For the first time in a whole week of Fjällräven Polar, I had slept through the entire night! And it was the warmest night so far, even though we slept outside. I was woken up by the warm rays of sunshine falling on my face. When I opened my eyes I saw snow-covered treetops, a perfectly blue sky and the sun doing its very best. That’s how I’d love to wake up every morning! Except for the fact that I’d lost all feeling in the tip of my nose.
Polar temperature record
Not all that strange that my nose had had a rough night, really, because we soon found out that the temperature had hit a Polar record that night. We had slept outside in -24ᵒC! MINUS TWENTY-FOUR! I’m glad we had thought all along that it would be -15ᵒC, because otherwise I would never have crawled into my sleeping bag so confidently.
Fire-making exam
Before we could sled our last kilometers to the finish, we not only had to leave our camp tidy and pack up the sleds again, but also pass an exam. Because this day came with one condition: you were only allowed to sled once you could make a fire yourself, without help, using only materials you could find in nature and your fire stick. And even though I had practiced it the day before, it turned out I have no talent for making fire. My whole team had already passed, while I was still fiddling around with bits of moss, twigs and my knife. Luckily the fantastic Kate cheered me on, and in the end my teammate Freek came to help me with some pointers. Otherwise I’d probably still be sitting there now..
Waiting, waiting, waiting
Because we had to wait until all the journalists had arrived at the finish line, we stood on our sleds for quite a while (I didn’t wear a watch all week) waiting for the starting signal. Not bad at all, because it gave us time to calmly prepare for what was coming. But also a little bit bad, because it felt like a stay of execution. We just wanted to go! To enjoy the wind in our hair and the icy silence for just a little longer.
The last kilometers
After we had crossed the starting line one by one, high-fiving as we went, everything went very fast. The weather smiled on us and the views were breathtaking. I’m still not sure whether I was happy about that, or whether it only made everything harder. Today would be the last day we could feast our eyes. The last day we could be amazed and fall in love with sweeping views 100 times a day. Even though we weren’t going at full speed, time flew by.
And so the end point, Jukkasjärvi, came closer and closer. The first stretch I was full of enthusiasm and joy, but the last stretch on the sled was incredibly tough. Since we would only be sledding for two hours, I didn’t see the point of getting my polar parka out of my sled, but I was COLD! And because we had to cross the finish spread out, it felt like we were crawling along in a very slow traffic jam. Luckily it did give me the chance to really look around, take everything in and try to burn it into my memory as well as I could. Every few meters my eyes welled up at the thought that it was almost over. And that it was so beautiful. And so wonderful. And that it was good.
My Polar family
Fjällräven Polar 2017 came to an end with just as many emotions as it had started with. In the distance I saw the big finish flags and rows of people lined up, clapping. Maybe I was naive not to have prepared myself for a tsunami of emotions, but it hit me like a ton of bricks. As soon as my first husky crossed the finish line, I burst into tears. And seeing family members who had already finished crying here and there obviously didn’t help. As soon as my sled came to a stop, the first one to fly into my arms was Sofie from Norway. In such a short time I built such a special bond with her that it feels like I’ve found a long-lost sister.
I didn’t make any new friends on this trip. Zero. Because I gained a whole big family instead. A family that will be united forever by this beautiful adventure, the memories, the emotions and the wonder we experienced together. Even though we live all over the world and there’s a good chance most of us will never see each other again, in our hearts we will always be family. A Polar family. My Polar family.
Saying goodbye
There wasn’t much time to catch our breath, because almost straight away we had to empty our sleds and say goodbye to our dog team. Once again the floodgates opened. I was so incredibly proud of these six cuddle bugs. They had hauled me (and my stuff) 300 kilometers through the Arctic wilderness. They were tireless, loyal, enthusiastic and SO sweet. The bond you can build with dogs in such a short time is beautiful and painful at the same time. When I saw the train of huskies disappear into the distance, I could almost hear dramatic music playing in my head. In reality it probably went much faster than it seemed, because for me time stood still for a moment.
Back to basics meets five-star experience
But after all those emotions, the last round of unpacking, cleaning up and sorting our gear, it was time for plain old luxury. There was a toilet (a hole in the ground with a styrofoam ‘seat’), there was a roof (a cabin without electricity), there was a shower (a sauna with a barrel of warm water) and there was beer (really). For many people back to basics, for us pure luxury.
After a warm lunch in the lavvu, we were allowed into the sauna. There we drank beer, washed our hair, ate chips and, for the first time, started to unwind a little. There was the option to take a ‘dip’ in the ice hole (a tradition), but I decided I’d been cold enough over the past week and stayed in the sauna with a small group. Just when every fiber of my body was warm again for the first time in 6 days, dinner was served. What timing!
Like a bunch of gods we feasted on whitefish, reindeer tartare, moose meat, white chocolate panna cotta and wine. Lots of wine. And each other. And the diploma ceremony with emotional speeches. And a reality check. Because this was the moment I learned that more people have stood on the summit of Mount Everest than have taken part in Fjällräven Polar. How special is that?
After dinner there was a party in a cabin further along in the camp, but it didn’t appeal to me. I walked around on my own in the pitch dark and stared at the candles lighting the paths. I listened to the snow crunching under my boots and enjoyed the deafening silence. My brain was overstimulated, my body was exhausted and I needed time and space to process this experience. And to say goodbye to my home. Northern Scandinavia had already stolen my heart a year earlier, and this year I would leave it behind here once again. In a thousand pieces.
“If you overcome your fears and step out of your comfort zone, you’re gonna experience things you can’t even imagine.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhHr-mctU5k
Read more: day 5 – Sleeping outside under the northern lights
Read more: day 7 – How 300 km of dog sledding changed my life
