We recently featured Rick Schamper’s truly extraordinary 1968 Volvo Valp, and today we’re taking a look at his two-part film Overlanding Trip to Lapland. Rick is an offshore engineer and mechanic based in Norway, but when he’s not working, he’s traveling in his expedition-ready Laplander. Over the years, he’s taken this rig to Iceland, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, Austria, Italy, Corsica, and most recently, the magical Canary Islands. The pandemic put his Moroccan plans on hold, but he hopes to make the crossing soon with restrictions beginning to lift.
Rick is not primarily an influencer or filmmaker, but he does produce wonderful videos and documents interesting and unusual locations (I recommend viewing his most recent Canary Islands episode). In today’s instalment, he travels to Lapland, the northernmost region in Finland. Lapland makes up almost a third of the country, yet is home to less than 4% of the Finnish population. It may be a winter wonderland (and one of the best places on earth to view the aurora borealis), but it is also a harsh and unforgiving environment with treacherous ice roads, heavy snowfall, large expanses of uninhabited wilderness, and temperatures as low as -50°C(-58°F).
In this short film Rick and his friends drive and camp on frozen lakes, pass through quaint Finnish villages, navigate deep snow, visit an ice hotel, meet reindeer and sled dogs, and battle blizzards (watch Part 2 here). Additionally, the footage highlights the challenges of owning a classic rig, while showcasing the benefits.
Rick’s passion for vehicle travel is infectious, and the overlanding rig he’s built from the ground up is nothing short of outstanding. If you plan to visit Scandinavia during wintertime, this is a fascinating insight into what to expect.
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