The unexpected allure of Lapland

Fall in love with the winter wilderness and it could completely change your life.

Pasi Ikonen is a prime example of what the pull of Lapland can do. A nine-to-five working week in central London was left far behind when he moved with his English wife Anna to Enontekiö, on the edge of Finland’s wilderness. Once they had settled, they bought dozens of dogs and started a husky farm. This is without either of them having local connections or any experience of sledge dogs. There was nothing else for it: the call of the Arctic was too much to resist.

From athletes to husky farmers

Both Pasi and Anna have a background in extreme sports, competing over the years in challenging wilderness contests around the world. When their sporting careers came to an end, adventure was put on the back burner and ordinary life took over. However, it didn’t take long before they realised that they were missing the wilderness and the north, especially during the winter when it really comes to life.

Life begins when the snow comes

The sheer impressiveness of winter is hard to explain, since not everyone gets it. Even many Finns loathe the cold, dark time of year and long for the heat of the south during the depths of the long winter. For those who love the winter though, the coming of snow is like a drug. The thick, velvet-soft drifts cover the dark soil and life changes as if touched by a magic wand. The snow brings with it a flurry of outdoor activity that includes snowmobiles, dog sledding and skiing.

Forget your material worries

Pasi, Anna and everyone else living in Lapland all share the love of “kaamos”, which is the darkest time of the year. Even though the sun doesn’t rise at all for a couple of months, the locals don’t find this time of year depressing. It is quite the opposite. Gaze at the Northern Lights dancing in the sky or the stars gleaming brightly, shining in a way you just don’t see in the south, and time stands still. Inessentials and material worries are quickly forgotten.

Fairy tale forests

The purity of the natural environment is a major part of Lapland’s beauty and this can be seen in its many coniferous trees. They are covered in beard moss, a greenish lichen that disappeared from the most polluted areas of the south many years ago. The moss also makes the trees look like a fairy tale forest from an old picture book.

Nobody is in a hurry

Besides the varied natural environment, Pasi was also attracted by the way of life in Enontekiö. In Lapland, people aren’t all rushing to get somewhere for no reason. The laid-back life is lived on nature’s terms, in harmony with the seasons as the situation demands. Compared with the short-term world of business driven by quarterly results, there’s a huge contrast. It is no wonder that many visitors to Lapland find themselves suddenly thinking, ‘Hmm, isn’t this the way it always ought to be…?’