With the next visit just around the corner in February 2024, I find myself looking back on our last trip out to Northern Sweden earlier this year. The successful launch of a collaborative venture with friends has been a long term ambition realised. The Borealis team combines instructors with wide ranging skill sets, a breadth of outdoor experience, and a well rounded outlook on life below zero in the Boreal forest.
The group quickly established themselves in our homemade canvas wall tents which were kept comfortable overnight using wood stoves.
Having made the tents back in the UK, we supported them at our fixed camp using Pine poles from an area of forest that needed to be thinned out.
You may be surprised to hear how comfortable we were, but a spruce bough floor provides excellent insulation from the snow covered ground and an incredible aromatic surface to bed down on for the night.
Our winter syllabus covered effective and safe stove use inside a tent, efficient tool use, fuel processing, water treatment, ice safety and snowshoe travel. We then built on these skills to move into a classic Northwoods crafts phase looking at producing frame saws, ski shoes and pack frames.
We had some fantastic moments getting close to reindeer, soaking up one of the most incredible Aurora displays I’ve ever seen and sleeping out in emergency tree-well shelters.
Spending time out in these environments is, for me, the highlight of my instructing calendar and the chance to immerse myself and enjoy the skills I teach all year back in the UK in a place I love.
It’s just a few months now until we get to do the same again and with a whole new group of people. In February 2024 we are running TWO 5 day expeditions. One of those is almost fully booked but there are a few spaces left on week two! If you’re reading this and feeling tempted… go for it, you won’t regret it!
Book here – Borealis Winterland – Swedish Winter Trip
