Private Husky Safari

It happened many years ago, I was skiing in a forest in Lapland. There was a lot of new snow and the Northern lights were dancing on top of me. It was completely silent. You could not here a single sound. No engines, no people, no birds. I had never experienced complete silence and I don´t think many people have. You always hear something. It was such a beautiful moment and a strong feeling for me just being there surrounded by the nature. That moment started my journey away from the hectic, noisy city life towards a more peaceful and quiet life in Lapland.

My name is Valtteri Immonen. I live in Muonio, Lapland. I am originally from the south of Finland very close to the capital Helsinki. During the summers of my childhood I always spent the summer months in our summer cottage which is surrounded by nature in the countryside. I always went for adventures in the forests, swimming and fishing on the lake all day long. I remember it being so peaceful and happy life. I was already building my relationship with the nature.

As a young man I travelled around the world. Everywhere. I lived for a year in Brazil and Malaysia and I was always travelling. Today I am happy and very grateful for my years travelling abroad. They shaped me as a person and taught me about differencies in people and cultures that I can make use of in my work today.
I had never really travelled in my own country and I had never been to Lapland and it was the place I really wanted to see. It sounded so different from the cities in the south. I found this one job ad from the internet. Before I was even called for the interview I took my bike and booked a train to Kemi from where it took a few days and about 350km to cycle to Muonio where the job was. I called the manager from the
lobby and asked if they would interview me. And I got the job! Afterwards I have been working in many different companies mostly with dog sledding in Lapland and also in the harsh conditions of Svalbard.

Then, one day I was skiing in the forest, and I experienced the complete silence. Eventhough the situation was very different, the feeling I had reminded me so much of my childhood in our summer cottage. This transformative experience is something I want to offer my guests as well. Many of them have a busy life in big cities and I wish to show them the peacefulness of the nature that can have effects that can change lives completely to the better as it did for me.

Later I started my own company called Wildmaker that offers activities in the nature for our guests. We take our guests on husky safaris, reindeer farm visits, snowshoeing, ice fishing and on other beautiful experiences in the magical nature of Lapland.