Shakopee man competing for Arctic sled expedition

Shakopee Valley News

Not many people want to do an expedition across nearly 200 miles of Arctic landscape, but Shakopee resident Erik Mortensen does.

Mortensen is competing to be selected as the United States participant in a group of about 20 people from across the globe and more than 100 sled dogs to traverse Scandinavia.

“I love winter camping,” Mortensen said. “The silence of the landscape, the unique challenges winter weather presents and the tranquility that comes along with cold weather adventures is like nothing else.”

The trek is sponsored by Fjällräven, an outdoor equipment company whose backpacks are pretty popular at the moment. The Fjällräven Polar was based on the Iditarod, a dog sled competition in Alaska.

The first expedition was in 1997.

Mortensen found out about the trip about two months ago after being put on the Fjällräven mailing list. He already had a goal for one adventure per month this year — and had already climbed Mount Whitney, done a 50-mile adventure race and gone on winter trips.

“Frankly, I can’t imagine anything ever topping a 200-mile dog sled event,” Mortensen said. “I want to win because it could be the pinnacle of my adventure experiences.”

Mortensen also saw the chance to see Denmark, the country from which his family immigrated.

“The same landscapes during summer months are packed with people but come winter, it’s just a totally different and more peaceful experience,” he said.

Participants would go on the trip in April 2018.

Two people from 10 geographic regions are selected to take part in the race. One person from each region is selected based on highest number of votes and the second is hand-picked by a jury.

People can vote for Mortensen at http://polar.fjallraven.com/contestant/?id=174 until Dec. 14. Winners will be announced Dec. 15.