"No Man's Land"

Arne O. Holm is an expert on the Northern area; he has been a journalist for Dagbladet, news editor for Dagens Næringslivs, editor for NRK’s Brennpunkt and editor for Svalbardposten. Now he has packed his sailors bag and headed for Finnmark. He will follow the race closely for the first time and write about his daily impressions on our web page during the race. Holm has lived for six years at Svalbard where he, among other things, worked as a guide with sled-dogs and partaken in several expeditions. Today he works at Nordområdesenteret in Bodø. Daily you can read Holm’s thoughts about the race in "No Man's Land". Here are his thoughts about the start!

When Alta Exploded

At 11.00 today Alta exploded. It was rock’n roll, it was Jonas Gahr Støre and Erna Solberg .It was Northern area politics and mayor, business leaders and thousands of people. It was volunteers running against dogs on their way out to the mountains. It was sun and closed streets. It was euphoric.

Only Robert Sørlie was calm. The dogs slept and it was still an hour left until he should start on his thousand kilometres long journey around Finnmark.

- I’ve done this a few times before, he explains and looksmildly across the dog-community that has established itself at a parking lot in Alta. 1350 dogs with a common goal.

Though, it was not just the merited Robert Sørlie that was calm just before start. His mushing colleagues, roughly 130, had eventually reached the day they have dreamt of the last year. The day that has filled their thoughts and at times been the only thing that has been in the heads of some of the best mushers in the world.

Just now they are simply relaxing. Preparations has been thoroughly done and no longer part of life. Now only the hardship they have been longing for since October last year, remains. The longing for a total exhaustion.  
Relaxing did also the impressive race administration which had organized this gigantic operation Finnmarksløpet er. Everything was ready.

Robert Sørlie and most the other mushers on 1000-kilometers know what they can expect. They know it is a week till next time they get to sleep, till they again will start the day with a shower and the news on the radio. The next week the only news of importance is the time difference to the next musher.

I met the mushers for the first time on Thursday night. Then they were cramped into a ball room at a hotel in Alta together with their many helpers. None had dancing shoes on. Polonaise was not on the program. It could just as well have been a meeting for the Ramblers Association.  

That was not the case. It was a mushers meeting for FL-1000, and another  for FL-500.

None of them at the meeting were planning on following a marked route across Finnmark. The woollen sweaters and fleece were well used and smelled of dog. So much that it became hard to breath. The vets spoke long and good about dog care while the air slowly was squeezed out of the room.

No one noticed it. Mushers and handlers knew they soon would get more fresh air than most people get in a year. They were to move into an office called the Finnmark Plateau. The plateau is their home and office the next few days and nights.

On their own with the dogs.  Nothing else between the check points.

But before that a town in Finnmark that has broken all forcast for growth in the north.

Finnmarksløpet is an important part of this.

The sledges were filled with smiling and elated politicians and business leaders. Mayors of the largest town in north Norway have probably never had a more fun day at work. As passengers in sledges to the world’s best mushers they could forget about politics. They had to trust the mushers. They were all going to Sorrisniva, regardless of political interest or hometown.

Because it is her in Sorrisniva the real start of FL-1000 is. It is here things become serious. Passengers are left and sledges changed and dogs are added.

I’m a rookie in this company, but as long as the Alta River is frozen, it’s OK to be in deep water.