A year of arctic travel
Follow a family as they prepare to teach guests to drive a dogsled like a local this winter
Photos courtesy Fredrik Broman
As Swedish Lapland prepares for its usually popular winter tourism season, a local couple from Northern Soul Journeys have gone one step further and are documenting their time across the year with a weekly film as they train their huskies, grow, forage, preserve and create in preparation for guests returning.
The new dedicated YouTube channel will follow Hannah and Jeremias, and their Alaskan huskies, at their home just outside Lulea, Swedish Lapland. Launched this week the new video channel will open the door to life in Lapland and has been created as an extension of their popular tourism experiences that will once again be running later in the year.
“Our experiences have always been more than just a ride on a dog sled. We welcome every guest as an extension of our family so they can really experience what life is like in the Arctic,” says Jeremias. “This is what we hope to do for the rest of the year and give people a window into what life is like living in the Arctic wilderness.”
The seasons in the Arctic are more dramatically different than anywhere else on the planet, so much so, that locally there are eight seasons recognized, rather than four. With the warm summer months and midnight sun, comes a blossom of color and life with fruit and vegetables being grown and harvested. Hannah and Jeremias also have four teams of Huskies to care for, so there’s plenty of exercise and teamwork training required as they run pulling an ATV, rather than the winter sled.
“With the snow now melted away the summer sun brings life back to the forest, it’s the time of year we roll our sleeves up to work the land. As all our guests enjoy homemade breads, cakes, jams and preserves in the winter, we now need to grow, forage and harvest all the ingredients to see us through,” adds Jeremias.
Photo courtesy Emma Mattsson
Jeremias who born in Norrbotten met American born Hannah in Northern Sweden, where Hannah was a dog mushing guide and Jeremias was a snowmobile guide. Their first date was spent on a dog sled, and they have never looked back, starting their own experiences that didn’t just take guests out dogsledding, but teach them to become a ‘musher’ and run their own team of dogs.
“It is always important to experience more, and grow as a person, something that we pride ourselves in giving each of our guests,” says Hannah. “In the meantime, as we return from COVID, we wanted to bring a piece of the Arctic experience to people’s homes – and so our new video channel was launched.”
A private dogsled experience with the team at Northern Soul Journeys can last from one hour to a full day, costing from £100 per person. This includes a full guided tour with all of the equipment and instruction required; additional quality Arctic clothing; and plenty of time to get to know the dogs.
For more information about the Northern Soul Journeys, the new daily broadcast and experiences for next winter, visit www.northernsouljourneys.com, or to learn more about the region visit www.swedishlapland.com.
