ARCTIC SURVIVAL CHALLENGE
GEORGE PORTER (YEAR 12) AND JAMIE SCOTT (YEAR 12)
DAY 1 Late in the afternoon of Thursday 3 rd April, 16 Dulwich boys from Years 10 up to 13 walked briskly off a plane into the cool temperatures of Östersund airport, around 300 miles North of Stockholm, Sweden. We had been preparing for the trip for the better part of a year with fundraising and kit procurement – many of us had hired kit with money gained by a long-running fundraising initiative. Immediately, we were whisked onto a coach that took us north to a remote cabin in the woods. The path to the cabin was frozen over and there were many recreations of ‘Bambi On Ice’ from both cadets and staff as we attempted to get to the actual cabin. Once warm in the cabin, we were shown the beds we’d be occupying and the dinner/breakfast rota we would be implementing. Our Instructor, Nigel, then took us out to see the woods and snow-covered plains around our location. We all slept well that night, awaiting the challenges of the next day. DAY 2 The second day was dominated by cross-country skiing. We had a breakfast of bacon, muesli, cheese, meat and bread (which became the norm for pretty
much every morning) and then set off. Some boys took very naturally to the slightly odd motion; others spent most of the time attempting to get over shallow bumps and hills, or staring face up at the sky, as they tried to get back up after their fifth fall in two hours. Most of the day was spent out on skis, with lunch being some sandwiches we made earlier. When at last we got back into camp, most people had felt they’d mastered the skis, or at least improved considerably, and everyone had enjoyed the day. Dinner was cooked by several culinary masters and comprised of pasta bolognese and a controversial quiz devised by our School Staff Instructor, which yielded several queries about the accuracy of the answers. DAY 3 The third day pitted the cadets against another new challenge: dog sledding. Once we had tied on the huskies and listened to a five-minute brief on how not to fall off, the first four were sent off. One was promptly thrown off his sled and another was left sprinting behind his as it disappeared off into the distance. Needless to say, it took some getting used to, but by the end everyone was
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