TEAM NEWS: HEADING TO THE ARCTIC NORTH ON AN INFLATABLE SUP!

Our longtime ambassador, Ingrid, who is currently in the Norwegian fjords for a stand-up paddle expedition in autonomy, tells the story of her first week.

"I'm in Tromsø. Located 400 km north of the Arctic Circle on the 69th parallel, the small town of Tromsø is nicknamed the Gateway to the Arctic, and this title seems well deserved. Nestled between glacial fjords and steep, snow-covered peaks most of the year, Tromsø is the starting point for many polar scientific expeditions. Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen is an iconic figure in the city. As for the Polar Museum, it recounts the Arctic adventures of fishermen, hunters, and explorers who navigated the icy waters and traversed the North Pole. Being here is so exciting. I've read so many adventure stories that began here. This time it's the starting point of my own adventure."

"A taxi drops me off at Jekthavn, a small beach at the end of the Fv274 road, after the village of Botnhamn. Last village accessible by car on the northeast side of Senja Island (the second largest island in this Arctic region). The driver bombards me with questions. He doesn't understand why I'm doing this, let alone why I'm doing it alone. Yet my answer is simple: to be peaceful and discover another little piece of the Arctic.

Senja Island is renowned for the beauty of its landscapes. It rivals the Lofoten Islands in beauty (SUP adventure in 2020), but is much less frequented and inhabited. Everything I love. Being alone in vast spaces."

"At this point, it's pouring rain. I'm glad to be wrapped up in my waterproof poncho. I want to go around the island but Mother Nature has decided otherwise. After 2 days and two bivouacs in intense rain (=humidity=cold🥶), it's a storm of wind and sustained swell that keep me ashore. And the weather doesn't forecast any improvement in the coming days!

Boom, back to square one. A day in Tromsø, to do some shopping and rework the maps of my basic plan: the Lyngen Alps, also called the Arctic Alps (an island east of Tromsø, where the weather seems better).

These mountains are a world apart, stuck in the middle of fjords where the sea meets the high peaks in just a few kilometers... vertically! The Jiekkevarri peaks at 1833 meters. A paradise for SUPing, hidden there in the heart of these fjords of the 69th parallel North! Let's go for the adventure!

The stage is set. Fjords, snow-covered mountains, arctic and glacial weather... A cloud of daring peaks at the edge of the fjords, reindeer hidden behind the ridges..."

SUPer: Ingrid, GONG team rider, in a GONG waterproof poncho with a Couine Marie Explorer.

"The days go by and don't resemble each other, each fjord, each cape offers its own reality, its landscapes, its weather, its ice, its encounters. Today I met a sea eagle and an arctic hare. The sea eagle is now a protected species. It's magnificent to see.

Here are 8 days of adventure at 400 km north of the Arctic Circle coming to an end. At this latitude, nature is exuberant, devouring, almost to excess. In the far North, the Lyngen Alps are still wild with still tons of hidden gems. Not a sound except for the wind crashing against high mountains and sliding over the sea and glaciers. It's also the realm of rugged, wild but above all magnificent nature. Mountains, fjords, forests, sandy beaches, waterfalls, vast expanses of ice or deserted lands swept by the glacial wind, nature wears a thousand faces here.

Nowhere else are the fjords as breathtaking. Between harmony and silence, the reflection of the steep cliffs, plunging into the transparent water, seems to repeat infinitely. Venturing out on a SUP in these ancient glacial valleys was magical!"

"This adventure leaves me with an indelible memory, accompanied by the feeling of being just an ant in front of this raw, extraordinary nature. The Far North dressed in its snow mantle, its incomparable lights, the midnight sun, I touched a piece of Paradise.

Now I have to put down my paddle, to go higher and get even closer to the North Pole... yes again 😂 and there, no room for my SUP, the ice takes up all the space, and it's currently -20. Heading to the Svalbard archipelago ❄️❄️❄️"