This is an intense wildlife photography expedition which has been described by many as an experience of a lifetime. An official National Park guide, who is guiding this tour for nearly a decade, will take you with dog sledgesinto the mountains of Dovrefjell where you will stay for four days, photographing wild roaming musk-oxen. You will photograph these impressive animals in the harsh Norwegian winter conditions, with temperatures dropping well below -20 degrees and a good chance for a winter storm to pass through. This tour is for the more adventurous nature photographer.
Day 1. You will fly on Oslo Gardermoen airport. Here you will be picked up and be driven to the accommodation just outside the National Park of Dovrefjell. The drive takes about 5 hours. The first night we will stay in comfortable cabins, just outside the National Park. We will use the same cabins again for the last night. So you can leave behind some belongings you won't need with you during the days out in the mountains.
Day 2. In the morning we will meet up with a team of husky mushers, who have several sledges for our equipment and us. There will be some single person and two person sledges. The mushers will explain you how to ride the dog sledge. The huskies will bring us up into the mountains. At the steepest sections of the journey up, we have to help the huskies by pushing the sledges. The ride up to the base camp will take about 90 minutes. We will be dropped off at the location where we will set up our tents. After setting up the camp, we head out for our first hike to the musk-oxen. The musk-oxen will probably be within 30 to 90 minutes walking distance from our camp.
Day 2, 3 and 4. During the trip we sleep outside in tents for 3 nights. This gives us the chance to photograph the animals during first and last light. If you would leave the park every day and sleep in an hotel instead, you would not be able to be with the animals during the best light. The tents we use are large extreme expedition tents. They can stand a strong storm and are well isolated. In each tent 3 persons can sleep comfortable plus there is enough space for the equipment.
Depending on how motivated the group is, we will get up about 3 hours before sunrise. After eating breakfast and packing our bags, we hike to the musk-oxen before first light. The aim is to be with the animals at least about 30 minutes before sunrise. Depending on the distance that the animals are from our camp, we will either stay the whole day out with the animals or return to the camp for lunch. We stay with the animals until the light has gone bad and hike then back to our base camp where we will have our dinner. If it is very cloudy during the trip, it doesn't make sense to be so early at the animals. Then we can sleep a bit longer.
Time of sunrise and sunset differs between the tours. During the first tour sunrise is at about 09:40 and sunset at 15:20. During the last tour sunrise is at about 08:40 and sunset at 16:33.
Day 5. This is the last day in the mountains. We will be picked up with the huskies at about 14:00. Before that, we will have the possibility to photograph the musk-oxen at sunrise. We have to be back at our camp at 12:00 to pack everything again. That night we will sleep again in the comfort of the heated cabins, just outside the National Park and enjoy a delicious meal in the local restaurant.
Day 6. In the morning you will be driven back to Oslo Gardermoen airport and fly home again.
The tents
We use high end expedition tents which can stand the toughest conditions. We have camped out in winds of 28 meter per second and the tents easily stood their ground. The tents are large and offer a comfortable housing for 3 persons. In each tent there will be 2 or 3 persons staying, depending on the group size.
The weather
The temperature will probably be around -15 on day time and around -20 at night time. These mountains are known for the strong wind which suddenly can pick up and disappear again. This means that the weather can change rather fast from hour to hour. During the tours there is a good chance that we will get into blizzards. Proper clothing is an absolute must!
The guide
Floris Smeets is one of the official Dovrefjell Nation Park guides. He is experienced and knows the area and animals well. In the past decade, he has guided groups in some of the toughest winter weather conditions and will always put the group's safety upfront. Even though the conditions can be challenging, you will be safe in his hands. Additionally, he is a professional photographer and Sony Ambassador. He plans the tours to maximize your photographic results. You will be on the right spot at the right time and can always ask for tips and feedback. For each trip there will be an assisting guide present as well.
Physical condition of the participants
You need to be fit for this tour! You have to be able to walk several (3-5) hours per day, also in rather steep terrain. We will walk mostly with snowshoes. Only on the tops of the mountains, where the musk-oxen mainly are, we will not need snowshoes. Snowshoes are provided for you. Participants have to carry their own photo equipment plus 1 Liter of tea or coffee and food for the day.
Food and drinks
Because the temperature will be below freezing during the tour (about -15 on day time and -20 at night), it is not possible to bring regular food or drinks. Those will freeze. Quality expedition food, of the brand "Adventure Food", is supplied for you. We have tested several brands, and this brand makes the tastiest meals and has a good amount of calories. I also supply every participant with a 1 liter thermos for tea or coffee. In order to make tea or coffee, we have to melt snow every day. I supply burners and pots, which are specially designed for winter usage. Some snacks, such as chocolate, cookies and peanuts, don't contain any or much water. It is possible to bring those with us for extra energy.
On the first and last day, we will have regular food and drinks.
Sleeping bags
Because the temperature at night will be about -20 degrees, we need good sleeping bags. The tents isolate quite well. It will be about 8 degrees warmer in the tent, if there are 3 persons inside. We supply all guests with good winter sleeping bags. You only need to bring your own sleeping bag liner. It is very important that the liner is made out of fleece, because other materials will feel cold during winter. If you have got a sleeping bag for these conditions, you can bring it. Please tell us the brand and model of your sleeping bag, so we can check for you if it will be warm enough for this trip.
Disclaimer
We will have some of the best winter camping gear with us, which allows us to camp out in the mountains even during very challenging weather conditions. Even though our tents can stand windspeeds around 150km/h, the windspeed should not exceed 75 km/h when setting up the camp. In case the weather will be too extreme and will not allow us to set up camp, we will stay in the cabins outside the National Park. In that case we will hike in and out of the mountains every day in order to photograph the musk-oxen. Sadly, staying more nights at the cabins brings additional costs of NOK 1290,- per person per night.
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