ATLAS51
59°55′N · 10°44′E
Course

Norway: The Femundsmarka

Nine days hauling a pulk across the frozen lakes of Femundsmarka, learning the systems polar expeditions actually run on.

Photos
Duration
9 days
Group size
7–10 travellers
Operating window
20–28 January 2027
The departure
Wed, 20 Jan 2027
Gateway
Oslo (OSL)
Remoteness
Deep
Self-reliance
Shared
Comfort
Wild
Environment
Arctic
How to read these

These terms compare trips across Atlas51. Environment describes terrain, not difficulty.

Remoteness

  1. Edge

    Established support remains relatively close.

  2. Deep

    Help or an exit may take time.

  3. Extreme

    Help and an exit may be days away.

Self-reliance

  1. Supported

    The crew runs the core systems.

  2. Shared

    You take on part of the work.

  3. Self-reliant

    Your skills and decisions are central.

Comfort

  1. Basic

    A roof every night.

  2. Wild

    Camped, with camp made for you.

  3. Spartan

    You build your own shelter.

Environment

  1. Desert

    Sand, rock and arid ground.

  2. Arctic

    Snow, ice and sustained cold.

  3. Jungle

    Dense, humid forest.

  4. Mountain

    Steep, high or broken ground.

  5. Inland water

    Rivers, lakes and wetlands.

  6. Ocean

    Open-coast or offshore water.

  7. Forest

    Woodland and trail terrain.

  8. Steppe

    Open grassland with few trees.

  9. Savanna

    Warm grassland with scattered trees.

  10. Reef

    Shallow coastal water and coral ground.

  11. Mixed

    Several distinct terrains in one trip.

A good fit if

You want the undertaking, not just the backdrop

  1. 01

    Want serious disconnection.

  2. 02

    Want to learn genuine expedition skills rather than simply visit wild places.

  3. 03

    Enjoy being challenged physically and mentally.

  4. 04

    Want to understand how real expeditions actually work.

  5. 05

    Get excited by the idea of pulling a pulk across frozen wilderness.

  6. 06

    Want to camp in serious Arctic conditions.

  7. 07

    Believe the best adventures genuinely teach you something.

Red tunnel tents and loaded pulks pitched on the snow at dusk, a spruce to one side and low lit peaks behind.

The trip

The route, the work and the conditions

Course

Skills-led travel, taught to a stated level.

Because it's truly one of the planet's last wild winter frontiers. Because every Arctic expedition has to start somewhere with a heap of snow. Because it's an amazing place to learn real survival skills in a serious Arctic environment.

Deep in the forests, frozen lakes and wilderness of Femundsmarka National Park lies one of Scandinavia's last great winter frontiers. There are no prepared pistes, no signs telling you where to go and no easy escape routes. Just snow, silence and the skills that matter.

Red tunnel tents going up on open snow in flat white light, skis planted upright beside them, loaded pulks in the foreground and several people working in hooded jackets.
Skis planted where they stopped, tents going up in light with no horizon in it. Camp is the evening's work, every day of the trip.

Femundsmarka is steeped in Scandinavian folklore, like the tales of the Huldra, seductive forest spirits. Moose, wild reindeer, oxen, bears, wolves, lynx and wolverines also roam the park in the summer months.

This is a challenging winter expedition. Expect long days skiing through snow while pulling a loaded pulk. Expect cold mornings. Expect to spend your evenings building camp rather than checking into hotels. There are no warm lodges waiting at the end of each day. No shortcuts. No prepared trails.

FilmHauling the pulks up, in the flat light of a snowing day.

From the field

People with large duffel bags and loaded pulks fitted with skis and straps stand on a slushy city pavement beside tram tracks at dusk.Loaded pulks on a city pavement. The expedition starts before the snow does.Two figures and a yellow pulk on a broad wind-scoured snow slope under a grey sky, with a third figure lower down.A yellow pulk and two people on a slope with nothing else on it. You haul your own load the whole way.Snow-loaded spruce branches frame a distant line of red tents on a white plain, with low white hills behind.The camp, seen through the trees you passed on the way in. There is no lodge at the end of the day, only what the group pitches.A person indoors holds a very large glass of beer in each hand, with bar benches, a candle and a painted mural behind.Two glasses that need both hands, in Oslo. The trip begins and ends in the city, and the wilderness sits in between.The open round door of a red tent frames bare trees and a deep blue evening sky, with a second red tent pitched outside.View all 14 photographsThe door of one tent, and the next tent along. This is the view once camp is up and the day's work is done.

Trip dossier

Route, arrival, kit and operating detail

Geography, arrival, flight handoff and equipment in one place. Final joining times are confirmed in writing for each departure.

01

Route & terrain

9 days · Ski touring + winter survival training · 4 route points

North-east from Oslo to the Swedish border, then on skis and pulks through Femundsmarka's frozen lakes and pine forest. The map shows the region the trip covers rather than a surveyed route: waypoints are indicative, and the day-by-day is not yet confirmed.

Not for navigation
About this map

Rivers use HydroSHEDS/HydroRIVERS; the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) provides observed water extent, Copernicus relief, and Natural Earth land and country boundaries. These layers provide geographic context, not navigation.

Open the full route plate

02

Risk & conditions

Five dimensions · highest rating 4/5

Read this before you apply

The risks are part of the decision

How we handle risk →

The conditions that give this trip its character are the same ones that decide who should be on it. Each rating compares this trip with the others on the site; the line beside it says what that means here.

Physical

04 / 05

Nine days on skis hauling a loaded pulk, in snow, carrying your own camp.

Technical

03 / 05

Telemark skiing, stove management and snow shelters — taught on the trip, not assumed.

Environment

04 / 05

Sub-zero throughout, no huts, no easy exit.

Activity

03 / 05

Frozen-lake travel and avalanche terrain, mitigated by instruction.

Geopolitical

01 / 05

Norway. No advisory of any kind.

When it goes wrong

On the ground, the trip lead makes the immediate safety call — changing the route, changing the day or stopping the activity. The communications, medical and evacuation arrangements confirmed for this departure will be set out in your written trip information. If a service is not named there, do not assume it is included. Emergency and legal limits →

03

Arrival & orientation

Oslo (OSL) · Norway

Oslo

Oslo Airport Gardermoen

Oslo is the international gateway rather than the trip start. The wilderness is a long onward journey north-east by road or rail, so allow for the connection given in the joining instructions and avoid a tight same-day booking.

Airport
OSL
Country
Norway
Time zone
Europe/Oslo
60.2028, 11.0839Open in OpenStreetMap ↗
04

Flights & joining dates

Oslo (OSL) · Wed, 20 Jan 2027 – Thu, 28 Jan 2027

Start with flights into Oslo (OSL).

The search below opens an external site with the recommended travel dates already filled in. Wait for the written arrival deadline before buying a fare you cannot change. Atlas51 does not sell flights or take payment for them.

Wed, 20 Jan 2027 – Thu, 28 Jan 2027

Recommended travel dates · A51-FEM-JAN27

Into and out of Oslo (OSL)

Search flights ↗
05

Kit & equipment

2 kit items included · 19 you bring
Included by the operatorNot included — you bring or arrange it

Footwear

  • Not included: Insulated winter bootRated to the trip's minimum temperature.
  • Not included: Ski bootMatched to the binding system.
  • Not included: Camp bootie or down slipper
  • Not included: Wool expedition sock × 3

Layers

Worn moving; the belay jacket goes on at rest stops.

  • Not included: Merino or synthetic base layer × 2Top and bottom.
  • Not included: Fleece or grid mid-layer
  • Not included: Insulated trouser
  • Not included: Down or synthetic belay jacket
  • Not included: Hardshell jacket and trouserTaped seams.

Hands and head

Spare gloves are the most commonly lost item on a winter trip.

  • Not included: Insulated over-mitt plus liner glove
  • Not included: Spare gloves
  • Not included: Balaclava or buff × 2
  • Not included: Goggles and category-4 sunglasses

Sleeping

Operator to confirm the minimum temperature rating.

  • Not included: Four-season sleeping bagHire available — confirm whether compulsory.
  • Not included: Insulated matR-value to be stated.
  • Not included: Vapour-barrier liner

Technical

  • Included: Avalanche transceiver, probe and shovel
  • Included: Pulk and harness
  • Not included: Ski skins
  • Not included: Headtorch plus lithium sparesAlkaline cells fail in the cold.
  • Not included: Thermos

This list is Atlas51's own template for the environment, not the operator's. It is indicative rather than final — the confirmed list, including anything compulsory and anything provided, comes with your joining instructions.

06

Practical detail

From £2,999 GBP · cancellation, insurance and what's included
Price
From £2,999 GBP · land-only
International flights are excluded unless the written offer explicitly includes them.
If you cancel
Charges scale with how close to departure you cancel.
Read the cancellation schedule →
Entry & health
Passport, visa and health requirements are yours to confirm.
We tell you what we know before you apply. Disclose anything relevant to your safety or the trip's.
Sleeping arrangements
Confirmed in your written offer.
Ask about a single/solo supplement when you apply.
Insurance
A condition of travel — cover for medical treatment, emergency evacuation and repatriation.
We introduce a specialist broker if you'd like one.
What's covered
The trip as described on this page — the operator's services, in-trip logistics and issued equipment.
Excludes flights, personal spending, visas and anything marked excluded in your written offer.

What's included

  • Training & Support — Experienced expedition leaders and winter wilderness instructors throughout, guiding every aspect of expedition life from ski technique and campcraft through to avalanche awareness and polar systems. Expedition food provided.
  • Expedition Training — Expedition skiing instruction; pulk management tuition; winter camping training; avalanche awareness and rescue techniques; ice travel and safety instruction; emergency shelter construction; expedition decision-making and planning skills.
  • Accommodation — Winter tents; snow camps; remote wilderness campsites. This is training for polar travel, not a hotel-based adventure.
  • Transport — Return transport from Oslo to the expedition start point; all internal expedition logistics.

What's not included

  • International travel to Norway
  • Travel insurance
  • Personal equipment unless specifically stated
  • Alcoholic drinks
  • Personal spending money
  • Any costs arising from changes to personal travel plans
  • Arctic sleeping bag, coat, boots etc. are available for rent and may be required if personal sleeping bags are not safe for Arctic conditions

Run by Jamie

Jamie on a snowy mountain carrying an expedition pack and ice axe.
Jamie · Mountain & polar

Run by people who know one place well

For more than seventeen years, Jamie has worked in remote mountain and polar environments where practical systems, equipment and judgement have to hold.

How Jamie works →Our approach to responsible travel →

01 · Apply

Nothing is booked or charged online.

02 · Tommy replies

Tommy will aim to reply within one business day.

03 · Written offer

The trip, price and next step—in writing.

One date

The departure

  • Wed, 20 Jan 2027 — Thu, 28 Jan 2027

    From £2,999
    Applications open
    Places available · small group
    Apply →

    Applications close21 Dec 2026

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