Develop and hone the skills and techniques needed for a polar expedition

Polar Preparation Course Advanced Polar Training Course Arctic Survival Course
Price Pls. Enquire Pls. Enquire Pls. Enquire
Overall Product Length 7 days 5 or 7 days 7 days
No. nights accommodation 6 4 or 6 6

Polar Expedition Preparation & Skills Development Course

Our Polar Preparation and Polar Training Courses have been designed to develop the skills and techniques you’ll need during a polar expedition and to give you greater confidence in your judgment and decision making abilities in the polar environment. Most participants on these courses are planning either a Greenland Ice Cap crossing or a last-degree to the North or South Pole. Our 'arctic survuval skills' course is open to anyone wanting to simply hone their wilderness skills.

Whilst a significant part of the preparation course is spent in the field (navigating, moving on skis whilst dragging sleds, establishing camp protocols, looking at crevasse rescue techniques etc), there will also be classroom-style sessions dealing with topics like fundraising, equipment selection and expedition planning and packing. There is also an overnight mini-expedition survival challenge (i.e. without typical shelter) towards the end of the week which most people choose to (but do not have to), complete solo.

Course Modules

The preparation course is presented in a modular format. Some modules are optional but we recommend completion of the navigation, kit & clothing selection, cold-injury prevention, risk & safety management and polar communications modules at minimum. There is a high degree of flexibility built into the structure of these courses, depending upon the existing skill level and expertise of the participants.


Advanced Polar Training Course

We assume that those opting for the Polar Training Courses have already honed their basic skills and primarily want to put their skills and equipment to the test in an accessible Polar environment, with expert advice to hand.

This 'course' is essentially an intensive mini-expedition across the arctic tundra during which you will not only be expected to be able to look after yourself in terms of kit and clothing selection, campcraft management etc, but you will be expected to deal appropriately with the survival challenges and emergency scenarios that you will encounter along the way.

FYI: This course is recommended for those who are confident in their expeditionary skills and their fitness. Participants will be moving for fairly large distances each day, as well as completing various challenges along the way and debriefing sessions and discussions on any of the standard polar modules that people have particular interest in, will last into the night.


Arctic Survival Course

This course is described in more detail in our bushcraft and survival section. However, we mention it here since it sounds, in some ways, similar to the polar training courses. However, it is almost the opposite of our advanced polar training course in that participants will not find themselves covering a lot of distances, but rather developing bushcraft-style skills for survival in the arctic terrain. It is, therefore, for people interested in practicing survival techniques for when you have found yourself, proverbially, up the (arctic) creek without a paddle.

In this course, participants can choose to move by either ski or snowshoe so ski technique is not critical. However, you need to be comfortable with being outside with minimal shelter or equipment for days at a time.


Why Prepare and Train with CAPE Lapland?

Our courses are run by Pasi Ikonen, a highly experienced Arctic guide and polar survival expert who has traversed Greenland and who was also the first Finn to ski unsupported to the South Pole. He is a board member of the prestigious Survival Guild Finland. Pasi is generally supported by at least one additional guide with arctic or antarctic experience and by Anna, who started her polar journeys by leading an inclusive traverse of the Greenland Icecap in 2006 supported by the Winston Churchil Memorial Award. All of our guides live and work continuously in the arctic and Finland's high tundra plateaus - which more closely mimic traditional polar expeditionary conditions than anywhere else in mainland Europe - are our playground. This daily familiarity with arctic conditions leads to an ability to perform with a level of comfort seldom found in those who do not live here 24/7.