12 - 18 February 2012
Dog Sledging and Skiing in Abisko, Lappland
Over half term, an intrepid group of eight Abingdonians and two teachers set out early on a Sunday morning for a trip to Arctic Sweden for five full days of skiing, dog sledging, Northern Lights viewing and self-catering at a hostel in Abisko. It is a small Swedish town near the Norwegian border, where the iron ore train from Kiruna to the south crosses into Norway for onward shipping from Norvig’s ice-free port to China and elsewhere.
The group travelled from Heathrow to Stockholm and thence on to Kiruna by internal flight, landing on the ice and met by taxi for the onward journey to Abisko. The town and the local outdoor activities are well known to Dr Tim Gunn from field trips to a scientific research base there. Dr Gunn has returned regularly over the years with biologists and adventurists keen to experience the extreme climatic conditions of the high arctic, where snow and ice is the norm between November and April and temperatures range from -10 to -35 degrees.
By a curious twist, the trip was accompanied not by Dr Gunn but by the School’s Director of Music, Michael Stinton. At relatively short notice, TCG was unable to lead the trip that he had planned, so MAS switched from a supportive role to take on the organisation, whilst a long-term friend of Dr Gunn’s, Mike Devlin, was able to lead the activity elements of the week. Mike is Director of Coaching at the British Canoe Union and has a lifetime’s experience of exploration and of leading activities for young people.
We were immensely fortunate that Mike was able to join us - he proved to be an outstanding leader who quickly won the respect of the boys, introducing them to cross country skiing and encouraging them always to consider the risks and responsibilities associated with any of the activities and to be aware of each others’ needs in this challenging environment.
The party comprised five Upper Sixths (Robbie Brough, Jake Burgess, Alex Hatzis, Joe Hogan, Stuart King) and three from the Fifth Year (Finlay Garland, Joe Tollett and Leo Wood). Such a small knit group, most already good friends, soon found an excellent camaraderie and were spilt into pairs to take responsibility for each evening meal. The boys were immensely impressive and ambitious with their menus, which ranged from homemade meatballs to beef stroganoff.
The timetable for the week consisted of cross-country skiing on days 1 and 3 and dog sledging on days 2, 4 and 5. The scenery was spectacular and the well-equipped party members soon realised the importance of being well wrapped up. Some of the pictures capture the icy landscape, the frozen lake, rivers and waterfalls. The Tuesday night campfire that we made on the shores of the frozen lake fortuitously coincided with the most vivid and spectacular night for the Aurora Borealis, captured by Joe Hogan.
Undoubtedly, the highlight was the dog sledging, an exhilarating experience which involved the harnessing of over 50 Siberian Huskies to pull the eleven sledges of the group, including that of the instructor, Tomas. These immensely powerful and biddable dogs took the party on four-hour trails of increasing levels of challenge through the icy landscape and the boys became increasingly adept at handling the sledges both on steep inclines and descents, where stamina in uphill running through snow was matched by the agility and balance required for a controlled descent.
There were certainly plenty of thrills as well as spills and the boys will have many exciting episodes to recount. It was an immensely happy and successful week, concluded by a memorable final restaurant meal of smoked venison, supplied from a local Sami village where reindeer are farmed.
Special thanks are due to TCG who organised the whole trip and to Mike Devlin who joined us so willingly and effectively and at such short notice.
MAS
