OUR TEAM AND PHILOSOPHY
We love the Arctic. We admire the nature. We want to share this passion with you.
Johanna Mikkola
OWNwer, head GUIDE
Certified Arctic Nature Guide, first aid skills (levels 1 and 2) in the Arctic (certified by the Norwegian Red Cross).
Johanna, now running White Adventure, was born in Southern Finland but was always fascinated by the far North. After a few trips on horseback in the wilderness of Alaska she realized taking people into the nature is what she wants to do. Thus she studied on Spitsbergen (Svalbard) and graduated as an Arctic Nature Guide in 2014. Missing forests and her native culture she decided to move to Lapland. Nowadays Johanna can not come up with a good reason to move South of the Polar Circle. She also has two Arctic dogs – loyal companions who often join the tours that she guides for White Adventure.
Anna-Leena Nordberg
Wilderness guide
Certified Arctic Wilderness Guide, certified wilderness cook, first aid skills levels 1&2 (Certified by the Finnish Red Cross).
Anna-Leena is a wilderness guide and drama and theatre instructor. She comes from Kolari, Lapland where she spent her childhood. After her studies in Western Finland Anna-Leena came back to Lapland to enjoy the unique eight seasons of the region. Anna-Leena lives all year round in Lapland. She is passionate about picking local wild berries and herbs and using these for cooking and jams. She loves also photographing – even when temperatures sink down to -40 degrees!
Vilma Heikka
wilderness guide
Program service producer, certified wilderness guide, first aid 1 & 2 by Finnish Red Cross.
Vilma grew up in Oulu, Finland but kept returning to further North at every opportunity and finally made a permanent home here some years ago. She has worked in tourism all her life and still can’t imagine anything being better! After living in The Netherlands for a long time and travelling around she started to miss our snow, wilderness and northern skies, and biking in a city was replaced by roaming the snowy forests. You’re likely to find her around the local fells all year round, with a snowboard in the wintertime and carrying a backpack in the summertime.
Tuomas Rautanen
freelancer
Certified Arctic wilderness guide, Certified wilderness cook, first aid skills levels 1&2 (Certified by the Finnish Red Cross).
Tuomas is a passionate winter trekker who has explored Finnish and Swedish Lapland for years on ski expeditions, multi-day husky tours and flying on glider planes (yes, in winter time, taking off from a frozen lake!). Originally from Eastern Finland, Tuomas studied economics in Helsinki after which he worked for eight years at the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, the EU Parliament in Brussels and an environmental finance consultancy in Zürich. He then decided to move back home and follow a passion for Arctic nature and adventures and completed the Wilderness Guide Course in Muonio, Lapland in 2013. Since then he has been welcoming White Adventure groups in Finnish Lapland.
Philosophy
We are White Adventure, a small family-owned wilderness tour operator in Lapland.
In order to offer a unique disconnect from city-life and to keep the atmosphere personal and friendly, we keep our activity very small-scale. We take at most six guests per week on our authentic nature exploration tours.
White Adventure is a registered cooperation partner of the Pallas-Ylläs National Park. Our Silence and Nature tour was selected as a “Star product” by Visit Finland, the Finnish national travel board, in 2016.
Guiding groups through Arctic wilderness is a lifestyle for us, far from ”just another job”. We find peace of mind in these forests, swamps and hills – and we love to share this experience.
On our tours we follow these principles
Our tours are non-motorised. We spend six days with snow-shoes, skis, huskies and reindeer. As we trek in the national park, very often on our tours we don’t see other people for days.
We take at most six people in our groups. This ensures that you can concentrate on the nature with no distraction. And on the most precious gem of Lapland: total silence.
The ”Silence and Nature” tours take place mainly in January and February. We call this period Sydäntalvi or the ”heart of winter”. In these months the Arctic winter gives its very best! Skies are painted with slowly changing pastel colors, trees are packed with snow and the probability for seeing the Northern Lights is high.
There will be something awesome and new for each of you. That’s a promise.
The adventures in the wilderness are balanced by the comfort of bathing in the saunas, by nights in traditional-style but fully equipped log cottages and by cozy moments by warm fire places.
We will serve you some of the finest local specialties – prepared using traditional methods. Ingredients are the key – we use local and organic products whenever possible. The fish comes from our chrystal-clear Arctic lakes and the reindeer have been grazing in these very same forests.
There is a safety plan for each tour. Our team members have passed the level 1 and 2 of the first aid course of the Red Cross, an examination on hygienic handling of food and an examination on tour safety. We will provide you with high-quality warm clothing from top to toe to ensure you a comfotable experience.
The nature in the Arctic is pristine and extremely fragile. We take care not to leave trash behind us in the wilderness. Ingredients in our meals are local for as much as possible. We use only non-motorised means while in the wilderness and also act in a culturally sustainable way.