Driving to the Arctic! Surprised by Snow Storm, Surviving Blizzard, Extreme Cold. Winter Van Camping

This is gonna make a mess. No we’re talking. I am now in the arctic. I’m going to stay up here in the Arctic for several months. Minus 23°C. Look at the Fox. It’s a really lonely road right now. I knew there was going to come some snow but I’m leaving Haugastøl We’re in the aftermaths of this massive record breaking blizzard and I spoke with the plow crew up there. They helped me with my van. They said it had been just .2 below hurricane. Up where I was parked so that’s exactly what it felt like. And it was just crazy. Still a lot of snow coming down and some wind gusts, but I think the. Massive storm is gone. I’m basically only on my third day of this trip and it is January 7. A lot of drama for the first few days there. it’s quite windy actually. A lot of these cabins have really gotten buried. How beautiful everything is now. I’m uh 500 meters from where I’m hoping to park. It’s a place I’ve been looking at several times. Of course there’s a big truck there. There should be room. Four bars of 5G perfect. All right, I am driving around the town of Gol Doing a lot chores, emptied my toilet, got some engine oil, some washer fluid, and uh I’m gonna get some propane. and uh then I should be ready to go across the mountain again. I also got a shower down here at the truck stop that was uh very, very nice to feel clean again. So, um gonna get to propane and then I’m gonna head uh over the mountains, two mountains, I think maybe. it’s uh 1 o’clock and it’s uh starting to snow, so it could be quite spectacular drive across the mountain. got some steep climbs ahead. It’s it’s uh exciting to see if uh it’s slippery or if I can. Yeah, it’s uh pretty slippery.ery here, so this could be challenging. Hopefully I can get up. Gonna go across the Golsfjellet Golsfjellet mountain. These hairpin turns here can be challenging but it’s no problem so far. All right, we’ve got some 10% downhill grades. Should be interesting. Gonna go quiet slow down here. What a beautiful day it is this snow here covering all the trees and everything. So it is steep, but a grip is pretty good. I’ve driven down here in winter before and then the grip was much worse. This is pretty crazy steep. Beautiful little farming communities up here with a traditional red barns. OK, I’m in Rendalen valley now in Norway. I’m gonna head over to Sweden today and drive Sweden up to the Arctic. Just need to change a bottle of propane here before I cross into Sweden because they don’t have the same valves in Sweden so I cannot use the the Swedish bottles. I should be. Spending maybe a week in Sweden now so I need all the propane I can get depending on how cold it is but Sweden is usually extremely cold when you get up into the arctic. OK, got the propane and now I’m gonna head up this incredibly steep hills here. It’s 12%. great. That should be interesting. It’s ice road, but it’s dry ice. There’s snow salt or sand or anything on here right now. Well, I had a few slips there and uh traction was going full-time and spinning up the hill. I’m in third gear fourth. and it’s very rare to spin on the third gear. It’s usually when I go to second gear that stuff can start happening, but this is really icy and slippery so just hoping I can get up without having to put on the chains. Get 3 km of 12% grades here now so I’ll need speed to go here. There’s a little bit of sand here and I’m uh driving 65 km an hour. It’s like 40 miles an hour and there’s some sun here that helps. And there’s these nasty turns as well. All right. This is a really good parking spot in summer beautiful years, but it’s close now. Amazing views of a canyon down here. Keep going 60 km an hour and it is steep steep steep steep still third gear. Traction control going this would have been no fun going downhill spinning a hoo hoo. loosing to grip a little bit. There’s no way you can start again here if you’re end up having to stop oh there are slide controlled slide. What a nasty road. That was crazy. I think I’m up. Hope I’m up. Well, I think I’m up that parked. That was nasty, but now I’m in fourth gear. Should be some amazing views up front here It’s a pretty bad road conditions this county that I’m in now Innlandet I see that all their parking lots along the roads are not plowed and it just seems to be very poorly maintained this county here when it comes to roads. It’s a pretty cool mountain area back there. I’ve been up there in summer. So I’ve been up in that gap there really gorgeous place. OK, I’m heading east now into Sweden. Gonna go through the town of Idre and then gonna turn north from there and head towards the Arctic. It is so beautiful here. It’s January the 10th today and uh it’s just spectacular. The light and the snow on everything and the moon is out and the roads are all ice and pretty nothing salted and slushy just pure winter beauty And here’s the border with Sweden. there we are. We are in Sweden. Good to be back. Huge danger of moose. OK, arriving in Idre up there is the Idre mountain ski resort and the beautiful place up there so I’m just gonna get some diesel and then I’m gonna head up on that mount and across it it’s only 230 so I’m gonna drive further. Love this town. This is one of my favorite places in Sweden. not for any particular reason. I just like it here. Yeah, much cheaper gas and diesel here. Let’s get some diesel So I’m now on a dirt road. You can’t really tell because it’s the exact same surface as the paper road. Snow and ice so much more pleasant to drive the start roads when they’re snowed over. So pretty and it’s getting extremely cold now it’s –16. and it’s only 330 so this could be a cold afternoon night. What a winter adventure this is. hoping I can find a place to park soon. I don’t wanna. miss out on anything here so I wanna be parked when it gets dark. It’s 5:55 now and the sun is down. This is a new road for me and it’s gorgeous climbing up on the plateau here. less trees. Maybe somebody plowed a parking lot up here somewhere that would be awesome. Amazing. It seems to be the high point. It’s around 900 m elevation, beautiful place. There’s a cabin, private parking. I’m gonna invade on that. OK we’re in cabin land. Might be difficult to find something that is not private. Slagvallen this place is called These are all cabin parking lots gorgeous place It’s a beautiful view here to the east. It is a ski resort up front here. This might be something. Yeah. Here we are. Frosty. and beautiful. It is -19.6 and it got down to minus 20. It is 930. It’s Saturday and we need to get warm in here. Good morning. I’m up at the sunroof. It’s extremely cold. It’s uh minus 20 and there’s also a little bit of a wind, but it’s going to be a beautiful morning. Here in Sweden. So I’m gonna get inside them. get my coffee going. Here’s the one of the sensors that I put on the roof here for the new Weather station. Working fine. I used well crow, and that seems to be holding pretty well. So as I’m making the most important Milo today I want to answer a question I get a lot and that is about. How I air out my van while I’m cooking and right now I have the sunroof cracked open. And I kind of just. Use the covers to kind of adjust. A little bit of the amount of cold air coming in, so it’s working quite well. I don’t get too cold by doing that, even though it’s minus 18 outside now. Always ventilation from one of the sun roofs when I’m cooking or making coffee. It’s the frozen world out there today. Wow look at this. Cheers, my friends. Oh, that’s good. So this is the first really cold night of the year. What’s down to -20.5°C let’s how much is Hey Siri what’s -205°C in Fahrenheit. 20.5°C is -4.9°F. There you have it. That’s uh, great to have Siri to answer these questions. Thank you. Siri. She didn’t acknowledge my thanks. That’s fine. So in Sweden now? Please call Härjedalen Chaos valley. You could translate that to in English. And this is a real wilderness area. Really beautiful here. This road I’m on now I’ve never been home so it’s super cool. It’s January 11th and I’m releasing uh the maddest uh blizzard I’ve ever experienced video today. going to be exciting. to show you that and then I’m going to head up north towards Strömsund, I think is my goal today. And then I’m going to head towards Jokkmokk and the Arctic Circle. I’ll probably read Jokkmokk uh in a couple of days. No, it’s time to pack up the van and see if I can get it started after -20. that’s the coldest so far although it’s not super crazy cold, but uh I’m always a little bit like anxious to see how it works. first time I I started in temperatures like this. So I’m gonna start the van and let it run for a little bit while I fly the drone to show you this area. so I’m using the DI pocket three camera with the face ordered the detect and it just follows me around here while I’m packing up stuff. Computer goes under here. and I hang these up power cables here. Got a plastic bag to put my camera in when it comes in from the cold so that the lens won’t get misty and foggy. So Got the drawn out. So. move around some stuff. get my skis back and uh back where I can keep it safe from flying around. All right, let’s see. If we can get this to start now. Yeah, absolutely no problem at all. The sun has been out for a little bit, so it’s uh warming up to the front of the of the van, but uh I felt really good starting it. Let’s get some sun inside. What an awesome scenery can’t wait to see what’s the gonna be around the next corner. What a crazy winter Wonderland Härjedalen valley Sweden It is of course -20 and the T-shirt weather no doubt about that. Look at these little towns here. Frozen Swedish villages. But there is a Sänfjället that I hiked on top of a few years ago in summer. So I am down on the main highway or main thoroughfare Road. the E45 and I just saw driving through a little town that it was 16°C and my van is only showing -3° so that’s 13° too warm in my van so there’s another proof that it’s always showing much too warm and usually it’s been like 6° off but now it’s 13 so that is pretty crazy. I don’t know how cold it’s gonna be up in Strömsund but uh I’m 70 km south of Östersund now and I got 170 km left to go. OK, I am in Strömsund and I’m gonna drive out to my usual summer spot and see if I can get. down to that dam down there. I’m not expecting it to be plowed, but I want to check it out. It’s such a gorgeous spot so. It’s extremely cold. It’s -20 now and it is five minutes to 5 in the afternoon so here’s my place that I well not bad. Let’s go down here. It’s really nicely loud actually. This is a dirt road and in summer it’s a gorgeous spot to camp if this parking lot here is yeah that’ll work. Well, that should work. I’m gonna turn around and this should be my camp spot. I’m gonna show you a little bit in the morning. Looks like it’s around. -20 here now. All right, we got almost -23°C. That is starting to get a little bit crazy. I’m in Strömsund, Sweden and it’s time for dinner but first a non-alcoholic there. This one IPA I love that so cheers my friends. It actually tastes like IPA. Can you believe it? So going to make some quick pizzas today, get some uh premade pizza bottoms and today it’s gonna be smoked salmon and uh curry mango sauce. That’s gonna be my pizza today, which is, of course, I’m gonna do a Swedish Edamer cheese. Curry mango sauce. Yeah. Let’s try the first one. Hey This should be fun. It’s a pretty good one. Those tastes sit well together. So it’s only six o’clock, so I’m going to head outside to the lake in this extreme cold see how it looks. It’s steaming of the ice it looks like it should be found. Let’s get the second one. There it is. Let’s try the second one. Let’s get outside in this extreme weather and have a look at the beauty. It is frozen out here. So frozen. Look at the fox Lou he’s fast beautiful. What an absolutely beautiful evening. There’s snow crystals drifting through the air here, and it’s kind of a foggy misty lake out there, like a cold fog in a way. It’s kind of just sinking down on everything here and it’s gonna make it mighty cold. Wonder how cold it’s gonna be. but it is beautiful. This is winter at its finest. This feels like a computer game. like James Bond goldeneye or something. No It is cold. minus19.7 and I’m guessing it’s only gonna get colder. It’s uh 1130 now. I’m getting cosey back here in my bed and it is time to go to bed maybe read a little bit. It’s a beautiful night outside. Look at the stars. Right. It’s uh minus 16° Celsius now. It’s been down to minus 22 through night. That is cold It’s Sunday today and it is 930. Time to heat up this bus. Look at the frost on these trees here what a spectacular sight. I had this exact same thing on the trees first time I was in Strömsund in winter. Right, let’s see if we can get this thing started after mine is 22. It’s going to be a gorgeous day going to fly my drone after I get the van started. Well, no problem but I could hear it struggled a little bit more than it usually does. Let’s see if I can get my battery charging. So it is uh 3 o’clock now. The sun went down about an hour ago, and as we go further and north, gets darker and darker. There’s really nobody else out on this road so it’s a really lonely road right now. But it’s absolutely gorgeous with this winter scenery here. so beautiful. and the full moon. Here’s the view out my window today. It is 11. wind is picking up. Today it is uh January 13th and I’m around Storuman in Sweden. I’m planning to cross into the arctic today. There’s a little bit of a storm coming in and it’s snowing this morning uh but uh I have around um 300 k left to go to the Arctic Circle. That’s like 160 miles so I’m planning to get up there to Jokkmokk today and I’m not sure how much this storm here is going to do, but it looks like it’s going to be around storm force winds up here, so have no idea what what’s going to happen on the road or anything here, but I’m pretty sure it’s going to be good driving conditions. So I’m going to get up to the Arctic today, going to see if I can find a place to do my laundry and empty my toilet, get a shower and such up in Jokkmokk, probably at the arctic camp up there. Either to day or to tomorrow, depending on how long this driving takes I’m gonna be on the road now. It’s 11 o’clock. This is Sorsele I usually stop for diesel or gas here, but today I don’t have a need for that so it’s gonna continue through. All right. I have reached the Arctic Circle in Jokkmokk, Sweden. It is 4 o’clock the afternoon. There’s a full moon. and uh here’s the monument. One truck parked here, and we are in the arctic. So let’s go to Jokkmokk and uh find a place to camp. I was planning on doing some laundry and stuff uh today, but I might wait until tomorrow. I’m gonna go down to the Arctic camp and check to see if they have open in winter. Gonna go to the shop. before I head out to find a camp. Oh. We got an unexpected snowstorm coming here wow this is pouring down. No we’re talking. Absolutely not what I expected today. I knew there was gonna come some snow, but this was uh not what I thought it would be. It’s snowing. quite heavily in there and the wind is going to pick up. I saw in the forecast, so pretty cool. I’m in the arctic now near Gällivärre in northern Sweden, Arctic Sweden. and today is gonna be a day of just uh staying in the van and editing videos so it’s kind of cool to have this snow weather here. I wonder how much it’s gonna come down. Beautiful weather. Big flurries. So as I’m now in the Arctic, I’m going to stay up here in the arctic for several months. I just experienced the beauty of the winter and the extremity of this arctic winter with the cold and the storms and everything. It’s going to take me a couple of days now to get up to northern Norway. We’ll take it from there. Yeah. Yeah. I’m becoming a snowman here pretty fast so better head inside and get cosy and comfortable. Ha ha snowman this is gonna make a mess. that’s some wet snow. Everything is just getting plastered. I need to get this coat inside my bathroom in a hurry. Well, look at this snow here that’s some heavy snow. This is kind of the difference between the snow that we usually get um here up in the Nordic arctic is that it’s usually very dry so you don’t get these big. Snow accumulations on the van and stuff it kind of just uh blows off or something but now it’s uh it’s gathering on the van here. Kind of cozy, don’t you think? Well, cheers, my friends. I made my first cup of coffee before I went out, and it’s getting cold, so I think I need to make another one. And it is coming down wow I didn’t expect this today at all. Very cozy. Coffee tasted really good today, so I got to get my second cup. Now, while this fun weather is going on. Cheers again, my friends. Right, back to work. I am doing the driving to the Arctic video today. It should be out on Saturday. Today is January 15th. so get some work done.

Driving to the Arctic after Riding out an epic 72 mph beast of a blizzard/snow storm, Snownado/Tornado Real Polar Vortex blizzard & Surviving the most Severe Blizzard of my Life, Camping in Extreme Snow Storm, nearly Hurricane. I am confronted by extreme freezing temperatures as I head north to the arctic, and when I reach the arctic I am surprised by another snow storm. I get cozy and warm in the van, cook coffee and salmon pizza and I off course have the time of my life on the 2025 Arctic Tour.

Part of the 2025 arctic tour series:

Surviving my 3rd Arctic Winter of Extreme Van Life. Solo in Hurricanes, Blizzards, Snow Storms & Camping in Extreme Cold Freezing Temperatures.

The 2025 Arctic Tour happens after I returned from the USA and through the holiday season of 2024 and the 2025 winter.

#vanlife #blizzard #snowstorm #freezingtemperatures

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

-Or you can join this channel to get access to maps and perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC34MVsreWXxyh3seQRsuKCg/join

Enjoy camping and van life friends from around the world!

Here is the full previous season in one playlist https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhLPXsUNXyqoeY-li3zFunW4RaJCE_5F1
Surviving my 2nd Winter of Extreme Van Life, Blizzard, Snow Storm Camping & Freezing Cold which includes:
This is my complete second winter of Winter Van Life in extreme conditions in the North, living in a van during freezing temperatures. Starting in November I go through the whole winter season of snowy winter adventures from November to April, with snow storms, blizzards, extreme cold, extreme snowfall, slippery roads and some amazing winter beauty as well.
I also show you what I learn as I go from my second winter in the van.

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.

#wintercamping #vanlife #camping #snowstorm #blizzard #van #snow #wintervanlife #vanliving #vanlifetravelvlog

49 Comments

  1. watching your video is helping 👍 today was the funeral of my wife of 33 years friend of 35 years😢 i cant talk but can type… ? her family was of the theater group so the service was lots of songs stories & sharing. i have lots of videos of shows i just cant look at yet to copy & pass to family. But THANK YOU seeing your video does help to see life goes on… 😢but its a road traveled with a different view and better understanding of no guarantees. be safe my friend cheresh loved ones & time spent ❤

  2. So peaceful. My Father just died, and his funeral was a couple of days ago, he was a beautiful soul and my best friend. The escape you provide is just beautiful. Thank you, keep up the great work. ❤

  3. To the Norwegian Traveler I am new to your channel–just started financially supporting your channel too. I have written before, and you have very nicely responded. Thank you. I must say, the more I watch your videos, the more I appreciate you. You seem to be a very kind and gentle soul. Watching your videos really relaxes me. I was not feeling too well for a few days, could not sleep, had wrist pain, and then felt sick, but did not know why. I kept drinking medicinal teas, patiently watching your videos, and praying for my friends, and added you to my prayer list too. I was doing my pen art, drawing and peacefully coloring, unable to sleep, but my gut feeling better. My sister burst into my room–it is about 5am here. Had been awake since about 3am. She announces the reason I am sick is because I have been eating fresh brocolli along with other fresh veggies–thar is contaminated with LISTERIA–on a nation wide recall! My package matches the exact recall data! One person has died, many are ill. Over the past several days, I had had all the symptoms of listeria poisoning!

    How did I cope? Drinking medicinal teas, prayer, and watching YOUR videos! I got through it okay. Gee thanks so much for providing me with some peaceful entertainment that kept me calm, and distracted from my symtoms, so that I could just relax and think about others as I prayed. YOUR videos are inspiring me to see all of God's creation and HIS power over the earth through the weather systems created by Him, set in motion after the Great Flood. It is something to watch.

    Thank you so much for capturing this beauty–you are truly talented vidoographer! Now putting some nice music to your videos is excellent too. Many thanks. God bless you. Michelle Reed, Gresham Oregon USA

  4. Watching your videos I’m left wondering: how do Norwegians and folks in the arctic properly maintain homes in this kind of weather? I understand proper, rigid construction, but wouldn’t you just be fortifying and replacing worn out parts all the time? Must be a specific way of living if you’re out in one of those homes that are way out there in the middle of nothing? Maintaining stocked goods, fuel, wood, etc. Curious, because if these winds are already wrecking your van, I can’t imagine permanently living in the area. First it seems really cosy, but then I keep thinking of the practical sides of it. I mean: the powerlines you were filming outside the store: here in the Netherlands they’re good at construction, but they’d probably be long gone already. Not too mention the thought of getting ill or something without anyone around. Nowadays must be a little easier with better direct communication? Very curious how all that would work practically.

    Sidenote: specifically also curious how they/you’d deal with inside humidity levels? Here, as soon as temperatures drop below zero, inside heating makes the humidity levels drop so much, it’s not really healthy.

  5. Still binging although now I think I have caught up and unfortunately still sick. I wanted to say your images are first class, your video's are the only ones that I get so enthralled with, that when an ad plays, I always find myself clinching my hands and breathing abnormally! The point I wanted to make is IT IS THE MUSIC. Very professionally chosen and applied. Love it all!

  6. It's like the snow along the Wasatch Front in Utah (Salt Lake City). The powder is generally dry. Storms blow across the dryish Great Basin desert and then pick up steam over the Great Salt Lake. But, sometimes storms from a more Northwest direction from the Pacific 1200 miles away will be wet, and kablooey, it's not powder but wet snow.

  7. You turn van life in the Artic into an extreme sport! Nature seems to be conspiring to make your 2025 Artic season the best ever!

  8. Your videos are awesome and relaxing; thank you for this. I am wondering if you can provide the titles of the songs that play in the videos ? In this one, especially, at 21 minutes and at 42 minutes. Thank you for your beautiful work.

  9. Somethimes i see you making some fair speed at fully snow roads, I really wonder what is your tyre brand and model ? Very nice videos…

  10. Lynne England, if a was living in a van a think a would get a huge sack of big potatoes and make cheesy buttery potatoes as well with the pizzas in case a got lost or stuck in the blizzard a would get a couple of sacks of them to keep me warm keep cheesy garlic butter jacket potatoes for the winter English eat lots of them. Happy exploring.good luck

  11. The only thing that is puzzle me, I noticed, all the snow blizzard storms, You guys open doors and don't shut them immediately. I'm from the Coast of the Baltic Sea, and I remember number one rule during the Winter was to keep heat inside. If you have to open the door, do it in split sek

  12. It’s so awesome to be able to see the land and the scenery in real time as your traveling a path to the arctic!! It’s refreshing to see the little towns and communities there along the way and I especially enjoy the infrastructure, the stores and houses and barns!! Beautiful

  13. 한국 사람 입니다. 당신 덕분에 노르웨이 한번 가고싶어졌습니다. 당신 덕분에 진정한 겨울을 느끼고 있습니다.😊

  14. Your videos are so moving… as I scrolled down seeing other comments I was amazed that what I feel upon seeing your videos felt among many of us.
    Whiteness, quietness and beauty of the northern hemisphere reminds me that there is beauty in every season of our lives, no matter what it is!
    Thank you, friend 🙏🏽

  15. I know this is kind of silly thing to say but imagination is fun sometimes, and i'm at 25:10 in the video, you crossed over into Sweden, you're putting fuel in the van, I kind of like to think maybe the van is like " … ah yea gimmie that good swedish fuel, norway fuel is so boring, its nice to get the good stuff " … haha I know silly but I'm enjoying the video and wanted to share some imagination

  16. You've captured wonderful views. It's a bit like riding in the passenger seat as you travel. Thank you! Also, you may have said in another video, but does your drone have some sort of tracking function you use when you're filming your own van on the move?

  17. An AI limerick:
    There once was a man from Norway
    Whose beard was a wondrous display
    With a twinkle in his eye
    He'd say watch me try
    And then he'd climb up a highway

  18. You have inspired me with your beautiful videos. I’m camping now in the state is Washington. Close to Mt St Helens. It’s cool ( not cold) and beautiful. Your videos are amazing

  19. Ich besitze seit 12 Jahren ein Wohnmobil, Knaus Sport traveller als Alkove. Seit 7 Jahren lebe ich darin. Vor paar Jahren war ich einmal im Winter in Zakopane, Polen. Minus 25 Grad nachts, oh man, obwohl mein Wohnmobil Winter tauglich ist, aber das war echt hart.

  20. Perfect !! You cover all the scenes .. absolute amazing you're the luckiest person to explore such hard weather alone .. I wish I could do like u

  21. Do you have a generator that helps power heat ac and keep the van from freezing up ? Do you use a space heater or electric blanket ?

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