyone?

That is where Woodsmoke, and Lure of the North are having an expedition this year, costing £1895...

http://www.woodsmoke.uk.com/expeditions/sub-arctic-canada/

Thats GOT TO interest some of you?

Trip of a lifetime

Stick your name on here, if youre considering it.

1.]Dave