Open invitation arctic meet 2017

[SGL70]

The predatory wild life will ignore you....bears most of all (hybernating)...dont worry..

If you loose one kg, you can bring a liter of vodka!!! yay!!

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[dewi]

So if I loose 24kg.....

Sleeping bears sounds good... just the wolves, lynxs and wolverines to worry about Admittedly I am a nervous nelly when it comes to predatory wildlife... as I say, doesn't put me off... just wary.

Will there be moose up there?

 

[SGL70]

Yes, but if you get to see any is another matter.

Reindeer - certainly

the animal that will make you soil yourselves is..*drumroll*...the grouse....I have often skied on top of them where they are hidden by snow...I scares me everytime

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[dewi]

Are the grouse those white type things that were on the Ray Mears programme from when he was in Sweden in the winter?

I've been watching videos of winter camping in Lapland today, and I just watched one where a group of 4 lads hung a large tarp between two trees, cover the ground with spruce branches and lit a central fire.

Not knowing too much about surviving the temperatures out there, is a large tarp enough of a shelter providing there is a fire inside?

All the other shelters I've looked at would either not have any way of heating them or require something like a wood burning stove inside and a large chimney. Not to mention the carrying weights for the heavy duty shelters.

 

[SGL70]

It sounds about right, even if I would have to watch the RM programme to be 100%

Winter camping...There are so many ways you could go about it...A tarp can be perfect, for sure, depending on circumstances.....

My 2 cents, is that you need something to shelter you from the wind and something to keep you warm...A hot tent/medium sleeping bag or snow cave/medium sleeping bag or bivi/warm sleeping bag...there are many ways to skin this cat, in my opinion

One precaution that could take some of the edge off, is to read up a bit on snow cave/hole construction (snow is a great insulator) i.e. The perfect Plan B or C...also, bring a shovel

Greger

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[bopdude]

ptarmigan I think is the bird your talking about Dewi

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[SGL70]

Ahh...Ptarmigan...yes...that is a scary bird...also tasty...

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[bopdude]

Hoping to get to taste some fresh ones while we're there

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[dewi]

Ptarmigan... wouldn't have gotten that in a million years. I was tempted last night to call it a fluffy footed pigeon bird as a description, but I did a search on the ptarmigan and although it has fluffy feet, its not exactly a pigeon is it?

Talking about it being tasty... we're okay to hunt over there for food then? I know the camping rights, but what are the Swedes like when it comes to things like fishing and hunting? I read there is a license, but it isn't clear if that's a license for the process of hunting, or a license to carry a gun for the purposes of hunting.

More I look at the tarp setup, the more appealing it is. Bags more room than the lightweight tents, a lot lighter than the canvas tents. I don't really fancy being in my hammock... although I've been out in minus conditions in it a couple of times, not sure I'd cope in it at minus 20.

 

[Imagedude]

More I look at the tarp setup, the more appealing it is. Bags more room than the lightweight tents, a lot lighter than the canvas tents. I don't really fancy being in my hammock... although I've been out in minus conditions in it a couple of times, not sure I'd cope in it at minus 20.

Minus 20 is one thing to plan for and minus 20 with 40 knot winds is another; it's a totally different kettle of worms! Even in low winds you will encounter spindrift which is why I now favour a fully enclosed tent.

 

[bopdude]

Dave has a license to hunt, not sure if and how the rest off us would go on,

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[bopdude]

That's an excellent point and one that I hadn't factored in

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[dewi]

I was thinking with the tarp of using a massive one, then folding it in at each end leaving a diamond shaped gap at the top for ventilation... dunno how practical it is in those temperatures and its not something I can test over here as we rarely get temperatures that low here.

Hunting wise, the license is 300 SEK (£25) and there is a test that foreigners need to complete, but everything I've read so far is associated with guns rather than catching animals in traps. I presume the £25 fee applies to trapping as well as hunting with a gun. Fishing seems to be a minefield of information and rules. There are size limits in different regions, catch and release policies to comply with and you need a special license for certain types of fish... there is something about 5 lakes being permit free, but its a bit confusing (to me at least).

 

[Imagedude]

One of the guys on my recent Norway trip used a MSR Twin Sisters which is basically a big tarp with doors sewn on. On day three he walked into town and purchased a tent! Tarps are a great addition to a tent but very difficult to set up in flat, featureless landscapes. If you are planning on base camping in a wooded area then perhaps you will be ok with a tarp, I've spent a few weeks under a tarp in the Arctic and it was fine but a full tent gives you much more security and is easier to erect when you are tired and emotional.

 

[dewi]

What type of tent do you usually use out there? Is it specifically for arctic weather or??

 

[Imagedude]

I use a Hilleberg Soulo or a Rab bivi tent. Both are free standing designs...

 

[TinkyPete]

I have several set ups when it comes to the colder stuff from hammocking and tarp set ups to lavu with stoves. I will see closer to the time and after a possible meet which shelter it may be best to use. But I have my Jervens bag and that is my emergency shelter but may get utilised if necessary for other stuff.

As said early a meet and greet would be good for us or even a pub meet to discuss stuff and have a general get together would be good to get used to every one and find out more about each other face to face. If people want to wait for a bit of a cooler time of the year for gear testing would be good as well for a meet before we go. I know a couple of places we could use. And I am sure I could ask to use one of our locations in the midlands which should be central for all?

If you want me to put some possible dates together I can.

 

[Dave]

I have several set ups when it comes to the colder stuff from hammocking and tarp set ups to lavu with stoves. I will see closer to the time and after a possible meet which shelter it may be best to use. But I have my Jervens bag and that is my emergency shelter but may get utilised if necessary for other stuff.

As said early a meet and greet would be good for us or even a pub meet to discuss stuff and have a general get together would be good to get used to every one and find out more about each other face to face. If people want to wait for a bit of a cooler time of the year for gear testing would be good as well for a meet before we go. I know a couple of places we could use. And I am sure I could ask to use one of our locations in the midlands which should be central for all?

If you want me to put some possible dates together I can.

Sounds Good TP. I could make it down to the midlands. [We could all bring our arctic kit, so we can compare. Ill be coming from Yorkshire, so I can offer a lift to anyone who can meet me at a local train station, or is on the way down]

If anyones interested, Bopdude, Dewi, and a mate of mine from a course, are meeting at the tamarack rendevous which begins on on July 27th.

Its just a big scout camp, with stuff going on every day, that most of us will have done before, but as someone said says they are perishable skills!

Theres a really good pub within walking distance as well. Accepts dogs. Runs from Wednesday to Sunday for £50, everything included. Im taking my glampy tent,and probably a icebox full of beers in the back of the landy. Nice little area to wander about in, so long as the weathers good.

They'l be a couple of scout groups, and i think cadets, but its a huge open area, fields, so we can find our own spot.

http://www.tamarackoutdoors.co.uk/PBCPPlayer.asp?ID=1674129

 

[RonW]

Define Midlands.
Is there an airport in the area? And would that be during or after the summer?

 

[dewi]

The Midlands is the Birmingham area... Birmingham has an international airport... but the London and Manchester airports are 100 miles north and south of Birmingham so wherever you land, you're about an hour and a half from the Midlands.

As Dave has said, we're having the meetup next month. It'll be too warm to test any gear, but it'll be a great chance to have a natter about plans of what to take etc.

Later in the year as TP says, there'll be a chance to test some gear, but we have pretty mild weather at the end of each year compared to Scandinavian regions. Plus if you walk 20 miles in any direction in the majority of England, you hit an all night garage or a supermarket. Very difficult to simulate the conditions of northern Sweden.

If anyone is interested, the Swedish government offer a free online course to learn the language. I started the course a couple of days ago, mainly because I want to at least be able to converse with locals about the basics. But I've been told that 'whisky' in Sweden is still 'whisky'... learn the important stuff first I reckon