Arctic Spring on Finnmarksvidda
Overview
| Duration: | 8 days (incl. travel), 5 day ski expedition, 1 buffer day/Alta |
| Grade: | Moderate – Difficult |
| Departure date: | 3rd – 10th April 2025 FULL (Waiting List) April 2026 OPEN FOR BOOKINGS |
| Group size: | 9 people plus 2 adventure.ie guides |
| Fees: | Introductory price: €3,295pp + flights (not included, advice in FAQ) Fees may be paid in instalments |
| Additional costs: | Flights, personal travel insurance, potential for bad weather costs |
Highlights
- Arctic expedition journey of circa 70km
- Remote wilderness camp(s)
- Remote cosy cabins, some with sauna
- Traditional hut meals
- Frozen lakes and awe-inspiring Arctic tundra
- Surreal sunsets
- Northern Lights potential
What`s included
- Pre-departure training and support in advance of the trip
- All specialist equipment hire: skis/sleeping bags/jackets/pulks etc
- All meals during itinerary; some catered in huts/hotel, some expedition style
- Internal transfers
- Itinerary accommodation
- Expert tuition & guiding
- 20% discount on purchases in our online store
arctic spring on Finnmarksvidda Ski Expedition
Arctic springtime backcountry ski tour hut-to-camp-to-hut through Norway’s largest plateau, Finnmarksvidda. This ski journey will take us from Alta in the West to Suossjavri in the south across frozen lakes and rolling tundra.
Springtime in northern Norway sees daylight rushing in as they hurtle towards 24 hours of daylight. You will be picked up from the airport in Alta by our transfer partners and travel to our base on the edge of Finnmarksvidda. Here you will be greeted by your adventure.ie guides who will be looking after you throughout this epic adventure. All food and specialist equipment is included in your trip price, all you have to do is get to Alta, we’ll take care of the rest!
After an evening briefing and welcome supper, we’ll hit the hay to be bright and ready the next morning to prepare and pack our pulks for the off. After lunch, we will depart for the start of our Finnmarksvidda trail and together we’ll take on a 5 day ski journey from west to south route across Finnmarksvidda.
Our first day on the snow is a short day, you’ll find our ski legs, get into your rhythm and we’ll arrive into our first hut at a reasonable hour. Over dinner, we’ll relax, debrief and plan ahead. Weather at this time of year is generally milder and more stable than the winter, though naturally, anything from blizzard conditions to rain can happen.
Traveling across Finnmarksvidda as a self-sufficient team, we will be skiing towards a cosy, catered hut to an exhilirating Arctic camp to more cosy, catered huts across this phenomenal Arctic lake and tundra landscape. Stark and sometimes harsh, but utterly mesmerising, this offers us the opportunity to enhance our backcountry winter skills, with the relative comfort of cosy huts and proper meals at the end of most days. There will even be a couple of opportunities to sauna. Even so, this is by no means easy and each participant plays a vital role in the team’s success. Outline itinerary below.
Along the way, if the skies are clear, we will see the mountains of Stabbursdalen National Park to our north as we travel eastwards. If our luck holds, we can set up camp on the frozen Iesjavri lake – an exhilarating experience – as the sun sets and hope for Northern Lights as we melt snow to prepare our dinner. We’ll watch for ptarmigan, the elusive wolverine and reindeer who will be preparing to migrate to the northern shores. Reindeer and freshly caught fish from the many lakes are staple meals in this area.
A good level of fitness is required for this expedition journey, please contact us before booking if you have any questions or concerns about your fitness. Ski experience is an advantage.
All specialist equipment hire is included. Accommodation and meal bookings are included.
Outline Itinerary
Day 1: Transfer from Alta airport to base accommodation. Welcome briefing and meal.
Day 2: Briefing, equipment overview and packing our pulks (sleds) for the journey ahead. Lunch. Transfer to trail-head. Short journey to our first hut.
Day 3: After a hearty breakfast, packing up and moving on begins. There is no pressure and we have plenty of daylight to find our rhythm as we weave over land to the vast Iesjavri lake. Tonight we camp out. Like all good expeditioners, we melt snow for our dinner and next day’s water, filling our water bottles with warm water to heat up our cosy sleeping bags before bedding down – hopefully – under the northern lights.
Day 4: We breakfast and break camp, continuing our journey over lake and land. This evening a cosy hut, sauna and freshly prepared hot meal awaits.
Day 5: A favourite day of ours and the best chance of the trip to see wildlife. We stay this evening with a family of reindeer herders, enjoying a home cooked meal and a sauna to reinvigorate our tired muscles and prepare for our final day on the snow.
Day 6: Our longest day today, skiing south to Suossjavri to our final cabin. It is a long day, but broken up with incredible scenery and plenty of hellos to locals who use this route. The reindeer migration is happening soon, so it can be busy at this time of year.
Day 7: After breakfast, our transport arrives to transfer us to our hotel accommodation in Alta centre. Lunch today is not included to give you the freedom to explore Alta at your leisure. Celebratory evening meal included.
Day 8: Transfer to airport for flight home.
In the event of extreme weather conditions, the itinerary may be altered for your safety and enjoyment. It is important to note that, unlike our 3 Countries Arctic Ski Expedition, there is no base accommodation in case of extreme weather conditions. If this happens, additional costs may be incurred by participants.
Arctic Spring on Finnmarksvidda Ski Expedition: Who’s it for?
Perhaps you’ve got a taste of the Arctic serenity from one of our other trips, but aren’t quite ready to take the 3 Countries plunge. This is perfect for you. An exemplary balance of comfort and type 2 fun. It’s for anyone who wants to dip their toes into Arctic Exploration, preparing for one of the major crossings. Maybe you’ve done a big trek or one of our other expeditions and feel there’s more out there calling you…
Expert tuition, advice & support
We also include a briefing/training day in Wicklow and ongoing support in advance of the course. An expedition group is established on WhatsApp. We provide support and encouragement via this group between the hours of 8am and 8pm daily. You will not receive better elsewhere.
There are no hidden extras – all specialist equipment hire is included: sleeping bags, down jackets, skis etc.
Arctic Spring on Finnmarksvidda Ski Expedition: Accommodation
The first night is in comfortable shared apartments on the outskirts of Alta. From there we spend 4 nights in basic, but comfortable cabins in dorm style accommodation and 1 planned night of camping. There may be other people using these huts, which adds to the expedition experience. We cook communally as a group on our camp out, but breakfast and dinner are provided in the cabins.
Equipment
We will provide you with all the specialist equipment as follows:
- Sleeping bag & thermal liner
- Down Jacket
- Mitts (you will still need gloves)
- Sled (known as a pulk)
- Backcountry ski equipment
- Snowshoes
- Camping equipment: Tent, sleeping mat, stoves.
We’ll provide you with a full kit list. All participants receive a 20% discount on purchases in our store in advance of departure.
We also include a briefing/training day in Wicklow and offer ongoing support in advance of the course.
arctic spring on Finnmarksvidda: FAQs
If flying from Dublin, Lufthansa have the best times and rates (as at July 2024)
Outbound: Thursday 3rd April 2025 Dublin to Alta via Frankfurt 05:50 flight landing at 14:40
Homebound: Thursday 10th April 2025 Alta to Dublin via Frankfurt 15:25 flight landing at 22:15
Our free group transfer will meet this flight.
SAS, Norwegian and Wideroe also serve Alta.
Fitness is important. You will be joining a team who will be depending on each other for the success of this expedition. You need to be able to sustain 5 active days, back-to-back. There are no rest days and you will need to have enough energy in the bank to deal with adverse weather conditions, set up and break camp on our camp night/morning and be a team player.
Everyone will have concerns about their fitness. The best thing to do is talk to us. We will know based on your current activity levels if this is for you or not. We can also advise on training.
Preferably yes, but if you’re fit, co-ordinated and a fast learner we can get you up to speed quickly.
Springtime in the Arctic can be a battle between two weather systems. There can still be very cold conditions, but in general it’s milder than earlier in the season with daytime temperatures around zero. Nighttime will naturally be colder, but those cosy down sleeping bags and thermal liners will keep you warm. As we’re traveling through the Arctic Tundra and across lakes, it is important to bear in mind that we are very exposed to the weather, especially wind. If winds pick up then the temperatures we feel (i.e. real feel) will drop and it may make progress slower, resulting in long days on the skis.
Ensure you are comparing like with like. Many providers do not include equipment hire, advance training day (Ireland) or support. E.g. To hire one our our pulks for 2 weeks costs €400. Almost everything is included, all you need to do is get yourself on an airplane and we’ll do the rest! We will pick you up at the airport, provide all accommodation and meals (except where stated). We work on a low guide:client ratio. So yes, you may find something that looks cheaper, but likely isn’t the same offering. The choice is yours.
They are similar but with the following differences:
– Skis are a little wider with metal edges to help turn
– With our skis, you can wear your own solid hiking boot – so no blisters!
– We don’t ski in the tracks like Cross Country, instead we make our own
Being caught in an avalanche is a problem, avoiding one is a skill. Our guides hold the professional International Mountain Leader (IML) and Level 2 Arctic Guide qualifications and have considerable experience of reading avalanche terrain and avoiding it.
Flights, you can arrange these yourself or we can have our travel partner assist you. It is generally cheaper to arrange them yourself via Norwegian or SAS. Emergency adverse weather accommodation is not included, this is due to the route in question. In this instance a plan will be formulated based on the conditions in consultation with participants. Additonal costs may be incurred. The extra kit as per the kit list. If you’re missing anything we can advise on how to best purchase, any extra tours etc. Travel insurance. Any comfort munchies you’d like to bring. Anything not explicitly stated as included.
Once you’ve secured your place by paying the €200 deposit you can then pay the balance of your fees in installments as often as you like up to the deadline stated in your contract.
We are limiting this expedition to 9 participants. There will be 2 guides.
It is essential, and a condition of participation, that all participants take out additional insurance for the trip. This needs to cover repatriation to your home and rescue fees. Your insurance must list guided backcountry skiing. Let us know if you need details on insurance companies. We also advise that you apply for your EHIC (formally E11).
Don’t miss this amazing experience in a stunning location!
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