An Arctic Adventure at Finse

It was time for new adventures at Finse, exactly 5 months after our last trip there. This time my dad (Bjørn Erik), brother (Martin) and I were joined by Peter and Maren for what was going to be a weekend in Amundsen’s tracks.

I arrived at Finse on Friday evening, where I was met by the rest of the crew. We headed down to Framheim. It is the only true copy of Framheim anywhere in the World and is identical to the one Amundsen stayed at in Antarctica in 1911-1912 when he led the first team to reach the South Pole. Martin and I were to sleep there, while the others wanted a higher level of comfort, so they were staying at Finse 1222. We ate all of our excellent meals at Finse 1222 and hung out there if we weren’t at Framheim.

We kicked off the Friday evening with some spectacular Polar Aquavit from Lysholmen, along with a detailed description of the race between Amundsen and Scott to the South Pole. Martin covered the Norwegian expedition and I the British one. While we were going through the history, our cousin Maggi showed up and joined for the “lecture” and drinks. We finished just in time to head up for an excellent 3-course dinner at Finse 1222. While we were eating two mushers arrived with a bunch of dogs. They joined us in Framheim for a couple of after dinner drinks, before we hit the sack.

The next morning we were up bright and early. After a delicious breakfast at the hotel, we got the dogs ready. For the rest of the day we made long circles around Finsevann, so that everyone could drive the dogs as many times as they wanted. It was awesome. When everyone was tired, the mushers packed up and got ready to leave. Martin and I got a special treat, because we joined the mushers for a fabulous three hour trip down to Haugastøl. I got my own team of seven dogs, while Martin were towed by two dogs. While we were away, the rest got to try their skills at skisailing on Finsevann. Our cousin Sander also joined us at Finse and he stayed with us in Framheim till Sunday.

While we were waiting for the train to transport us back up to Finse from Haugastøl, I gave Martin his birthday&Christmas present: A pipe. He unwrapped it while we were sipping a premixed black Russian from a plastic Pepsi bottle (I know: we are so classy). When we got up to Finse, we enjoyed more Polar Aquavit, before we had another excellent 3-course dinner at Finse 1222. After dinner we headed into Boggi’n (the hotel night club) for a couple of beers, before we retired to Framheim.

The next morning was a slow and relaxing one, topped off by a great breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast, everyone packed their gear and boarded the train for Bergen. The only way to get to Finse is by train or on foot (ski in the winter, bike or trekking in the summer), so it has a very special atmosphere. It’s always fantastic to be at Finse and I already look forward to the next time 🙂