After my successful (and dramatic) Zambezi challenge last year, I'm off to the Arctic on a dog sledding expedition, leaving on 4th April 2014. I'm hoping to raise even more funds for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance. (See http://www.justgiving.com/Stuart-Foulstone for more info on my Zambezi challenge)

This is a tough arctic challenge where I will drive my own team of huskies for five long days through the arctic wilderness with the nights spent camping in tents.  Temperatures can drop to -40 C and it is not uncommon to experience wildlife such as wolves, brown bears reindeer, wolverine, musk ox and lynx.  In addition, the route of this 5 day challenge can change according to the weather and snow conditions.

Joining me on this amazing adventure is Vicki Thomas - a family friend and Mum to three boys (very close in age to my three children).

 

Day 1: Following arrival in Tromso the previous day and spending the night in a communal Sámi tent, we start the day with an early breakfast before we pack the equipment, sledges and the dogs on to cars and drive towards Signaldalen (start and end point for the challenge) in Norway. The trip takes approximately 2 hours. Here we prepare the husky team and start the challenge heading towards the border regions. Today’s stage is very physically challenging so it’s essential that we take our part in helping the husky team pull the sledges. I will need to push the sled up hills and encourage my four legged co-workers. When we arrive at today’s camp we take the harness off the dogs and give them food before we set up our own camp. This will be the routine every evening! Total distance travelled today will be 30 km.

 

Day 2: After our first night’s sleep we have breakfast in the tent before packing camp, putting the harnesses on the dogs and head towards the border. This area is surrounded with high mountains and the route will be dictated by the weather and snow conditions. This area is known as the Lapp lands and is home to many herds of reindeer. We cross the border and settle down in Sweden or Finland. Total distance travelled today will be 60 km.

 

Day 3: Today’s terrain is high-mountain driving where we pass a lot of large frozen lakes prior to pitching camp in the mountains. Total distance travelled today will be 50 km.

 

Day 4: This stages starts in the high mountains, but after a while we come into woodlands where we will experiencet challenging and technical dog sledding. We drive very close to the Finish and Swedish borders and will settle down either on the Swedish or Finish side depending on the weather and snow conditions. Total distance travelled today will be 50 km.

 

Day 5: This day starts with many flat parts along a portion of lakes. We will have a lunch stop where Norway, Sweden and Finland meet before we start a tough climb prior to heading down a long steep descent. The final night is spent sleeping in a traditional Sámi tent before flying back to the UK. Total distance travelled today will be 40 km.

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