I’m confident enough to say that all backpackers dislike bugs. Acutally, hate bugs. Well, not all bugs but the kind bugs that bite and sting you while you’re trying to enjoy the outdoors. We protect ourselves with clothing, shelters and chemicals and maybe even  avoid outings on certain areas during the worst bug season. So […]

At this time next week I will be walking into my first serious packrafting trip, the FPE2011. Starting with a 45km walk in followed by likely the most remote and wild rivers in Finland: Valtijoki, Poroeno and Lätäseno totalling over 140km of packrafting. The Valtijoki sounds quite intimidating with its big drops, class IV rapids […]

/ A word of warning: As has been the case with the previous OYIP posts, also this post includes a lot of photos. They are nice and varied outdoors photos but there are many. You have been warned. / It’s again the time annual OYIP post. The time to wrap up the past year in […]

We are having quite terrible winter here in the Southern Finland. Saying it’s the worst ever is probably exaggerating but it’s horrible compared to the previous few winters. There’s not much snow to ski on, two weeks of above zero temps have turned the lakes into slush fields and generally it’s not very inspiring for […]

I spent most of the last Sunday wandering in the woods gathering the new soft annual shoots of spruce. These can be eaten as such, used to make tea or to make syrup. In this post I’ll explain my motives for making syrup instead of buying it and also share the recipe with you. If […]

After the three weeks spectacular in Svalbard I had a week back home to take care of mundane issues and repack for another two weeks on the ice. This time the destination was Iceland and the plan was to guide an Avotunturit ski expedition across Vatnajökull, the largest glacier in Europe. This would be my […]

The blog has been quiet since my contemplations of saying farewell to winter. The reason is, that I succeeded and found the winter. And definitely didn’t have to say good byes in February. At the end of February I headed to Sarek in Northern Sweden and found beautiful winter on the fjells. No signs of […]

Again a bilingual blog, this time about gear deals for those participating on my guided tours. / Taas kerran kaksikielinen tiedote, tällä kertaa varustetarjouksista opastamieni kurssien ja vaellusten asiakkaille. Maps for future projects. / Karttoja tulevia projekteja varten. Discounts from Trekki My collaboration with Trekki, one of the small independent outdoors companies in Finland, continues […]

This is again a bilingual blog post about guiding services I am offering. / Tämä on toinen kaksikielinen tiedote tarjoamistani opaspalveluista. This post serves also as a “commenting area” as the comments on pages are disabled. / Tämä tiedote palvelee myös kommentointi- ja keskustelualueena, sillä info-sivuilla ei voi kommentoida. Which track you’d like to follow? […]

While I’m guiding a group on the mountains of Sarek in Northern Sweden, the mysterious forces of the Internet automatically publish this little post of some things I consider worth reading and/or following. This time most of my picks are in Finnish ony but there are some in English too, and a few videos. Fjell […]

Here’s a nice little challenge for you to give you some extra motivation to get outdoors also this year! What? The challenge is pretty simple: 1) Get out, do something “outdoorsy” and sleep outside. (Just sleeping on the backyard doesn’t really count.) 2) Do it twice a month through the whole year 2015. * The […]

This is again a bilingual blog post about guiding services I am offering. / Tämä on taas kerran kaksikielinen tiedote tarjoamistani opaspalveluista. This post serves also as a “commenting area” as the comments on pages are disabled. / Tämä tiedote palvelee myös kommentointi- ja keskustelualueena, sillä info-sivuilla ei voi kommentoida. Guided packrafting activities, autumn 2013 […]

30.4.2011 – The 1st full day at home for a while Somewhere along Lomonosovfonna I am now back from my three-week expedition to the cold shores and jagged peaks of Svalbard. Ultima Thule 2011 is over but the aftermath has barely started. Tent after a blizzard. Spot the pulka on the left! On Thursday we […]

You might have noticed that lately I’ve mentioned tyres quite often in my tweets. Tyres? Yes, tyres. Why? Well, let me explain… Who can read the runes? Most who are serious about their outdoor ventures like to be fit. Maybe the greatest way for outdoors enthusiast to stay fit is to spend a lot of […]