"Finland, Finland, Finland... the country where I want to be,..." Monty Python
As leader of the ASW Outdoor Adventure Club, I got to go to Finland for our Winter Trip for 5 days!
(written on the snow, can you tell how?)
Along with 3 other teachers, we took 15 spirited kids and ran them into the dirt, uh, rather snow every day until late. These kids were exposed to a variety of outdoor activities and experiences, almost all of them for the first time: cross country skiing, snow shoeing, the true Finnish Sauna Experience, complete with temps nearly as high as 100 C and running and jumping into a hole in a frozen over lake, dog sledding, water fall ice climbing, watching the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis), star gazing, and, yes, they even got to eat reindeer meat!
We first flew into Helsinki, Finland's capital on the semi-frozen Baltic Sea. We had some time between flights so we checked out the city, including seeing some of Alvar Aalto's architectural works:
Another 1 hour flight north brough us to Kuusamo and a bus shuttle to the Oivanki Outdoor Education Centre.
It's one of 10 state run youth centers that offer great services for youth groups at a great price, which includes full board, use of snowhoes, sauna, fantastic housing and play and meeting rooms. First day was XC-skiing and snowshoeing:
(Super Schwartz)
We even did some sunset and night skiing, too.
(Simon (Swedish) 'n Sarah (USA)
And afterwards we all did the sauna thing. Shower first, then sit in the 90-100 C sauna for 20 minutes, then put your sandals on, head outside in the frigid night air and head down the slippery steps to the hole in the lake and take the plunge! We got every teenage boy to do it the first night, and every girl tried it the next!
Here's a very weird, spooky shot of Schwartz coming out. Notice the 2 ghosts' faces on either side of him and the bright light? I think this is an award winning photo:
So I was one of the last ones to jump in since I was the photographer of the bunch. I or somebody noticed that the sky above was a bit green... so after I took my little ice swim, I stood outside for fifteen minutes in sub-zero temps photographing the Aurora Borealis.
It was awesome! And no one else was willing to stay out to watch them shimmer slowly in the night. Fortunately, me and all my outdoor epic experience came in handy. I was huddled in a ball while keeping my camera resting against the deck railing to steady the camera, which retained what little body heat I had left. However, after 15 minutes or so of shooting, I stood up and my head had 'frozen' itself at the angle I was holding it and I could tell my core temp had dropped considerably. I began to shiver violently. So, the show was ending and I hobbled up the slippery stairs, back in to the cold showers and somewhat hurriedly brought my core temp back up before I re-entered the sauna with the boys (guys and gals sauna seperately in Finland). I was easily at the second stage of hypothermia by the time I was back in the sauna... and thankfully no kid on the trip came close to my misery ;-)
The next day was full of more fun activities and perfect weather.
First up was dog sledding!
This is Susi, the owner of the dog sled farm. His season runs from October to May, usually. He has 140 dogs, mostly Alaskan and Siberian Huskies, but we saw a lot of muts, too.
One of my new Finnish friends
Next on the agenda:
Ice Climbing!
We took the kids to a 20 meter cliff with a guide agency. Lori was the main guide and they told me about a few other places in the region with some good ice climbing... just in case I return here some day for some climbing and skiing :)
The climbing was pretty easy, for the sun was out and the ice was soft. What made it most difficult was one set of tools they had us use were ANCIENT! They were easily from the 70s-short, straight shafts, bashed-in picks and crappy leashes. Mine actually eroded while climbing!
This was definitely a 'first' for every kid on the trip. There were all shocked at how much 'easier' it was compared to rock climbing! It's nice with ice tools in that you can 'create' your next hold. (What little they know what it's like to climb the ice when it's really hard ice and not slush ;-)
Kudos to them all for gettin' on it!
The last day was an epic one. We cross country skied about 20 kilometers. We had a rolly course and stopped about half way to cook our own lunch on the uber-quiet Trangia alcohol stoves.
(Matt and Dong Hun enjoying their meals)
When we headed to the airport in Kuusamo to head back home, it'd turned out we were there WAY too early. So Ken, Beth and Brooks geared up to make the most of it and got in one last ski session in. They also nearly missed their flight... going for a loop trip around a lake that was bigger than they thought ;-)
It was my first school trip abroad, and I think I'll forever be spoiled by it. Every teacher was amazed at how smoothly the trip went and how good the kids were. Of course, we got to partake in all the activities, too :)
Thanks ASW!
Spring has fully sprung in Warsaw. I took a day off from work and Patty, Jill and I did a tour of Warsaw by bike. First stop was Wilanow Palace, which if you compare to earlier photos on this site, they've refurbished and repainted it to such an amazing state. Plus it looks even prettier with all the magnolias in bloom.
