Greenland is a beautiful nightmare

I have been to northern Norway and Iceland a few times.

It all started when I was running my previous SaaS at the peak of its growth. I needed a break, and wanted to go far away, while still being close enough if sh*t hit the fan. My co-founder had recently talked to some friends who had been to Tromsø, Norway. The place looked perfect, so I booked a 5-day solo trip there.

Places that are so distant, with such harsh conditions and few people living there always give me a feeling I do not experience anywhere else in the world. I feel small, irrelevant, in the face of brutal, powerful nature.

And believe me, it is a feeling that is overwhelming. But never have I perceived it as something negative. The opposite was true. Feeling small made me feel calm, embracing that that was the right spot for me as part of God's creation. Suddenly, all those dark clouds that followed me everywhere I went back home were... Gone.

If you ever have the opportunity to go to one of these places - go. It might change you in profound ways.

Thanks for this. I'm going to Nesseby Norway next summer for 3 days over the solstice.

There doesn't look like much to do there, which I guess is kinda the point. I'm looking forward to it.

I had a similar feeling in the Faroe Islands. Even in mid summer the weather was rather inclement.

But the landscape was breathtaking, and the locals friendly in a low key way.

I’d love to go back.

And when you want to experiance true issolation in the face of nature, Alaska and Westerm Canada are waiting. Try a drive north through BC in winter. Fish on an Alaskan river only accessible by floatplane. Wake up to watch the northern lights only to realize you are looking south. Or pan for gold only to look up and see a grizzly cub walking cassually past.

Norway: 15 people per sq km.

Alberta: 6.7

British columbia: 5.5

Alaska: 0.5

Yukon territory: 0.1

Northwest Territories: 0.03

> Feeling small made me feel calm

Completely agree. I’ve been on many hikes and in particular there was one time where I was walking up a mountain, at winter, with skis on, that I felt like wow if everyone got to experience this particular feeling of just you and the mountains and not a single soul around, there would be less conflict in the world. If we all got to go on these long solitary trips in the mountains alone. All kinds of grievances and conflicts and whatever you might feel about people that you dislike, it all suddenly feels so insignificant and pointless to even expend any energy on.

More wind means less mosquitos. One step forward and one step back.

Also don't fly with sas to the faroes. They turn back and try again the next day like in the article. Fly atlantic airways, they have equipment to fly through the fog or they will refuel in iceland and try again same day.

Finnmark in Northern Norway is more like 1.5-2, Troms is 3-6. But I agree, Alaska and Western Canada are places to go some day.

Funnily, as a student I had this offer to go to work as a waiter on Alaska. For different reasons that didn't materialize, but definitely this makes me want to go see it even more.

Not so much for the possible bear encounters. I do not think I am ready yet for that.

What do you mean with "they have equipment".

Another option is

Western Australia: 0.2 if you get outside the capital city.

You'll see stars you didn't know existed and the distances are something else.

Northwest territories is beautiful though.

Probably https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instrument_landing_system.

Cojones ;-)

You just described wonderfully why I'm drawn to remote places. It started with a trip to the interior of Iceland, then Tromsø, and more recently Svalbard and the Faroes.

I tried to capture the beautiful sense of isolation in Svalbard here, maybe it inspires others to make a trip to somewhere remote. https://photoblog.nk412.com/Svalbard2024/n-ssC8fP/Svalminiph...

I stayed out past Margaret River in Western Oz and "OMG its full of stars" when I went to the outside toilet during the middle of the night and looked up.

I felt like I could get sucked up and lost in galaxies. You could see so many.

>Also don't fly with sas to the faroes. They turn back and try again the next day like in the article.

To me this is a good reason to fly SAS.

Altitude is also an excellent force multiplier for visualizing stars. I can still see in my mind's eye the sky at night at 17,000 feet while trekking in Nepal in 1982: it looked like glitter-studded fabric, the stars almost contiguous.

If you want to enjoy a day in an airport hotel and be late for what you are travelling for then sure. Sas plane is full of tourists who don't know. Locals all use atlantic airways cause they know they actually land.

Yes.

Driving through is fine, but realistically, if you need basic amenities (healthcare, groceries, etc), you will be living in or around a population center, so those numbers won't hold up.

SAS planes are equipped with ILS though.

Seconded. I've been 'up North' in Canada and it is something that I won't even bother to try to put into words. All I know is that it left me changed, in a very good way.

Again I say, I'd choose SAS. There is a reason they choose to do what they do.

Thanks for the pics! The prevalence of rifles is... thought provoking. The pic of the guy on a bike with a rifle is so metal

My overall impression of the area is "gloomy" all pics are overcast. It feels sad. It is beautiful, but I long for the sun

> I feel small, irrelevant, in the face of brutal, powerful nature.

I married a Chinese woman so I know that same feeling!

I kid.

Mostly.

The people of Alberta remind me of what I imagine the American pioneers to have been: distinctly down to earth, extremely resourceful, generous, and not to be fucked with.

Could the catharsis come from replacing emotional bad weather with actually bad and dangerous weather/nature?

I was just daydreaming about visiting Svalbard when I opened up HN and stumbled on this comment.

I see your Chinese and raise you Russian.

I see your Chinese, Russian, and raise you Mexican. :)

I believe that a rifle is required in Svalbard when you are outside. Polar bears are no joke there.

Poked around your site and enjoyed it, please post more

federally subsidized solo mountain hiking for the un-initiated. I will pay the tax

I could’ve scrolled far longer. Really liked the pictures and brief texts

Went hitchhiking in Alaska while running my startup to "get a break". Absolute disaster. Couldn't properly connect to internet, dropped a bunch of meetings, etc.

Still worth it. My fault for not planning in advance.

They still have to know how to use it an be confortable using it. The pilots also need a license for instrumental flight.

https://atpflightschool.com/become-a-pilot/flight-training/i...

I couldn't find my old photo of a modern-day nordic recreational cyclist with an all metal SAAB on his back, so here's the next best thing

https://old.reddit.com/r/shittytechnicals/comments/yicgme/it...

> Couldn't properly connect to internet, dropped a bunch of meetings, etc.

Isn't that the whole point of going to Alaska?

Sorry. I love life ;)

Grew up in a Chicano hood, thank you very much. I have been hit by the chanclas, hermano!

It's not the cub I'd be worried about, but where's it's mom?

I have yet to go north much, though our son and his girlfriend worked in Eagle Plains for a bit. One fun snippet from their trip back, having a raven as an escort for the highway drive: https://youtu.be/9KdMJhSaeJc

Plenty to do, you can for example fish and eat it too:

Paddeling from Nesseby to Russia https://youtu.be/nW5sFJKs8K4?si=xbmMz11CRIrC7obk

On Svalbard you need a rifle for Polar bear protection. If you need sun just go there in summer, with the midnight sun it will never leave you.

I live down in the south West and you really don't have to go far for some fantastic star photography.

Blackwood River forest is just one example.

I'd really love to hear what you think it is.

Great photos. Crazy to just see a picture of a rifle leaning up against a window, unattended.

Pretty much every commercial pilot is ILS rated... but it depends on the airline if they are okay with landing in fog or with extra expense flying all the way back and providing a hotel;)

That is the scary bit. Maybe mom is right behind you.

Autralia is empty too, but lacks the vertical dimension. Seeing big mountains far away gives one the sense of being in a bigger "room".

I don’t know if you didn’t read or didn’t believe what the other poster said about Atlantic Airways, that they have the equipment to manage the fog and the ability to refuel in Iceland and therefore can try again the same day if necessary. The implication being that SAS have neither - that’s presumably the ”reason they choose to do what they do”.

It’s not unreasonable to think that Atlantic Airways, being a Faroese airline, are better equipped than others to get people to the Faroe Islands.

The reason might be as trivial as "we don't want to spend extra money on the necessary equipment and training". Not something fundamental.

After all the other airline has a good safety record, which indicates that raw risk isn't the reason.

In my younger days I hitch-hiked from Fort St John to Inuvik, via Whitehorse. It got into my blood and bones. I'd love to return... maybe one day.

My god, how can I take photos like that? Do you describe your setup and process somewhere?

Thank you, I don't think I'm doing anything particularly special with my process. I like blacks, and keep photos slightly underexposed, something that most phone cameras will avoid like the plague, brightening everything up. Cropping and composition is also more important than it seems IMO.

Thank you, I've been trying to post more.

Thank you, kind of you to say. Enough people have said nice things that I've convinced myself that more might be interested in my travel shenanigans.

I'd expect a Scandinavian airline to be prepared for bad weather; rain, fog, and snow are completely common occurrences in all major Nordic airports, can't see why nor how SAS would be able to operate without pilots being well-trained on flying in bad conditions.

Beautiful photography, and I enjoyed your commentary. Thank you for posting.

How many "major nordic airports" are one tiny strip of runway next to a bunch of steep terrain?

You lost me, I don't know what you are trying to infer, can you be clearer?

Can't help ya. A big flat major airport in fog is different to a tiny runway with steep terrain in proximity in fog that's just it. If lose ILS at the wrong time, some turbulence and you meet a mountain.

Yeah, this was my first startup and I thought I could multi-task lol. Probably did it for the wrong reason (eg: "checking a box - went hitchhiking in Alaska") than anything else. Spent most of the trip worrying about other) startup shit, didn't enjoy the scenery nearly as much as I should have. Still regret it haha!