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Lapland Winter: What the Finnish Army Taught Me
By Amanda Kendle

A short stint of army service is compulsory for males in Finland. This is something you learn quickly in Lapland, one way or the other. It might be the ever-present camouflage-green teenager waiting at the train station – they really stand out against the winter white background. More likely, some Finn just can’t wait to tell you stories about his life in the army.

In the case of winter safari guides, the army comes up in conversation within, on average, the first fifteen minutes. During my stay in Lapland, up near the Arctic Circle, I met three such guides, and the army mention usually came along with a boast about the coldest temperatures they’d survived. “When I was in the army …” became the standard response to my pathetic shivering complaints. For me, minus 12 degrees Celsius was really scraping the barrel of survival. You’ve got to remember, I’m from Australia.
In my hometown it’s pretty much never been below freezing in history.

My backpack had been considerably heavier than usual when I checked in for my flight to Finland, but it wasn’t surprising. My trusty Mountain Designs was loaded up with all my new fleecy possessions, plus extra woolly socks, hi-tech thermal underwear and last-minute mittens, on the assurance that they’d keep my skinny fingers much warmer than gloves would. I’ve never been a big fan of the European winter – what I thought was winter in Australia was really just a bad summer – but the lure of the mythical white Christmas somehow got me to Lapland in late December.

With my backpack empty, I was dressed to kill, or at least not to freeze, and I met Arvo, a stocky Finn who would take me on an ice fishing expedition near Rovaniemi, Lapland’s capital. With comprehensive instructions on driving a snowmobile - “Right lever is go, left is brake. Ready?” - we sped across the frozen Ounasjoki River. But speed was to be Arvo’s downfall. As we turned into the forest, he moved too quickly to see that yesterday’s path had become today’s pond. Somehow he warned the rest of us to stop in time, but got up to his knees in the icy water himself.

I offered words of sympathy while watching Arvo perched on the seat of his snowmobile, bare feet exposed to the elements, wringing out one sock while the other literally froze solid. He casually said, “It’s not bad. When I was in the army, I fell completely under the ice. And I wasn’t allowed to make a fire. That was pretty bad.” An hour later at our campsite, Arvo could finally dry his socks properly over a campfire – we certainly let him build one.
“You only wear one pair of socks?” I asked astounded, remembering that the thick woollen pair supplied with my thermal suit was snugly covering my own three pairs.
“They’re good wool ones,” he said, “And it’s more important to have some space in your boots. Space for your feet helps you keep warm. The army says so!”
The army also taught him to be prepared for those with hopeless fishing skills. Dangling a line through a tiny drilled hole in the ice soon lost its novelty, and I retreated to the campfire and tent to eat Arvo’s back-up meal of sausages and hot chocolate, set off nicely by the aroma of drying socks.

My second guide took me snowshoe walking in a balmy minus five degrees Celsius. “A bit warm today,” was Jukka’s opening comment, though he kept similar remarks to himself after learning it was some forty-five degrees warmer in my hometown. Just the same, we had only spent a few minutes tramping across the Ounasvaara slopes before he hit another weak spot.
“You didn’t put any creams on your face this morning, did you?”
The question made it obvious that I shouldn’t have. “But my skin was so dry from the cold!” I protested.
“Well, it won’t be so bad today. But next time, nothing. Your cream is probably water-based and it’ll freeze straight away. Best thing is not even to wash your face in the morning. Let your skin’s oils protect you.”
As we snowshoed up a soft bleached hill, my body sweating but my moisturised cheeks freezing, our discussion inevitably returned to temperatures. It seemed to be the same story in Lapland as in many other parts of the world I’ve passed through – unusually warm weather during the past couple of years, with the blame thrown wrongly or rightly on global warming.
“When I was younger it was much colder here,” Jukka told me. “The coldest winter for me was minus 42 degrees C, I was in the army camping in a tent.
You know, back then if it got as warm as minus 20, I’d pick up my sleeping bag and go sleep under a tree. That’s all I needed.”

Hannu brought up the army topic within just three minutes when we were donning thermal suits for a snowmobiling trek to meet some reindeer. He’d extended his service from the usual six months to twelve, and had plenty of army-taught tips up his sleeve. “Come on, spit,” he said, “Just like scuba diving. Your mask won’t fog up.” Clear mask and bright red thermal suit ready, we scooted across Kemi’s frozen sea and spent the morning learning to drive a reindeer sleigh and, somewhat distastefully perhaps, eating reindeer sandwiches. All the standing around meant even my mint-condition mittens weren’t keeping my hands warm, and Hannu noticed quickly.
“Copy me,” he said, “Another Australian I met called this the penguin warmer. Hold your arms straight next to you, but with your hands sticking out, like this,” he demonstrated with his palms parallel to the ground, hands close to the body, like a penguin ready to waddle. “Now move your shoulders up and down. It’s like a pump, and it will make your hands feel warm fast.” I looked stupid, but it worked a treat and my hands were ready to grip the reindeer reins again. Ulla the reindeer cooperated beautifully and I was awarded a reindeer driving licence, valid for five years. That’ll come in handy if Santa needs a hand with his deliveries.

Back home I carefully packed my Arctic gear away in a cardboard box. I can’t imagine when I’ll need this stuff again but at least I’ll be better-than-boy-scout prepared. And next time, I’ll even know to leave my moisturiser at home.

If you go:

Safari outings ranging from half a day to several days are operated by half a dozen operators in each main Lapland town: the tourist information sites provide links to their offerings. Along with ice fishing, snowmobiling, snowshoewalking and reindeer sleigh driving, you can try a husky safari, downhill and cross-country skiing, look for the Northern Lights and visit Santa in his office.

http://tourism.rovaniemi.fi/?deptid=6335
Rovaniemi tourist information: links for activities, accommodation and tour operators

http://www.kemi.fi/matkailu/english/
Kemi tourist information: links for activities, accommodation and tour operators

http://www.lapland.ws/lapland/english/matkailulappi/index.html
Comprehensive list of links for tourism topics in Lapland

Amanda Kendle is an Australian addicted to travelling who has lived in Japan, Slovakia and Germany. She works as an English teacher but probably learns more from her students than they do from her. See more at www.amandakendle.com

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