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Arctic adventures With their fleet of vessels and a wide range of destinations and boat-based activities, Arctic Expedition and its team are dedicated to giving guests from all over the world the experience of a lifetime through Arctic wildlife, nature and adventures. By Alyssa Nilsen | Photos: Arctic Expedition
When people hear the word ‘Arctic’, their thoughts usually go straight to the never-ending winters, brilliantly colourful northern lights tearing up the night sky, frosty nature, deep fjords and steep mountains covered in snow. While all these things are true, and just as fantastically brilliant in real life as in people’s imagination, there is a lot more to be experienced above the Arctic Circle. One company dedicated to giving people a taste of the Arctic and all it has to offer is Arctic Expedition, a boat-based 76 | Issue 120 | January 2019
company letting people experience the mythical and magical north in all its glory. “We are in business all year round from our base in Tromsø,” says CEO Stein-Are Blæss Paulsen. “We have northern lights cruises between September and March, our whale safaris start in October and go on all the way through January, and we also do fjord cruises around Tromsø.” But even though most of the experiences are boat-based, some of them include land-based activities as well. Between February and October, the boats
will take you to the astounding nature of the Arctic mountains in Tromsø or Svalbard, where you can try your hand at ski mountaineering, and go on expeditions or hikes. “Arctic mountaineering is pretty new in Norway,” Blæss Paulsen says. “In France, they’ve been doing this for decades, and the Alpine part of it is particularly popular, whereas Norwegians have traditionally stayed away from mountains when there’s a lot of snow.” The thing that sets Troms and West Finnmark apart from other destinations is their sea-to-summit opportunities. There are no ski-lifts or roads; you walk straight from the sea, climb upwards of 1,300 metres up a mountain, and then ski back down in pure, untouched powder snow.