It hadn’t really occurred to me as a skipper—nor to the participants—that climate change is starting to impact Ski & Sail expeditions.

"It must be so cold and snowy", that's what people often say when I go to Norway end of February as a skipper of ski & sail expeditions in the Lofoten. And yes we were hoping for snow, but instead, we got rain quite often. This was likely because the temperature of the seawater in the North Atlantic Ocean so early in the year is already getting warmer due to climate change. The moist air above this increasingly warm Atlantic Ocean is blown towards the Norwegian coast by spring storms, causing rain to fall earlier in the year instead of snow. The mountains around us were still snow-covered, and sometimes there was even ice in the fjords, but it diminished day by day. The rain also resulted in fewer available routes due to the increased avalanche risk. The ski tourers had to deal with wet ascents and sometimes wet descents. Fortunately, there were also many beautiful parts of the day, and a participant's slogan summed it up nicely: “Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe shiiit.”

The Power of Good Leadership

But then you see what good leadership can do: as a passionate team with lots of humor and dedication—Matteo, the Italian ski and mountain guide, and myself as skipper—we guided the participants through the challenges of the area and the weather. Every day, we searched for the most promising ski-routes, practiced extra avalanche rescue and man-overboard drills, and spent more time learning to sail in Arctic conditions and in the dark.

Building Team Spirit

We ensured there was a warm welcome every day after an often wet ski session, with soup, freshly baked bread, or other tasty food, and even once with freshly picked mussels for a convivial gathering on board. We held multiple daily check-ins to see how everyone was doing and ensured their outdoor clothing was dried every day.

In this way, we built a super-motivated team that set off every morning for an unforgettable day and evening, no matter what happened. The view, which we got to enjoy almost every day, was phenomenal. And fortunately, the weather was good too, allowing us to see the Northern Lights three times on three clear evenings. Meanwhile, the crew of the only other boat in the bay missed this spectacle because, tired, wet, and satisfied, they had gone to bed a little earlier.

Facing Challenges Together

With a strong team that had worked on resilience and perseverance for a week, you can also take on a major challenge on the final day: sailing back in force 6-7 winds across a stretch of open sea with high waves. Together, we prepared the boat and crew well: life jackets were double-checked, sails reefed, food and drinks prepared, the latest weather and routes checked, and off we went.

You could see some nerves with some of theammembers, but thanks to clear explanations and managing expectations, everyone was looking forward to it. Once underway, it was a matter of holding on tight for all of us, and I was able to let the team steer & sail the boat themselves for the most part in this challenging environment. A short but, for me as skipper at @WhereSeaMeetsLand, great sailing experience that made a deep impression on the participants. Never before had they been part of a team that had to work together so closely to get home safely.

A Lasting Impact

For us and the ski & sail team, the climate pressure made for a profound experience, both confronting as challenging. At the farewell, a few tears were shed here and there, and afterwards we received sweet, warm, and super enthusiastic reactions from the participants. For me, it was another load of impactfull experiences with these teams, that I can apply in my onshore team coachings with @Flow+.

#sometimesmaybeshiiit #sometimesmaybegood #teamdevelopment

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/91e8e7_1a903f3d1a534a9bae036203b5fffc35/1080p/mp4/file.mp4