snowmobiling
In Norway, one to two people
are killed every year in snowmobiling accidents.
“The numbers are not that large, but these
are nevertheless unwanted, unnecessary deaths.
I wanted my doctoral project to address pre-
vention and health promotion issues in North-
ern Norway, which makes snowmobiling very
appropriate,” says Grete Mehus. Her recently
completed PhD at the University of Tromsø’s
Faculty of Health Sciences examines snowmo-
biling and safety.
Learn as children
Kautokeino youths Mikkel Erik Triumf, Anni
Ravna Triumf and Nils-Arne Hætta believe that
they are well equipped to handle snowmobiling
on the snowy plains around their hometown.
They have been riding them since they were
children.
“We start out with mini-scooters when we
are four or five years old, and we learn how to
drive at an early age. That makes us better driv-
ers. We learn to master the snowmobile, and we
learn how to assess risks. In the Sami culture,
we are allowed to try and fail when we are very
young, and we learn from this. It’s very valua-
ble,” the trio says.
They point out that when accidents happen,
they often involve people who are not familiar
with the area, or that there is alcohol involved.
“People who drink and drive snowmobiles
are rarely caught because they drive at night.
The police come out on sunny days, and then
they catch families with children who are driv-
ing a little outside of the snowmobile trails,”
says Anni Ravna Triumf.
The young people of Kautokeino drive
nearly every day. They have roughly 1000 km
of snowmobile trails at their disposal, and they
live in a society where almost everyone gets
their snowmobile license at the age of 16. And
they drive long distances – one popular desti-
nation is Nordreisa, a trip of about 90 km via
snowmobile trails.
“We dress well and bring extra food and
clothing with us if we are going to be away for
a long time. And we don’t go out in really bad
storms,” says Triumf.
However, the young people say that if you
want to dress warmly, you leave your snowmo-
bile helmet at home.
“A helmet won’t keep you warmwhen it’s 20
below. You’d freeze. No one in the village wears
a helmet. There are so many silly rules,” Hætta
says, adding, “We troublemakers don’t drive on
the trails.”
Taking risks
These young people do admit to taking some
risks. They like to test their snowmobiles in
powder snow.
“You always take a risk when you drive but if
it’s something you love to do, you take the risk.
Isn’t that what most people do?” asks Hætta.
Mikkel Erik Triumf recently had the experi-
ence of being caught in an avalanche.
“A snowmobile drove ahead of me up a hill,
and then the avalanche broke loose. I saw that
he slid down, and then I was caught. My snow-
mobile tipped over, but I sort of floated on top
of the snow. I was lucky that there was so little
snow. It was a little scary, but neither I nor the
snowmobile were harmed,” he tells.
Young people value being able to master
the snowmobile, and to feel that they have mas-
tered driving. This was something Mehus also
emphasised in her research.
She interviewed 81 young people aged
16–23 years in Northern Troms and Finnmark,
in Northern Norway. She found that they prim
arily perceived snowmobiling as a sensory expe-
rience involving the body and nature, but where
the risk is underplayed.
“The boys in particular go snowmobiling
for the physical feeling, or what theorists like to
20
labyrint
•
research magazine
from
u
i
t
the
arctic
university
of
norway
Girls often borrow snowmobiles, while boys
own them.
Nils Arne Hætta, Mikkel Erik Triumf and Anni
Ravna Triumf percieve themselves to be expe-
rienced drivers, since they have been doing it
since childhood
