13/04/2025
We just got back from a week up in the Swedish wilderness 🇸🇪 The original plan was to explore Sarek National Park, but due to the unusually warm winter, there just wasn’t enough snow. So we headed further north, chasing winter.
Every year, I try to carve out a week to get a group of guides and friends together—part adventure, part recce mission. But this trip made me realise it’s always been about more than just finding new routes.
This winter marks 10 years since I started coming up here. A decade ago, I didn’t know how to ski. I’d never camped in the snow. Honestly, I didn’t even know this world existed.
But ever since that first trip to Finland, I’ve been hooked—on the silence, the scale, the sense of freedom. On the self-reliance and the kind of people you meet out here—tough, kind, wild-at-heart.
When I started Sidetracked, it was all about sharing these places, encouraging others to move through them slowly, with intention, and to really feel the wild.
This past week, we explored a new corner of the Arctic. Swedish Lapland has proper mountains, which meant proper storms. We had those wild blizzards where the wind slams into you so hard you can’t stand straight. That’s when you’re faced with the big calls—do we push on, or hunker down and wait it out?
And honestly, for me, these trips aren’t about racing from point A to B. Sure, I love skiing—but I need the other moments just as much. Lying back on the pulka when the view opens up. Taking my time in the morning, slowly packing up while sipping a second cup of tea. Letting conversations drift beyond logistics and route plans.
Right before this trip, I’d been thinking a bit more about what Sidetracked actually is—what makes it different? Still figuring that out. But here are a few things we believe in:
* Cinnabons should always be warmed by the fire
* Leadership doesn’t have to be loud
* Make space to play
Thanks to the epic gal gang who joined for the week, especially a big shout out to for hauling her heavy camera kit around to capture the beauty of the north. Our Sarek ski expedition will now also head up north starting in Abisko next weekend and enjoy our last adventure of the season ✨
