by Kate, Pete, Drew, and Gwyn Barba

Kiruna is the northernmost city in Sweden and home to two very different industries.  It was founded as a mining town and to this day continues to produce a huge percentage of the world’s iron ore; everyday they extract enough iron to build over six Eiffel Towers!  LKAB’s tunnels are so extensive and the deposit is so rich that the company is moving the entire downtown to a new, safer location so that it can keep extracting ore from under the old city.  Even the gorgeous historic church (a work of art and well worth a visit) is eventually going to be relocated!  Though we come from gold country and I’m a geologist, the mine is not why we visited.

Kiruna is also an outdoor adventure wonderland.  It sits well north of the Arctic Circle and the conifer forest flirts with tundra and polar ice.  It is the home of reindeer, the Sami people, and hardy Swedes who live in extreme conditions and widely varying light.  Since it’s winter, the sun never rose the entire time we were there.  A few hours of twilight at midday was as close as it came.  I loved the beautiful long sunrise/sunset, but I’m not sure I could enjoy it for an entire winter!

For the first several days of our arctic adventure we stayed in a rustic resort cabin which was part of Camp Ripan, a warm and welcoming complex of buildings including a fantastic restaurant (pictures later) and activities center.  We walked around town in 20+ below freezing temperatures, went sledding (briefly), and enjoyed the spa.

This type of spa experience was new to all of us.  It consisted of sweltering saunas, natural skin treatments, a foot soak and scrub, and the occasional dousing with cold water!  Seriously, it was snowing outside and at one point we were alternating an outdoor hot tub and a just-above-freezing immersion pool.  The warm foot bath was alternated with a barefoot walk in the snow; the serene floating pool was contrasted with snow angels!  Finally, a body scrub with tiny bits of birch leaves left my skin rosy and smooth.  The others were more skeptical, but then I didn’t do the snow angels…. I enjoyed the whole experience, but next time I’ll bring my girlfriends and we’ll make it a more social event than extreme sport.

One evening we went for a horseback ride through the forest in search of the aurora.  The northern lights are natural light shows resulting from solar storm particles hitting the magnetic field near the poles.  They are not guaranteed and while we saw some low-grade auroras, we didn’t see the full colorful dance.  What we did see was magical and will keep us coming back for more someday.  Regardless, the quiet ride in the dark was enchanting by itself and the stars were clear and bright.  Ofelaš Icelandic horses & Guide service runs a great tour and we recommend it…just wear extra socks and bring hand warmers!

Pete’s birthday was the following day and this was definitely NOT a midlife crisis moment….

Every birthday is special, a time to celebrate another year well-lived, wisdom gained and another notch on the figurative walking stick that accompanies us on our journey through life.  But sometimes, the day itself is celebrated more fully.  This was one of those birthdays.

The day started with a lovely quiet breakfast with my love, Kate.  This is one of my favorite times, when we start slow and enjoy each other’s company before the day gets busy.  The hotel had a great breakfast buffet with everything from traditional scrambled eggs to Nordic lingonberry jam and everything in between.  On cold winter mornings, nothing fills the soul more than a hearty breakfast, a warm cup of coffee and time alone with your wife.

After breakfast, I got to try my hand at something I‘ve long wanted to do—ice climbing.  Camp Ripan had a 30ft tall man-made ice waterfall, set up for ice climbing.  I was fortunate to be the only student with my instructor Robin from Kiruna Guidebyrå, giving me more opportunities to climb and learn.  After the short safety briefing (“don’t kick your crampons into your other leg and don’t fall!”  😱), we got on our gear.  For those who have never seen ice climbing, you wear crampons (ice picks on your shoes), ice axes held in each hand, and safety harnesses and ropes to make sure you don’t plummet to your death.  One thing I love about most of the rest of the world is the emphasis on personal responsibility and lack of lawsuits.  Overseas, there’s no waivers to be signed or excessive big brother precautions. It’s assumed that when you sign up for ice climbing, you are smart enough to know it’s a high risk activity and if you die, you won’t sue anyone.  

Outside in the brisk -10°F air, I approached the wall with trepidation.  While I have rock climbed for much of my life, this was a whole new level.  Rock doesn’t typically break and fall on you as you climb.  Ice is a delicate balance of a hard crystal face you climb and at the same time a fragile substance that shatters easily and crashes into your face as you scale it.  At first, I used the brute force method of climbing – slamming my ice ax and crampons into the frozen waterfall, thereby creating my own holds to support my weight.  While this worked, and I repeatedly succeeded in reaching the top of the wall, my arms quickly tired in the freezing temperatures swinging the axes over my head, and bruising my toes inside the hard boots.  After a few climbs, I was frozen and spent, so we went into the warming shack to reheat.  

Robin coached me that just like rock climbing, fitness is the key to ice climbing.  Carefully swinging the ax into existing defects in the ice takes far less effort and uses the natural ice formations to lesson the work of securing the ax.  The same with the feet, finding natural shelves and holds to kick the crampons into, reduces the repetitive injury to the toes.  Finally, occasionally shaking out your arms and legs while climbing, keeps the blood flowing in the arctic temperatures.

With this newfound knowledge, we went back outside and climbed again.  This time it was much easier and, dare I say, peaceful.  I was able to smoothly and quietly ascend the ice, with far less effort, minimal ice chips in the face, and arms that no longer felt like jelly.  Over the next 2 hours, I was able to ascend the wall about 15 times, each time gaining confidence and skills.  With the continual arctic sunrise glowing pink on the horizon, a continual smile filled my face as the result of a lifelong dream fulfilled.

Climbing builds up a big appetite, and my belly was rumbling.  Having grown up in Philly, I love Philly cheesesteaks.  I also love exploring local foods in our travels, no matter how weird.  (Mopani worms anyone?)  For my birthday lunch we explored Stejk Street Food a food truck that makes only one thing and makes it phenomenally well.  Local cheesesteaks.  No cheese-wiz or beef here, rather caribou and elk.  Yummy.  Drew and I enjoyed our sandwiches inside a tepee by the food truck, with a roaring fire and fairy lights to warm us.  While it seemed sacrilege to eat Rudolph just days before Christmas, it didn’t slow us down consuming the delicious sandwiches with gusto.  While it was no Philly cheesesteak, it was definitely a great riff on my hometown delicacy.

To close my birthday in the best possible way, we went dog sledding as told by Gwyn below.  Because it was my birthday, our wonderful guide let me repeatedly drive the sled, another lifelong dream come true.  

While the experiences of the day were phenomenal and fulfilled many dreams, the best part of the day was spending my day with those I love the most.  The past few years have been all consuming and have pulled me away from them too much.  To spend this birthday with them, experiencing the arctic wonderland was the best present anyone could give. -Pete

Gwyn is going to tell us about an extraordinary experience that finished Dad’s epic birthday…..

Dog sledding was not what I was expecting. When we arrived at Husky Home we were greeted by some husky puppies and immediately got on the sled. We had a team of 11 dogs two of which were twins. The sled was a long piece of wood with metal skates. Dad was in the back, Mom was in front of him, I was in front of her, and Drew was in front of me. When we took off it was faster than I expected! We went sledding on a frozen lake and through a forest. The trees and the snow kept sparkling; I was mesmerized. When we were done we fed the dogs and went inside to have a snack. After that we cuddled with the puppies and with my favorite sled dog Karma. Dog sledding was my favorite activity in the Arctic Circle. -Gwyn

Finally, the real reason we came this far north in December.  A photo in a school book and a subsequent video online convinced the kids that this was on the list.  Kiruna is home to the original Ice Hotel.  30 years ago visionaries harvested ice from the river and built a hotel completely out of ice: rooms, a bar, hallways, light fixtures and artwork.  In the spring, it melted away.  Today the Ice Hotel has a year-round refrigerated hotel and a seasonal building we were lucky enough to stay in towards the end of our stay….but I’ll let Drew tell you more about that.

While we were in Sweden, we did many unique things. One of them was the Ice Hotel.   It is one of the only places in the world where you get to sleep on a solid block of ice. We had heard about it and read about it, but nothing could prepare us for its beauty. 

It was all made of ice: chandeliers, columns, walls, ceilings, floors, and sculptures. There were sculptures of animals, landscapes, people, plants, and so much more. Our room was a giant igloo dome made of strange and cool slabs of frozen water. Because professional ice carvers are invited every year, all the rooms have their own unique style (check them out here). Sleeping there was an interesting experience. They gave us super warm sleeping bags so we weren’t that cold. Because we slept on a three person bed and there were four people, it was very crowded. 

During the day (which is only four hours of twilight) we drove around the beautiful landscapes in our rental car. It truly is magical, with the sparkling snow, the high mountains, and the icy water. At night we looked for the northern lights. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see them at the peak of their color, but they were still pretty. Every few seconds they move and change their shape. We only saw a faint glow of green, but sometimes you can see the colors vibrant and bright.  We did many cool things in Sweden, and it won’t be a place we will forget. -Drew

We survived! After warming up with a shower and a big breakfast we visited nearby Nutti Sámi Siida and the Márkanbáiki Sámi open air museum. The reindeer were cute, but a touch pushy about their food! The museum was fascinating and informative, I wish we had more time to spend there. The cozy restaurant and craft shop beckoned, but we had a place to catch!

Thanks for reading to the end.  Next up: Christmas in The Netherlands!  Don’t forget to check out our past stories and subscribe for future articles as well.  Find us on Facebook and Instagram for bonus content!  Please note that any links or business names provided are for information only, we did not receive any compensation for our opinions or recommendations. As always, if you are planning a trip to any location we visit we are happy to provide more details and opinions, so feel free to contact us.