Watch: skiing Lapland under the midnight sun

Reine Barkered, Sam Smoothy, Callum Pettit and co explore the delights of Lapland in Northern Sweden, way up in the Arctic Circle

Despite being the birth place of modern skiing, for a long time Scandinavia has often been eschewed for bigger mountains in places like the Alps and BC or Alaska. That’s been starting to change in recent years, with the Norwegian regions of Lofoten and Lyngen rising swiftly up tick lists, largely thanks to a number of pros and local skiers putting out stunning shots of dreamy couloirs running straight down to the frigid ocean below.

Somehow Sweden has been left out though. FWT charger ‘the mayor of stomp-town’ Reine Barkered decided to take his Giro team mates to Lapland far in the north to show them what they’ve been missing in the land of the midnight sun.

LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN

LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN Lapland, Europe’s Last Great Wilderness Words by Reine Barkered Cinematography & Edit by Nathan Avila Location: Lapland – Sweden & Norway Featured Riders: Callum Pettit, Reine Barkered, Riley Leboe, Sam Smoothy & Izzy Lynch “Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

Reine tells more, in his own words:

“Far above the Arctic Circle lie the towns of Riksgränsen and Abisko which could barely qualify as towns. They are between the small cities of Kiruna, Sweden and Narvik, Norway. Iron ore is mined in Kiruna and gets transported to the harbor in Narvik via train. Along this purpose-built railroad, these towns have sprung up, and they are not much to look at but I have had some of the best days of my life there.

What I love most about this area is that due to its latitude it gets super long days, and even midnight sun. We were here in late April so the daylight is about 20 hours long which makes it possible to go out almost any time of day. 

Staying at the Abisko Mountain Lodge we were set up with two helicopters that would take us out into the vast wilderness. It is not very easy to get out there, you can use sleds in some areas, or ski tour for days. The weather looked pretty good when we arrived and the crew was stoked to get out. 

Over the next few days we explored deeper into the massif and found some really good stuff. Some peaks we had to pass on since it is the calving season for reindeer. They are not wild animals but considered livestock that belong to the indigenous people who are called Sami or Samer. They have herded reindeer here for generations and have little huts and temporary villages set up during that time of year. I brought along some smoked reindeer heart for the crew to try, it is extremely nutritious as well as delicious, and beats any power bar.

The trip ended with an evening/night shoot that yielded some of the best shots due to the never-ending sunset. I am super stoked I got to show some of my friends around in a part of the world that not many get to experience.”