Matthijs and Elke have invited us to come and have a look at their snow hotel. We experience the construction of one of the snow domes and the creation of the ice sculptures. I even lend a hand with the construction of the dome. On our last day, we will be introduced to the Sami culture and ride a reindeer sleigh.
We stay at the home of Elke and Matthijs for 3 days. Nice to sleep in a real bed in a warm house for a few nights. The last days it was colder than -15°C at night with peaks to -25°C.
The Tromsø Ice Domes
Matthijs, a good friend of our son Michiel, and his girlfriend Elke run the Tromsø Ice Domes. This is a winter experience location where you can stay in a snow hotel in the middle of winter. But you can also undertake activities such as dog sledding and reindeer sledding, cross-country skiing with a snowmobile or snow walking or cross-country skiing.
A first impression
When we arrive, the activities have just started. The dog sleds come and go, the snowmobiles are ready and the reindeer are eager to get into their winter home.
Matthijs and his people have supplied ice to make the ice sculptures and they work with large equipment to produce and move snow for the snow domes.
The artists have started sculpting animal figures from the blocks of ice.
We take a tour of the Tromsø Ice Domes with Matthijs.
It is great to see how Matthijs and Elke have found their niche at this adventurous location. How, together with their employees, with hard work, they manage to create a unique experience for their guests.
The construction of the domes
When we are done with the tour of the site, the “balloon”, which will serve as the base for the snow dome, must be put in place. All available hands can be used for this, so I’m happy to lend a hand. It is cold (certainly -15°C), so being physically active is fine.
The excavators meanwhile have cleared a spot for the first snow dome and we anchor it in place.
Once the balloon is in place, it should be inflated. That lasts all night, so the work is stopped for a while.
The next day the formwork wall around the balloon is set up. Two gates serve the entrance and exit of the dome.
When the formwork wall is in place and the balloon is fully inflated, the snow application can begin. A tractor snow plow with a modified nozzle blows the snow on the dome and step by step the formwork slides up.
Until the snow covers the roof of the dome.
When we leave after 3 days, the first dome is standing with a proud crew.
Two more large domes to go and then 6 smaller domes for the bedrooms, it’s still a lot of work.
The ice sculptures
When we arrive the ice sculptors have just started their first ice figures. The idea is to decorate the entire ice hotel on the inside with scenes of Arctic life. In the large reception dome comes a Viking ship with Vikings with shields of ice. In the connecting corridors between the snow chambers and the large central domes, scenes show animals, arctic foxes and polar bears chasing rabbits and hares. It will be quite an experience!
The artists sculpt the most beautiful creations from the ice blocks. We are amazed at how they do their work in the arctic cold with the greatest precision and craftsmanship.
Sami culture and the reindeer sleigh
On our last day at Elke and Matthijs we can join a group to get acquainted with the Sami culture and take a ride in a reindeer sleigh.
Our guide Carolina, a young Sami woman of 20, introduces us to the Sami culture.
She tells that her family – father, mother, brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts, cousins – owns a herd of reindeer of several thousand. The family moves them to the fertile, uninhabited parts of Norwegian Lapland in the summer. In winter they tend the animals closer to home. They are slaughtered (for own use) and sold for consumption and trade. Everything from the animals is used, meat for consumption, the fur for the leather, even the bones and other “residual products” are given a destination.
Every reindeer has an owner, Carolina has several reindeer in her possession. Each animal is earmarked, with cuts in the left ear for the owner and cuts in the right ear for the family.
When moving the reindeer between summer and winter quarters, the whole family is summoned and given a task. Some go in search of the animals, nowadays even with drones. Others take snowmobiles or quad bikes into the mountains to bring the animals together. When moving the animals, the Sami travel many hundreds of kilometers. Sometimes that involves fjords or lakes, frozen in winter, by ferry in summer.
Carolina’s dress is traditional, she shows us the dress of her mother’s family and of her father’s family.
Her shoes are made of reindeer skin.
After all the explanations we take a ride with the reindeer sleigh. Sonja is allowed to help bring the animals outside.
Wat leuk geschreven. We vonden t erg gezellig om jullie een paar daagjes hier te hebben!!!