Snowmobile Sleigh Driver

I worked as a Snowmobile Sleigh Driver in Saariselkä and would like to tell you about my experiences!

 

When I first went, I was a bit nervous about the cold weather, but at the end of 1 week, the cold weather gave me peace, I had no complaints, and my body was used to the cold weather. It was so enjoyable to drive a snowmobile in the snow-covered forest that time passed fast and sometimes I witnessed incredible moments, reindeer, colorful sky, and northern lights coming my way, sometimes I witnessed such beautiful moments during the work, if I was not in work mode that day, I would witness these moments and all my worries would disappear for a tiny moment. 

 

We were really good as a team. Everyone knew everyone and everyone was trying to help each other. I made friends with very fun people, There were colleagues from all over the world and we could have a very good time together. For example, we went skiing, we had a good time in the sauna and chatted, and sometimes we gathered in the evenings, cooked meals, and sat together around the firepit. Every day off after work, we would get together and go to the pub to enjoy the day off. We would make good jokes with each other and played with snowballs at every opportunity. I can say that it was one of the best quality times I have ever spent, people were helpful in everything and also very welcoming.

 

 

Let me tell you about how I spent a day at work: 

 

6:30 am – I get up early, get ready and have breakfast. 

 

7:45 am – the bus was coming to pick us up, the journey was a bit long, but it was pleasant. 

 

8:10 am – we arrived at the work site. We had a supervisor who was responsible for us who was distributing the work and gave us all the information about what we had to do, how many guests were coming, and what we needed to know about them, we were getting all the information and starting to do our jobs. 

 

8:30 am – If I was overseeing the Santa’s cabin, I would go to the cabin with the necessary materials to make a fire before the Santa and elves arrived and checked the cabin. After this, I went to get the Santa and elves. 

 

9:10 am –  The guests were starting to arrive, I was taking them to the sled, introducing myself, giving brief information about the road we were going to take, explaining the safety measures, and setting off, after they met Santa, I was having a nice journey and leaving them at the last stop. 

 

12:00-1 pm – We discussed with colleagues and took turns going to lunch, usually pasta or rice and some Finnish specialties. 

 

Around 3 pm – We were having a short break and a coffee break of 5-10 minutes. 

 

Around 4:30 pm – Our work was usually over after the guests left the activity area. We were doing the necessary checks and if we needed wood for Santa’s cabin, we were transferring it. If we were done, we were helping friends who needed help. 

 

5 pm – Our chief was explaining the work done that day, talking about important current themes, and telling us if there was anything unusual. 

 

5:10 pm – The bus would pick us up and we would head home. Since we were far from the center, we would stop by the center every other day to shop.