Polestar 2 the Arctic
From Trondheim to Northern Norway in an Electric Vehicle
Teresa and I have been zooming around Norway for a month now in our white Polestar 2 electric vehicle. At last we have reached Trondheim, the last city on our path to the Arctic.
Norway is shaped kind of like a drooping mandolin or sitar, with a round bulbous body, a long thin neck, and then a smaller oblong head at the top. Trondheim is situated right where the neck meets the body before it stretches north. From this staging point, we will begin our long drive to the top of the head: to Norkapp, the northern-most point of mainland Europe. It’s as far north as Barrow on the north coast of Alaska. The drive is about 1,600 km — roughly 1,000 miles from Trondheim.
We plan on taking our time, exploring the wild terrain along the way. But, there are bound to be fewer chargers along the route, and probably fewer emergency vehicles if one happens to run out of juice on a remote northern road.
Overall we’ve managed okay with our Polestar 2 this first month. I think I’ve experienced most of the things that can go wrong. True, some charging stations have defeated me and I’ve had to move along. Sometimes the charging apps don’t work, or the station is out of order. Once, my charging cable got stuck and I couldn't unplug it. Two company technicians had to come out and wrangle it loose. But we’ve never come close to running out of juice. Other that range anxiety, the car’s been a dream to drive: great pick up, great steering, and the onboard navigator helps you find nearby charging stations. I remain optimistic.
Just when I was feeling like a modern-day Arctic explorer, I was introduced to Børge Ousland, a real Norwegian explorer, by a mutual friend (thanks, Rebecca!). Ousland is a household name in Norway for his several daring expeditions to both North and South Poles. Just few year ago he and a fellow explorer Mike Horn made international headlines for completing an expedition to the North Pole, on skis, in the middle of winter (read the Nat Geo story here). Each man pulled 400 kg of gear over the ice on sleds. It took them three months, travelling in complete darkness much of the time, in temperatures as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius. Ousland sent me this picture of him, below, giving a talk about the trip:
He’s in his late fifties, about five years younger than I am.
Did I mention my epic struggle with range anxiety? My heroic battle with the stuck charging cable? Well, I suppose we each find our own edge in our adventures. There will always be someone more daring, and frankly, I think Teresa is happy that mastering an EV in the Arctic is the upper limit of my sexagenarian thrill-seeking. Can you imagine her face and mine in the photo above?
Trondheim: Our staging point, a place to catch our breath, gather our wits, and then, up Norway’s neck in our own expedition!
Trondheim is a disorientingly typical European city compared to other places we have visited in Norway. The mountain fjords and rocky islands require adaptation to the land and the climate: houses perch on the hills, cling to the shoreline; they are built to shelter from avalanches or withstand gales. But Trondheim has a surprisingly mild climate. It’s surrounded by gently rolling, fertile hills and valleys that could be mistaken for rural Virginia. The surrounding region is one of two main farming areas in Norway (the other is around Oslo), in a country where only three percent of the land is suitable for agriculture. The rest is forest, mountian, and ice. We know the land to the north of us will be rougher, colder, and wetter. According to Wikipedia, Norway’s far north has a “cold summer, and no dry season.”
In Trondheim we met up again with our friend from Oslo, Roald. He too is on his way north. He’s visiting his sister in the far nothern village where he was born and raised. In summertime, many Norwegians return to their birthplace in remote regions. It’s a salmon-like impulse, I suppose. Happily, Roald was travelling upstream along the E6 national highway at the same time as we are. So, we not only crossed paths in Trondheim, he also invited us to stop by for a visit to his home town further along our route.
Roald arrived at our hotel in a light shirt, khakis and sandals — no socks — and he happily sat out on the terrace of our hotel bar, while we were bundled in sweaters. “Oh, I don’t get cold,” he told us.
Trondheim holds many good memories for Roald. After growing up in a remote village where everyone knew everyone, he went to University in Trondheim in the late 60’s. He did well, and so went on to do graduate studies in Chicago. Eventually he returned to Norway, to teach in a northern village, no bigger than his hometown.
Roald told us Trondheim was founded in 997 AD as Norway’s first capital by King Olaf. Olaf had been a brutal Viking leader, but a near death experience led him to convert to Christianity. He became the first Christian Viking king, and he made it his mission to converted his people from their pagan ways. For those who resisted, his methods of persuasion included torture and execution. This did not make him popular. Olaf was eventually killed during a battle against his pagan brethren. After his death, this violent king became Saint Olaf. Trondheim’s Cathedral has supposedly enshrined his remains (although other sources say the battle took place at sea, and Olaf drowned when he leapt from his ship). His successors, also entombed in the cathedral, completed Olaf’s mission and Christianized Norway.
Here’s King Olaf, below, on a pedestal in Trondheim, Cross in one hand, sword in the other:
As we wished each other safe journey on the road, Roald gave us one parting word of advice: “Always remember, there is no shame in turning back.”
We laughed. Turn back? No way. We are riding our Polestar 2 all the way to the end of the world.
