This story actually has two beginnings. The first was in 2014, when we celebrated the last evening at Willem’s parents‘ house. The families of Steffi and Willem came together to say goodbye before we embarked on a journey the next morning that would change our lives forever. We spent over a year traveling through Northern Europe, mainly in Iceland and Norway, where we worked with Alaskan Huskies for the first time.

As a child in school, I, Willem, was always told I was a dreamer. Someone who constantly thought about adventures and the experiences the world had to offer, while I could barely step outside without medication due to severe asthma and allergies. My dreams, they said, were for others.

In the icy cold of the Lower Arctic, where my hands go numb at -30 degrees Celsius while I harness the dogs, such limitations no longer exist. There are only the dogs, relying on us to keep moving forward. And this is where the deep love and profound understanding for these four-legged athletes and their world began.

We packed our sleds countless times, venturing deeper into the Arctic wilderness with an ever-growing team of dogs. After a while we started taking tourists along—team members whom we trained in handling the dogs, their care, and survival in this harsh environment. That way we followed the example of early sled dog schools in Greenland.

Then came 2019: During an expedition, we noticed the drastic changes in the Arctic landscape. What is now scientifically proven was already clear to us: the climate was changing, and the impact on both the culture and life with sled dogs would be dramatic.

This marked the second beginning—the beginning of PURE ICE.