From swimming in the Arctic to nursing his wife with heat stroke, Chloe Addo chats with the experienced Arctic traveller Norman Price, and hears his tales, trails and tips for anyone thinking of heading north.

Norman Price is the new author of an endearing and intriguing travel novel entitled ‘The Warm Arctic’.

Norman has always been fascinated with the “far north”, so much so that his obsession with the Arctic has encouraged several expeditions to the likes of Alaska, Greenland and Canada, taking in locations and trips that most of us wouldn’t dare taking.

What started your obsession with travel?

I’ve always been travelling, I was brought up in Malaya (now Malaysia) and by necessity we travelled a lot. I was out in Australia during the Japanese occupation of Malaya during World War Two and eventually I took up flying. I flew for BOAC which became British Airways and that’s when I got the travel bug.

There are so many wonderful places around the world, but it was the Arctic that always amazed me. Anytime we flew over Greenland or anywhere far north I always had my face to the flight deck window.

You’ve visited Alaska, Finland and most countries in the Arctic - where has been your favourite place to visit?

That’s a difficult one to answer - I tend to think of it as a whole. I think I would say Greenland was the most magical of countries but I’ve built up an enormous affection for the Russian people.

I stayed one summer with a Russian family in Provideniya. It had the greatest psychological effect on me. They seemed to be poverty stricken, which I’m told has all changed now, but the place was crumbling, there was noise pollution, roads were a terrible mess but I’ve never been in such a group of happy and contented people. They grumbled about things but they had a wonderful philosophy on life. People say the Russians don’t have a sense of humour, but believe me they do.

What was your best and worst moment in the Arctic?

Best moment: Settling down amongst people, standing somewhere with a magnificent view or understanding something that was a bit of a challenge.

Worst moment: On one occasion I thought I overtaxed myself and I was prime for a heart attack. I was in an area where there was no help and as I settled into my sleeping bag I looked around and thought “that’s a daft way to go”. I was terribly surprised when I woke up in the morning.

The other occasion, much to my wife’s horror, was when I tried to walk across the MacKenzie Delta (The large area of land which surrounds the MacKenzie River situated in Canada) in the winter. It was a good 75 mile walk and I was still convinced I was 25 and not 73 or whatever it was. It was obvious I wasn’t going to make it.

The temperature went down and I was beginning to freeze. I could no longer stay warm and the only way I could survive was to move - so I started treading back to civilization at about 3 or 4 in the morning.

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However, I turned my little torch off and I saw the most magnificent sky, a jet black dome of the heavens, and every star in the cosmos. It was just so bright shining like searchlights. The auroras can be quite dull but this one was changing all sorts of colours, all shades of curtains, shimmering. But I ended up being rescued at the end of it!

In total how long have you spent in the Arctic?

Around 2 years or so between trips and about 3 or 4 weeks on the Mackenzie River Delta in the North West of Canada.

Did you learn how to build an Igloo?

I did go out with a fellow to show me. I helped him build it but I haven’t constructed one myself. I was photographing him so he really was doing most of the work.

Getting the last stone on top is important; he said “if you do it wrong this is where it all falls down”. The only disappointing thing about it was that it didn’t seem any warmer inside it!

Warmth is all relative, it’s the wind that’s a killer out there. In winter I walked from the airport at Resolute Bay down to the community. I was perspiring because the air was still. I had to undo my jacket so that my clothes could breathe, otherwise my clothes would get damp and when I stopped exercising I would freeze.

In the summer it can be incredibly warm. I’ve swam in the water in Greenland several times up in Pittsburgh. I was leading an expedition of youngsters, I was about 55 then they were 17, 18 and 19. They were doing everything faster and better than I could so anytime I saw a bit of water or just some ice I’d smash it up and go for a swim. That backed them off a little. People have a funny view about that but if there’s no wind it’s terribly refreshing. First of all it stings like needles but I come out feeling very smug.

The temperature in summer can be 10-20C and in winter as much as -30-40C but it can reach as low as -50C: When the wind is blowing its savage- just claws at you.

When I took my wife to Greenland, it was in the summer, it was a glorious day and we walked out to get a good view of the icebergs there. She was beginning to suffer from heat stroke; it really can be quite savage. There’s terribly strong ultra violet rays in the Arctic and the rocks are warm to touch. I had to get her in a patch of tundra so I could try and cool her down a bit.

Do you think your age held you back at all?

Oh yes, just that I never recognised it.

It really came home to me when I was with my grandson, I write about it in the last chapter of my book (as pictured), he’s 20 years old and he ended up nursing me. That’s what woke me up to the fact that my roughing it days were over.

When I go back up to Alaska next time I will be in a hire car, I’ll take a survival bag with me but I don’t suspect I’ll be sleeping anywhere else than a proper bed with sheets.

What do you think of tourist trips to the Arctic – will they damage the area?

Tourism is a good idea but it must be carefully controlled- if there are too many people then I think it will damage the environment.

What the average tourist doesn’t get however, is the intimate relationship with people- like when I was in Russia living with family for 4 weeks and observing family life.

It takes a little while to really understand where you are and what you’re doing. For example I had been living there 4 or 5 weeks when the people on the Explorer came in. I saw how the people of the town reacted - there was great excitement and a show was put on trying to be hospitable to them; but I could see the tourists eyeing the cracked infrastructure, and I’m quite certain they went away with the wrong impression of Provideniya, Russia.

When I show my friends and family pictures of Provideniya - they all say “oh how grim” but it was one of the happiest places I’ve ever stayed in.

Can Russia become a popular tourist destination if they see past that?

I think you have to be a bit of a sociologist to see past that. Most tourists think of icebergs, polar bears and walruses. I think you have to be socially inclined to get the benefit of the Arctic that I know. I love being in a wilderness area and sitting and watching icebergs moving, or standing on a mountain and watching all around you, but I think people going on tours are expecting the wrong thing.

What would be your top tips for anyone wanting to travel to the Arctic?

Do a bit of research.
Do not go with pre conceived ideas,
Keep a very open mind,
For adventure- Greenland is fantastic or Pittsburgh, Canada
For people- Russia although logistically it is very difficult to get to.
Visit Canada- logistically is very easy to get to.
For top tourist spots- Stanton Island, you can take nice breaks in the nature parks.

Photographs: By all means take photographs but don’t go around shoving cameras in people’s faces without developing some sort of rapport first.

Winter: In the winter it’s very difficult. If you’re going to go sledging there are some good sledge trips in Greenland. There’s also a place in Ittoqqortoormiit (East Greenland).

There’s a good place in Scrosby, Ittoqqortoormiit. There’s two people running it, Martin and Karin and because we were camping she gave us plenty of warning and supplied us with a rifle- we’re in polar bear country you see. Of course if you were doing a sledging trip you wouldn’t need that. I was there during summer and we had a dog to warn us and a rifle just in case it got nasty.

Did you have to use the riffle?

The guard dog proved useless. My grandson Ben climbed up onto a rock and stretched out to have a sleep. I had my back to the tundra, I was cooking a meal and the dog was sleeping by my side. A lone musk ox walked by and I didn’t hear it. Musk oxs in a group are not a problem, but if you get a lone musk ox they can become very nasty. Ben came yelling down the rock yelling musk ox at me but by this time the musk ox disappeared and the dog stayed asleep! As a guard dog he was a failure but he was a most lovable creature.

There’s a big difference between south Greenland and the more northern places. If someone goes on a walking or adventure holiday, southern Greenland is more lush, more beautiful- it has wild flowers etc. If you go north its much more barren.

One word of warning, there are no tracks anywhere you just choose where you want to go and walk. It’s flat there and where you walk can get very very slushy and the water doesn’t drain. You want to follow the contours of the hills; otherwise you’ll find yourself in ankle depth of water.

What should you pack when going to the Arctic?

A friend once told me if you’re organising an expedition, work out how much money you want to take and what kit you want, then take half the kit and twice the money!

You’ll find you don’t need a tenth of what you think you’ll need – winter is more difficult and you have to have the right protective clothing. In summer you can get by on very little. In Canada I was walking with too much emergency stuff, so much emergency stuff I nearly caused an emergency!

You must have good thermal insulation,
You need a comfortable layer next to skin which will wick any moisture away from the skin, so the moisture doesn’t stay next to the skin.
You want a shell garment,
Gloves are important, I prefer mitts to gloves- the hand will stay warmer.
Hats are important and
The right sort of boots. Boots are tricky to get you could buy local.

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