If you have a love for adventure and think you have what it takes to trek through 300km of Arctic wilderness on a dogsled, Fjällräven SA wants to hear from you.
South Africans are invited to apply for the annual Fjällräven Polar 2020, taking place from March 30 to April 5, 2020.
Successful applicants will embark on an adventure of a lifetime through 300km of Arctic wilderness. They will meet more than 200 highly skilled sled dogs, a handful of expert guides and a group of ordinary people from all over the world to journey from Signaldalen in Norway to Jukkasjärvi in Sweden on a dogsled.
Fjällräven will pay all expenses for the trip and provide professional equipment to keep everybody safe in the Arctic conditions.
The idea for the Fjällräven Polar came about during the early 1990s when Fjällräven founder Åke Nordin met Kenth Fjellborg, one of Sweden’s leading dog-sled drivers. Kenth had participated in Iditarod, the world’s most difficult dog sled competition through the harsh Alaskan wilderness, and this inspired Åke.
They created a Swedish equivalent for ordinary people. A few years later in 1997, once all the details were ironed out, the Fjällräven Polar took place in the Scandinavian Arctic for the first time.
Applications for the Fjällräven Polar will be accepted until December 12. The competition is open to people older than 18 years.
While the event is a challenge that requires a reasonable level of fitness, no previous experience in the outdoors during an Arctic winter is required.
Applicants need to upload a short video or picture via their Facebook account and on the Fjällräven Polar website, together with a motivation as to why they want to enter the event. 50% of the applicants are selected by jury vote and the other 50% by popular vote.
Entries within one region then compete with one another for one of the spots, of which there are only 20 in total. Applicants who receive the most votes in their region are chosen to participate in the Fjällräven Polar, while a Fjällräven judging panel handpicks one additional candidate from each region.
Winners will be announced on December 13, 2019, on the Fjällräven Facebook page.
Apply to the Fjällräven Polar by visiting the website. For more information, visit polar.fjallraven.com.