ARCTIC MEDICINE COURSE
Medicine in the Arctic winter landscape
Swedish Lapland
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Team Size
max 12 participants
Number of participants
BLUE LABEL
‘Expedition Experience’
Clinical learning in an arctic environment
Arctic Medicine Course Clinical judgment in extreme cold
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Topics:
hypothermia, cold injuries, expedition medicine & teamwork
You arrive in Kiruna. The air is crisp, the cold is immediate, and the landscape is white in every direction. You aren’t here as a tourist. You’re here as a medic.
For the coming week, the Arctic winter landscape is your classroom.
The Arctic Medicine Course combines medical knowledge with arctic expedition experience.
Extreme cold, remote locations, limited resources, and a team that relies on one another.
These are the conditions under which you’ll learn to operate as a doctor.
The medical program is provided by Outdoor Medicine.
An organization with specialist knowledge in the field of medicine in extreme conditions.
ABAN/GAIA accreditation is being requested for all medical specialties.
The program covers clinically relevant themes.
How to manage trauma at -20 degrees or lower. How to recognize and treat hypothermia and cold injuries. How to communicate via radio in cold conditions.
The medical preparation for an expedition is also covered in detail.
How to put together an expedition kit and how to prepare a group for the medical risks of a trip to an extreme environment.
Out of your comfort zone, within the safety zone.
6 days of clinical learning in Swedish Lapland.
- ABAN/GAIA accredited
- Program by Outdoor Medicine
- Seminar hypothermia and cold injuries
- Clinical field scenarios in the cold
- Guided ice hole dive
- 2-day ski expedition
- Overnight stays in lodge and tent
- 2 guides and 2 instructors
- Limited to 12 participants
As a participant in the Arctic Grand Slam 2019, I experienced how great it is to go on an adventure with the professional and expert guidance of Arctic Adventure.
Learned a lot, was able to enrich and amaze myself (in a positive sense) and, in addition to a healthy dose of physical exertion, intensely enjoy all the beauty the Arctic has to offer! Arctic Adventure takes care of everything, arranges, guides, and brings participants together to indescribably beautiful, impressive areas where vacation, adventure, and personal and team development go hand in hand in a friendly atmosphere.
On to a new (Arctic) adventure!
What an experience to go on expedition with Henk-Jan to Lapland. This was a trip of a lifetime! Sleeping in a tent with minus 22 degrees. Beautiful area!
And then those sled dogs! They were really mine at that moment. Feeding and grooming.
The wilderness cabin… Fantastic. And a surprise lunch in the teepee. So many wonderful memories!!!
WITH THESE GUIDES AND INSTRUCTORS
Arctic Adventure & Outdoor Medicine
The Arctic Adventure guides for this course are Karin Sloove and Elise van Winden. Both are experienced in arctic expeditions and trained in working under extreme conditions.
In addition, two instructors from Outdoor Medicine will be present all week. They provide the medical program and the clinical scenarios.
For us, it’s:”Out of your comfort zone. Within the safety zone. ”
Welcome to the Arctic Medicine Course
A six-day course built around one principle: you only truly learn how medicine in the cold works when you do it yourself, in the cold.
On Sunday, March 14, we meet at 10:00 AM in Kiruna at Malmfältens STF. From there, we drive together to Two Rivers Lodge near Skaulo, our base for the first two days.
Day 2 is entirely dedicated to cold-weather medicine. The seminar program is provided by two instructors from Outdoor Medicine. Theory and practice alternate: hypothermia and cold injuries, patient approach at temperatures far below zero, working with limited resources, and communication as a team under pressure. During this day, the ice hole dive also takes place, guided by the local fire department. A controlled immersion in ice-cold water, intended to experience the effect of sudden extreme cold firsthand and understand it from a medical perspective.
Then we head into the field. Two days on skis through snowy forests and over frozen lakes in the Kiruna region, with clinical scenarios along the way and a campfire session in the evening. We sleep for two nights in expedition tents. The nights in the cold make the theory from the seminar days concrete and personal.
On Thursday, a dog sledding trip with your own pulk and dog team, and transfer to Camp Ripan in Kiruna. A comfortable hotel to finish, with a group dinner. Everyone departs on their own on Friday.
Learning medicine in the environment where the medicine is applied.
Not a simulation, but reality itself.
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Arctic Medicine Course Program.
Clinical learning in an arctic environment.
Preparation afternoon — January 16, 2027, Netherlands (1:00 PM – 5:00 PM)
An afternoon in the Netherlands to get to know the group, the course leaders, and the guides. We will focus extensively on the medical preparation for expeditions: how to put together an expedition kit, what’s in it and why, and how you as a doctor prepare yourself and the group for the medical risks of a trip to an extreme environment. During this afternoon, you will also receive an explanation of the packing list with the clothing required in the Arctic region.
Day 1 — Sunday, March 14 — Arrival and introduction
Meeting at 10:00 AM in Kiruna at Malmfältens STF. We drive together to the Two Rivers Lodge near Skaulo. The week begins with lunch and a first introduction to the group, the guides, and the instructors from Outdoor Medicine. In the afternoon and evening, there is time for an initial orientation on the program and the medical themes of the coming days.
Overnight stay: Two Rivers Lodge
Day 2 — Monday, March 15 — Arctic Medicine seminar
A day entirely dedicated to cold-weather medicine, provided by Outdoor Medicine. Theory and practice alternate. The theory focuses on hypothermia and cold injuries. Extensive attention is given to the medical preparation for expeditions: composition of the expedition kit and giving a medical briefing to an expedition group.
Outside, we get to work practically. Patient approach and treatment in the cold, working with limited resources, and communication as a team under pressure are covered.
During the day, the ice hole dive also takes place, guided by the local fire department. A controlled immersion in ice-cold water under the supervision of professionals, intended to experience the effect of sudden extreme cold firsthand and understand it from a medical perspective.
Overnight stay: Two Rivers Lodge
Day 3 — Tuesday, March 16 — First ski day
We leave early. Skis on and into nature. No prior skiing experience required: Arctic Adventure also guides less experienced skiers, and the pace is adjusted to the group. The routes run through snowy forests and over frozen lakes in the Kiruna region, deliberately chosen for the scenarios being carried out today. At the end of the day, we set up camp. In the evening, there is an informative and interactive campfire session.
Overnight: Expedition tent
Day 4 — Wednesday, March 17 — Second ski day
A second day on skis. We move further through the landscape and build on yesterday’s experiences. There is room for additional workshops in the field. We end the day with a second night in camp.
Overnight: Expedition tent
Day 5 — Thursday, March 18 — Dog sledding and transfer to Kiruna
In the morning, we arrive at the Snow Trail Lodge. We meet the dogs, learn how to harness and unharness a team, and spend the afternoon driving our own pulk and four-dog team through the winter landscape. Lunch is in nature. After the dog sledding safari (with two people per sled), we are transported to Camp Ripan in Kiruna, where we dine and stay overnight. This is the final evening of the course.
Overnight stay: Camp Ripan, Kiruna
Day 6 — Friday, March 19 — Departure day
After breakfast at Camp Ripan, everyone departs for home on their own.
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Preparation
On January 16, 2027 (1:00 PM – 5:00 PM), we meet in the Netherlands for a preparation afternoon. We get to know the group, the guides, and the instructors from Outdoor Medicine. You will receive an explanation of the packing list and the clothing needed for the Arctic region. The medical preparation for expeditions is covered in detail: how to put together an expedition kit and how to prepare a group for the medical risks of a trip to an extreme environment.
Prior to the course, you will complete the Outdoor Medicine e-learning.
During the course
The Arctic Medicine Course is a collaboration between Outdoor Medicine and Arctic Adventure. Outdoor Medicine provides the medical program: e-learning, lectures, workshops, and scenario training. Arctic Adventure guides all outdoor activities, ensures safety in the cold, and handles logistics in the field. Two guides from Arctic Adventure and two instructors from Outdoor Medicine are present throughout the entire course.
We sleep the first two nights at Two Rivers Lodge near Skaulo, then two nights in expedition tents, and the final night at Camp Ripan in Kiruna. In the expedition tents, we sleep two people per tent.
Accreditation
For the Arctic Medicine Course, ABAN/GAIA accreditation is being requested for medical specialties.
We stay in touch with each other beforehand (and often afterwards) in a WhatsApp group.
Fitness
This course is a Blue Label and is designed to be accessible. A normal level of fitness and perseverance are sufficient. The emphasis is on the medical and team aspects, not on athletic ability.
No skiing experience required. Arctic Adventure also guides less experienced skiers, and the pace is adjusted to the group. During the ski days, you cover a limited distance each day, with room for scenarios along the way.
Safety
During the field component, we are in uninhabited territory. Our position can always be reached by rescue services. The guides carry Garmin inReach and a satellite phone. A Basecamp Manager is reachable in the Netherlands throughout the entire course.
The guides are trained in Wilderness Advanced First Aid and WGA (Wilderness Guide Association).
Equipment
You will be loaned full winter expedition equipment: skis, backcountry ski boots, ski poles, pulk, -25 expedition sleeping bag, sleeping mats, and gaiters. In consultation, you can bring your own equipment, provided it meets our requirements.
We also provide group materials: tent, cooking gear, fuel, navigation and communication tools, first aid kit.
Packing List
After your registration (or upon request) you’ll receive a detailed packing list. We will go through this together during the preparation afternoon in the Netherlands on January 16, 2027.
Outdoor Medicine
Would you like to read more about the party providing the medical program? Visit the Outdoor Medicine website.
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Participants for the course March 14 – 19, 2027
The Arctic Medicine Course is intended for doctors who want to apply and expand their clinical skills under arctic conditions. This includes GPs, ER doctors, anesthesiologists, intensivists, military doctors, sports doctors, tropical medicine doctors, and residents with an affinity for expedition and wilderness medicine.
The course proceeds with 10 participants and is full at 12 participants.
There are still spots available for this course.
Who is this course for?
The Arctic Medicine Course is for doctors who want more than a classic course in a conference hall. You want to practice clinical reasoning in an environment where standard protocols don’t automatically work. You want to feel what extreme cold does to a patient and to yourself. You want to learn to work with limited resources, in a team, under pressure.
No skiing experience required. A normal level of fitness and perseverance are sufficient. The emphasis is on the medical and team aspects, not on athletic ability.
The group consists of fellow doctors from the Netherlands and Belgium. ABAN/GAIA accreditation is being requested for all medical specialties.
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Data
Preparation afternoon: January 16, 2027, in the Netherlands (1:00 PM – 5:00 PM).
Course: March 14 – 19, 2027, in Swedish Lapland.
Course start
Sunday, March 14, 2027.
Meeting at 10:00 AM at Malmfältens STF in Kiruna.
Course end
Friday, March 19, 2027.
After breakfast at Camp Ripan, everyone departs for home on their own.
Transport to Sweden
This course connects well with the flight from Düsseldorf with Eurowings. Eurowings only flies on Saturdays. Arrival would then be Saturday, March 13, with an overnight stay at Malmfältens STF in Kiruna. We meet there on Sunday, March 14, at 10:00 AM.
For other flight options (including SAS, Norwegian), you can visit our page with flight options to Kiruna.
Flights book yourself.
Total course fee
€ 2,474 per person
This Includes:
- Preparation afternoon in the Netherlands (January 16, 2027)
- Arctic Medicine seminar program by Outdoor Medicine
- Clinical field scenarios and practical workshops
- Guided ice hole dive supervised by local fire department (subject to change)
- ABAN/GAIA accreditation
- 2 nights Two Rivers Lodge near Skaulo
- 2 nights expedition tent
- 1 night Camp Ripan in Kiruna (incl. final dinner)
- All meals from lunch day 1 to breakfast day 6
- Transfer Kiruna – Two Rivers Lodge and all transfers during the course
- 2-day backcountry ski expedition with Arctic Adventure guidance
- Dog sledding trip with your own pulk and four-dog team
- 2 Arctic Adventure guides throughout the entire course (excl. dog sledding)
- 2 Outdoor Medicine instructors throughout the entire course (incl. dog sledding)
- Garmin inReach satellite communication and satellite phone
- Basecamp Manager in the Netherlands throughout the entire course
- Winter equipment (-25 expedition sleeping bag, winter sleeping mat, expedition skis, backcountry ski boots, ski poles, pulk)
- Group equipment (tent, stove, fuel, navigation tools, first aid kit)
- Down jacket can be rented for €50 if needed
- Contribution to the VZR guarantee fund
- Booking fees
Participants
Maximum 12
This Excludes:
- Flights, train journey to the destination
- Travel insurance with winter sports coverage
- Cancellation insurance
- Drinks personal expenses
- Personal equipment (see packing list tab)
Please Note.
If during the trip it is collectively decided to undertake extras (Excursions, overnight stays, meals), these costs will be divided among the participants.
We Provide
- Expedition skis
- Backcountry ski boots
- Ski poles
- Gaiters
- Pulk
- Overall during the dog sledding tour
- Winter boots during the dog sledding tour
- Luggage bag
- Tent bag
- Dinner mug
- Food during the course
- -25 Expedition Sleeping Bag
- 2 Sleeping mats
- Stove
- Fuel
- Pans
- Expedition tent
- Emergency bivouac
- Maps
- Compass
- GPS
- Communication tools (Garmin inReach, satellite phone)
- First Aid
You Provide
Food
- 2 Thermos flasks
- Spoon, mug
Sleeping
- Sleeping bag liner
- Headlamp
Hygiene
- Personal medication
- Toiletries
Clothing
- Socks
- T-shirt
- Down slippers
- Underwear
- Long underwear
- Fleece pants/leggings
- Windshell pants
- Long thermal shirt
- Fleece sweater
- Fleece jacket
- Windproof jacket
- Down jacket
- Pair of gloves
- Thick wool mittens
- Outer mittens
- Hat
- Buff / Balaclava
- Glacier sunglasses
- Ski goggles
You will receive a detailed packing list after your registration, or upon request.
Rent / Buy
Renting an expedition down jacket is possible via Arctic Adventure for €50
As a participant in our trips, you get a 10% discount in Beaver stores. So take advantage of that if you still need to buy stuff.
Check Marktplaats.nl for good used equipment.
Contact us if you have questions about the material.
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