Life in Arctic Winter Chaos: Surviving One Blizzard After Another… in a Van! Extreme Snow Storm

Life in Arctic Winter Chaos: Surviving One Blizzard After Another… in a Van! Extreme Snow Storm

My Life in the Chaos of Arctic Winter One Blizzard after another My name is Jarl I spend my winters in the arctic in a basic 2WD van
Nothing fancy! This is the
2026 arctic season ep 4 Looks like it’s still storming out here I have no idea about how it looks on the parking lot if I can get out here. it’s 8 o’clock barrier looks open. Definitely a snowstorm outside still I have to check the forecast now Please like and subscribe if you enjoy the video!
it means and helps a lot! That’s pretty thick here. And that is a storm that’s picking up now Morning it is November 28 in the morning and it was storming quite heavily here when I woke up now it’s 930 and it’s calmed down a lot. Got the most important meal of the day and I just had a long chat with the plow truck driver who is driving past here and he had Pretty cool history. He was a plumber, he was an electrician, and he had been a soldier in Bosnia for the United Nation Peace Corps And lots of cool stories about plow trucking. You know, I think it’s rude to ask to film these people talking. I don’t I don’t like to do that to the locals, but it would have been cool. I know you would have loved it, but it’s not really in the culture or no Norway. We’re very private people, so I’m not asking to not be intrusive, but uh I’m going to get out of here today, get down to a grocery store and get down to some to a gas station, changed my main light bulb. I saw that was out yesterday when I flew my drone a little bit. And I need to get some ad blue to Be sure that that’s filled up because I got a warning light yesterday and I don’t want to keep running the engine and starting and restarting and doing all that stuff, all of a sudden it won’t start and then I’m stuck. So I’m going to go and get that fixed Just going to finish my coffee here. And then Let’s see what’s going on with all this Weather that’s on the forecast Just a ton of snow on the forecast now and then Saturday tomorrow it’s going to be storming full storm in the evening. And then the next day, it’s going to be storming again. So Sunday as well now. and then it’s going to calm down on Monday It’s going to be an interesting weekend for sure. The main takeaway is a lot of snow All right, let’s see if we can get out of here. I did a little bit of shoveling in the back because that’s the best way to get out so I’m gonna see if I can. make that work. We’ll see. Yeah, no problem getting out there so I’m gonna go a little bit south and get to the store and a gas station and change my light bulb and get some water and get some groceries and some gas and some add blur Here’s the plow truck. Not the same one. This is absolutely crazy here. Completely nuts. It is just… washboard. And it’s snowing like crazy. Fun stuff. And, uh.. I have to go super slow because I’m shaking to pieces’s ear. And I got a super aggressive van behind me here. I don’t know what’s up with that one. It’s gonna let him pass. Well, these conditions are gonna be the death of my van. I’m air down to 50 PSI, but it’s still shaking like it’s just falling apart. There’s so much snow. This will be the death of my van Here’s the plow station, I think. Yep. Looks like it. This is some powerful snow. Abandoned gas station Getting some shopping done, it is a crazy snow weather outside. Absolutely mad. So.. gonna head back on it the mountain. It’s Madness snow madness Just an absolutely crazy amount of snow coming down now All right. it’s time to get out of this little town here and see if we can get it up on the mountain Again. This is road madness, but it’s so beautiful It’s 12:30 now and it should be getting dark. I It is extremely slippery now. This is right in between where it’s kind of down to the tarmac and where it’s ice and there’s a lot of new snow. So we’re getting at the traction control kicking in a few times, and even on not so steep grades. so this is quite challenging driving conditions. So there’s this compromise between keeping momentum and not going too fast And you need to kind of work that out as best as you can. I’m going 50 kilometers an hour now, which is 30 miles an hour around there. And now I’m going up this steep hill. Here’s a steep hill in front of me. And it’s shaking like crazy. So I need a little bit more speed here. It’s the rescue That was the recovery truck The white, white, white day. Incredible. How to see anything. I’m glad we have plow sticks. Nearly a wiped out from just snowing heavily. Pretty crazy. This is just the worst I’ve ever driven in. This winter is becoming the total disaster for my van. Poor thing. And now the snow is picking up even more I did not expect these crazy amounts of snow now. It had it like the forecast said it would be crazy amounts of snow a few days ago. but that didn’t happen. But now it’s just coming in hard here. Well, so far, so good. I made it up above the worst stuff there. That was crazy. That was some of the most evil conditions I’ve driven in. I might have spoken too soon. It got really nasty again here now with the shaking at least So I just went a few hours and it all kind of deteriorated into just awful conditions I had a feeling it could get bad, but not that bad. And this is a bad spot, here. crossed this bridge here. Oh, that’s dangerous. it extremely slow. I killed the engine across the bridge there I went so slow and I forgot to gear down All right, I’m back again. I need to go in here and park for a little bit and see what weather forecast says If it’s still gonna be hurricane forest winds tomorrow, I’m gonna stay down here and out of that It’s getting slippery here as well now. Are we got the reindeer again? It is a white out here or nearly a white out. So coming up to the Polar Circle Center, maybe I’ll park here, see how it looks. So I basically don’t want to be too far from the road. And this spot sometimes has a good little place to turn off if it’s open all the way in there, I’m not gonna go off here That’s just blown clear off here so no, not gonna park here. So the reason why I’m coming up here on the mountain again is that the hurricane forest winds were gone. It was just down to storm force now so then it’s gonna be all good, I think. Just keep an eye on it and see what happens. More reindeer out here Well, I like this place. It’s some serious stuff gonna happen here, but this parking lot is being opened every day I think. How epic is this? The hurricane force wind came back on the forecast, and I’m moving back to that. rest stop down there just to be on the safe side. It’s a Friday night and When that Hurricane Force win hits It’s just gonna last for like two or three hours. It’s like a circle. The whole system is changing from south to north and the wind is is gonna do a big circle and and then stabilize from the north and it’s gonna get much colder again so for now, I think the best call is to be in a safe place where I don’t have to worry through the weekend All right, so here’s what I’ve been watching the weather. I’ve been watching the hurricane Force winds. And if as you can see here, Saturday afternoon, which is gonna be in a few hours, it could be gusts or between 30 and 40 metres a second. and And this is starting in Lofoten and Salten, and then coming in here. I’m basically in salten or so Salt Mountain and this is gonna last from yeah, it’s four hours from now and then through Monday night, so I need to keep an eye on this basically Yeah, just a lot of stuff here. This is on the Weather App Or website yr.no All right, it is Saturday night. It’s 5 PM five in the afternoon and the hurricane disappeared again. It was supposed to be here in two hours, but that’s not gonna happen. So I’m gonna go up on the mountain actually and sleep there. It’s going to be snowing a lot, which should be fun. And it’s going to be beautiful, so why not It is, of course, extremely slippery and we now got wet ice covered in snow so careful careful All right, leaving this place now hopefully for the last time been here five days in this area Wow, this is thickening fast here. There’s still a lot of reindeer up here, so got to watch for that. So if the mountain won’t come to you, you got to go to the mountain Look to the side here this is what exterior lights do. I’m keeping them on when I’m driving up here because of the reindeer along the road. just so I see more don’t wanna run over a reindeer up here. All right, let’s get back in here. Yeah, they plowed this today. It looks like. I think they plow it every day. That’s pretty significant If you want to support the channel, get access to my maps and campsites, check out:
Patreon.com/NorwegianXplorer A couple of hours later Well, now the wind turned. I’ve been waiting a long time for this. It’s been several days of the wind not going in the direction where it’s been forecast. But now it’s here It is turning it’s turned on the northwest now, and it should get much colder and the wind should pick up quite a lot and just like I’d say like 100 kilometers that way towards the west, it’s hurricane Forst, but here it’s storm force full storm So this should pick up quite a lot through the night now or evening. It’s only 7 o’clock in the evening, but it’s been dark. for hours already so that’s how it is basically And, uh, ooh. Yeah, now we’re talking here. Probably better without that. headlight. So, I don’t know how long this is gonna go on, but it is It’s pretty. It’s pretty exciting. This is madness now ha ha it’s so fierce but love it All right. It is time for a little bit of blizzard cooking. Look at this stuff here. That’s amazing. So I’m going to make a steak burger today. I I’m not sure if that’s something that you people have other places in the world. But in Norway, it’s called Løvbiff. Basically, it’s basically a burger, but it’s wider and thinner. And with that, I’m going to have Avocado. I don’t have any onions, but I have cheese and I do have I have chili mayo you know what that is about And I even have a tomato. How about that? I do have one last alcohol free IPA Let’s see if we can open that today without making everything spell gonna do it in the pan Absolutely not. It almost it just wants to go over the Edge here. But, uh, it’s good now. Well, anyway, cheers, my friends So let’s’s open this steak burger. There’s gotta be a way. I guess, I guess. I don’t know it’s not stupid. It’s pretty smart actually. It’s in its own bag there All right. Take one side off here. Some black pepper, always black pepper some salt, not too much since it’s so thin. Here we go. Chili mayo, of course, always chili mayo Tomato. couple of slices. That’s all I need. Like that. Let’s open the avocado Come on. There we go. It’s actually it. not quite ready yet. I’ll put the rest of the avocado with the salmon because that’s where it’s gonna be used next time guess Cheers. That’s.. Oh, that’s pretty stiff.. Still. Have any of you cut yourself while trying to get avocado meat? I haven’t yet, but I’ve heard horror stories. That’s why I use a pretty dull spoon here I didn’t have more onions. That’s a shame because that’s the best for burgers I think. in with the salmon All right. Click that around. Yeah. Add some cheese. Like that So now I’m gonna do this thing, where I take this, flip it like that Oh, look at that goodness there. The cheese running out. Turn it off and get this cheesy burger here who how about that That’s mighty cool tomatoes and avocados on top Little bits of salt on the avocado. And we eat this There’s the plow truck All right, let’s finish it off And that’s it Let’s call it a Snowstorm Burger Absolutely lovely. Now the storm is picking up again, it looks like it was a little bit quiet for a while there. All right, I’m sitting here eating today just watching the snowstorm outside Cheers again, my friends. It’s a pretty cool pretty cool burger. Mmm. Lovely. Well, now we’re talking here. Look at this. Look at this. Blister Burger All right. Need a little dessert. Christmas joy of a tangerine. Snowstorm tangerine Let us relax for a moment! Anyone know
this place? Well, would you look at that above the snow that’s crazy I’m just filming this with my handheld camera no time lapse or anything that is just massively strong. Incredible. Above. above the snow here. Wow. Pretty good camera, huh Amazing! I don’t know. This is how it looks in real life. No time lapse or anything. This is just the northern lights real time. I’m not sure if I can get it in focus, but it’s really hard to focus on the northern lights, but the stars in focus, so it should be pretty close. Wow. Well, it’s 11 at night. and this thing picked up again. Quite a lot. And I could feel the van shaking from the bed. This is how it looks on the sheltered side of the van Pretty awesome Well, good morning. Looks like my land got pretty good freezing through the night. It’s calmed down It’s nearly 10 and it looks like it’s a pretty nice morning. It’s only minus 5 outside and it got down to minus 7 1/2 and the plow trucks being here, but I don’t think it would have mattered, doesn’t look like the snow accumulated at all on the parking lot but it’s open Pretty lonely place up here now. Good morning. And cheers, my friends. That was a pretty rough night because there was a couple of cars that came by in the middle of the night and parked running down their engine and taking snowmobiles out of trailers and driving around. Pretty sure they were related to the reindeer hair, maybe the owner, maybe they were checking on the reindeer. And I understand they have to do that, but it was kind of a little bit annoying to have them parked right next to me and running their engine for two hours or something. But there’s a lot of dead reindeer around these days because they’re going so close to the road and the railway that they get hit, as you saw in an earlier video from when I drove up towards the the Arctic. All of a sudden I ran into maybe 20, 30 dead reindeer, just all over the place around the road. That was kind of horrific. So they’re out in the middle of night Checking on the reindeer I don’t know why it’s in the middle of night, but probably they got some trackers on some some of them or something like that. Anyway, got the most important meal of the day. Geos, my friends And yesterday I released a second episode of the 2026 Arctic Tour, so it’s time to reply to all the comments. Looks like it’s quite a lot, so yeah, I got a lot to go through there. I tried to read and reply to all comments. Everything that is friendly And you will get a reply? If you reply below someone else’s comment, I usually don’t see that comment, so you might not get a reply. But if you’re If you make your own reply, then I’ll see it. Let’s just enjoy it this morning. It’s starting to snow again. And I looked at the forecast. It’s going to snow a lot today as well. The plan for me today is to head further north into the Arctic, find a place to take a shower and to empty my toilet and plan the route further on I could go through Lofoten, I could go through Narvik, or I could do like a big circle and go out of the way into Sweden, but I don’t think I want to do that. It’s too. twice as far to get up to where I want to go that way, I think So. Only thing is that I would get to go through Jokkmokk, which I love. I’m also way cheaper gas or diesel in Sweden. Groceries used to be much cheaper, but it’s gotten seriously expensive in Sweden as well. So I don’t know if that’s a big purpose any longer. Not much daylight left here in the arctic way south here in the Arctic, there’s going to be daylight for a few hours, for a few more weeks, I think, and then it’s gonna disappear completely here as well as sun sun. But as I go further north, the sun will be gone for the whole day Got enjoyed a little daylight we have here I’m not sure if the sun will get above these mountains here I doubt it And it’s going off up there. Frozen lands Oh look it’s the plow train or not plow train probably I don’t know. Is it plowing? Can’t really tell. Looks like there’re a reindeer right over here. outside my window. And a hole herd back there So here we are. Ready to leave. Turn off the propane. All right. All right. I’m heading north towards Fauske, I think, today. And I’ gonna see if I can find a shower on the way. A lot of reindeer here, that’s why those people were idling through the night here. Now we got some pretty nasty ice roads here, but it’s not as bad as it was two days ago. because it’s frozen solid now. So again, thank you to the plow truck drivers that came by and checked that the parking lot was open and plowed It would probably have been fine without, but just having them check in and do a swipe across the parking lot is a big help and All right, we’re arriving at the northern side of the Salt Mountain, the plow station here, and uh and uh staging area for convoys. This is, uh, basically where the plow people have their place. I think they stay here for a week at a time or something. I’m not 100% sure about that, but it’s something they did at another place where I asked, so we’re off the salt mountain. Pretty much. It’s absolutely stunning down here. It’s a lot of snow has fallen through the night and settled on the trees. This just makes it amazingly beautiful. This winter landscape here. It’s very steep downhill, so got to be very careful here on the ice. All right, gonna stop here at this, uh, rest stop here, see if I can get a shower. or if it’s just for the truck drivers. We’ll see. Those showers were for truck drivers only, but I found an ad blue pump here so I’m gonna fill up with that That’s always good to get done This is another day of absolute madness. Snow weather. Look at this scenery. Wow. This spectacacular Salt Valley. It’s shaking all over the place, but wow, so beautiful. All right, I found shower here at this, uh, gas station And, this is always a good circle K. It’s usually good for finding showers So now I feel clean again. But it’s snowing like crazy, so I’m going to either find a place in the area to park or I’m going to go into Fauske park in central town there. It’s a pretty cool spot there with emptying station for toilets What an adventure. I had no idea this would happen with this snowfall here because it was definitely not like that up on the mountain but can only say I’m happy about it. It’s nothing as pretty as new snow just a amazing. This is the country of White Walkers. Incredible. arriving in Fauske. This is a big crossroad town where you either head to Narvik, or you hed to Bodø and out to Lofoten. Haven’t decided yet. Need to check the forecast and everything. There’s some serious GPS jammingming going on in the area I haven’t had proper GPS now for this whole trip since I was on the Salt Mountain, basically. It’s just. going out to nature here. That happens up here. So I’m looking for a place to park down in the harbor where there should also be an emptying station So this is through Fauske. On a Sunday. Nothing going on. Paddle. Let’s hope that I can get my toilet emptied because I need it now. So. yeah. Well, would you look at this? I came down and parked here in the harbor where it’s paid parking because I have a lot of stuff I wanna do in town tomorrow. This was super convenient right by this service building and then this snow weather happens again. I thought it was done for a little while, but it looks like it’s really happening now. So I have a big store behind me here where I’m going to go shopping and then there’s an electronic store right next to it where I’m going to get some gear tomorrow Tomorrow is Monday so it’s open again the 2026 arctic tour continues next week!
Maybe you will enjoy this as well?

My Arctic life turns into chaos with one blizzard after another on the high plains and borderlands of the northern Norway. Snow storms and blizzards create a chaotic few days up here with the weather forecast alternating between storm force and hurricane force winds. My tiny van life cabin on wheels gets challenged both by crazy roads and brutal weather, I try to survive as best as I can and get cozy and comfortable as nights get longer and days turn into twilight only. A dark and freezing cold world. I get comfortable and warm in the van, making a cheesy burger and coffee with a view out the window of the blizzards and snow storms. Cozy inside and alien world
outside in the frozen arctic plains hidden in winter polar whiteout and blowing snow.
I Appreciate you tuning in and watching my day to day life in the arctic as I journey far and wide into the desolate wilderness of the north. It will sound get very dark and very very cold!
There will also be reindeer, crazy truck driving, plow trucks, heavy heavy snowfall, extreme temperatures, long tunnels and arctic beauty as a snowmageddon descends upon me and my little cabin on wheels. Also, Norwegian diesel prices compared to US Diesel prices, you will be shocked, local schools and towns in the arctic.

2026 Arctic tour episodes:
EPISODE 1 https://youtu.be/FsHv_Pce29Q
EPISODE 2: https://youtu.be/i8DhOF18X7c
EPISODE 3: https://youtu.be/_4T6PqGRFUE
EPISODE 4: This episode

Polar nights are approaching as I head further north, but the cold is already real. Keep in mind my videos are all real, very real, there are no “I survived -71°c blizzard camping in a hot tent” or even worse “I survived -80°c on a bike in a snow storm”. That stuff is not real, but this IS real, this is my life, my experience, so please dont get fooled by all the recent fake -71°c, -80°c,-65°c videos on Youtube!
Please stay away from all that fake stuff!

For female travelers: If you’re wondering—yes, it’s a safe place to camp solo for female van travelers. Out here, no one bothers you. The people are kind, and the solitude is next level, even in the middle of town.

Grab a blanket, hit play, and ride out this Arctic storm with me—van life in the harshest winters, off-grid survival style.

Sometimes I wonder if a Truck Camper would be cool so I could get up some of these cool roads to the outlook and arctic towers, let me know about that my American, UK, Canadian & German friends who are building vehicles like that.

Part of the brand new 2026 arctic tour series:

Surviving my 4th Arctic Winter of Extreme Van Life. Solo in Hurricanes, Blizzards, Snow Storms & Camping in Extreme Cold Freezing Temperatures. A dark and personal season in the wild arctic winter.

🎬 Filmed in the Arctic frontier — real storms, real solitude, nothing fake. The frozen lands as they really are.

My van is a Fiat Ducato, FWD with Nokian Hakkapalitta studless Winter Tires. This is the same as a Ram Promaster in America – USA and Canada.

MAPS:
-If you want access to maps of my routes and campsite, and support my video creation you can sign up at Patreon.com/NorwegianXplorer

Enjoy camping and van life friends from around the world! Personally I enjoy watching Alaska van life, Canadian wilderness Winter off-grid survival & Remote cabins USA / winter bushcraft videos

About me: I am a Norwegian adventurer and wilderness explorer. My youtube channel focus on outdoor wilderness adventures and exploration, backpacking, hiking, canyoneering, skiing, climbing and mountaineering. Nights spent in a tent, alone or with friends. From the snow covered mountains and misty fjords of Norway and Scandinavia to the remote plateaus of Yellowstone and the debts of the red canyons of Utah to the summit of Mt Whitney and the heart of Sequoia Kings Canyon National Park. I love the Wilderness! Email is under “For business inquiries”, for general questions please comment on a video, I try to answer everyone.

#arctic #blizzard #survival #snowstorm