Our Ethos
A trip with Snowstorm Adventures is:
- About living simply in wild nature
The simple living on our trips give you the chance to appreciate the little luxuries in life like curling up next to a fire in a mountain cabin or finding there's a drying room for your wet clothes. The pace of life is much calmer with less distractions than home.
Our trips give you a chance to connect with nature, your fellow trip mates and most importantly, yourself. All whilst learning things and having a good time.
- Cozy and kind but also arduous and a bit challenging
To appreciate the simple luxuries in life you have to earn them, it's that simple. So, during the day, we earn them. It can be cold, windy and sometimes wet. At times it can be tough. But a bit of a challenge gives us the chance to really appreciate relaxation time and the small things when it comes.
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Our guides are encouraging you and helping you learn, every step of the way. And we encourage an atmosphere in the team of supporting each other, helping out and laughing with each other. It can be tough, but it's always worth it.
- In one of the most accessible polar venues in the world
Four hours. That's how long the mountain train from Oslo to Finse takes.
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You can have a morning cappuccino in Oslo and by mid afternoon you're stepping out into the arctic environment of the Hardagarvidda plateau. It’s not the Arctic circle but its so wild and windy it's been used as a training ground for people heading to the North and South poles since as far back as Roald Amundsen and Captain Scott.
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There is no polar environment in the world so accessible to Europeans as the Hardangarvidda. Which brings us onto our next point:
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- Easy on the planet
It doesn't seem any human activities are cost free to the planet. But in terms of environmental impact, our ski holidays are much gentler to the earth than your standard downhill ski holiday. Here's how:
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First, we don't need a ski resort or a lift because we're cross country skiers. This massively reduced our emissions and impact on the landscape.
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Second, our venue is only accessed by train. This means all the people and stuff for people is forced to come by the Bergensbanen train, which is electric and, in terms of emissions,
one train ride from Oslo to Bergen on the Bergensbanen Line replaces 600 cars.
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Third, proximity to Oslo and to Europe. You simply don't have to travel so far to get here as the Arctic Circle, the Antarctic or the Himalayas. So your emissions due to travel is automatically lower. And you can get from almost everywhere in Europe (and the UK) to Finse via Oslo by train rather than air, another opportunity to slash the emissions.
- Not for everyone
Our accommodation is cozy but basic. It's always shared. You bring a cotton sleeping bag liner and sleep in it with a hut duvet on top. You can bring your own pillowcase. We share tents too.
Bathrooms are shared. If we are sleeping in the wild, the bathrooms are a hole in the snow with a wall built around them. You might not shower for a few days, or for the entire trip.
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Our food is nutritious and tasty but often it's basic (seeing a theme?). Meals in the huts cooked by the hosts are delicious, meals in huts cooked by the guides are more straightforward and in tents we might eat dehydrated packaged food.
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It's adventure travel. Things don't always go to plan. That's half of the fun. It's always interesting and you will always come home with stories!
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Are our trips for you? If you're unsure, maybe our FAQs can help you decide.
