After one and a half years of fundraising, practice hikes and kit shopping, the day finally arrived and a group of 36 of us set off to Finland with our back packs and energy bars to what was one of the best weeks of our life.
Travelling to Hossa was long and tiring, but that didn't stop us bubbling with excitement as we saw where we were staying- a gorgeous wooden lodge almost in the midst of a forest, knee-high snow everywhere, a sauna 100 metres away - even in almost pitch black, it honestly looked like a winter wonderland! After dinner and the organisation of rooms we fell straight asleep, waking in the morning fresh and excited to start the day.
The next five days brought with them a mixture of incredible activities, some of which being survival skills (I learnt perhaps i'm not that great at making fires...), building igloos, ice fishing on frozen lakes, trekking, cross country skiing, visiting a reindeer farm and winter Olympics themed races. We had local Finnish guides and a leader from Schools Worldwide with us throughout the week, so we really got to grips with the culture, and even learnt some Finnish!
One of my favourite activities by far was building the igloos. It took hours and hours to design it, build the snow mount and hollow it out, but it was so much fun, especially with the group I had and the fact that you get so stuck in- you literally had to crawl into it through a tiny hole to shovel out the snow which was hard work. But at the end we had an amazing igloo which we had made ourselves, which in the evening we all sat in drinking tea and playing cards. Unfortunately, we couldn't sleep in the igloos overnight as it wasn't cold enough (yes, -10 degrees was not cold enough) but it was still a brilliant night!
We also made a fire outside our cabin at night, got some oil and batter and started making pancakes! Who would have thought I would ever be in the middle of nowhere in Finland with my friends, eating pancakes we made on an open fire?
As you can see, the trip was full of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, and i'm sure I speak for other members of my group when I say I loved every minute of it. Being in an extreme climate can be quite physically and emotionally challenging, but we've come back with new friendships, skills and memories that we will never forget.
A winter activity week in Finland is a great short-haul destination for pupils to experience a variety of activities.
