ANDERS GULBRANDSEN
"Anders is one of those people who just quietly became a natural part of us. I love the way everything to do with the outdoors, knowledge and experience seems to have simply come to him. In a time when most people want to rush into everything, he has let time take its course, and it has shaped him into a very safe and capable pair of hands."
— Børge Ousland
NORWEGIAN • OUTDOOR ENTHUSIAST • OUTDOOR INDUSTY NERD • ALWAYS READY
When Anders first turned up, we couldn't quite decide whether we had a biker or a Canadian lumberjack on our hands. The long beard soon pointed us towards nature and wilderness. Add kind, smiling eyes, and out came a man who truly loves being out there and has a lot to bring to the table.
Yes, yes, he is also one of those people presumably born with skis on. He grew up in the suburbs of the world's wilderness capital, Oslo, in an era when parents saved money and polished their image by dragging the kids outdoors instead of downtown. Hiking, skiing, orienteering, scouts, swimming and school holidays in mountain cabins carried him through his teens.
Could it last? No, it couldn't.
After high school, the silence of nature was drowned out by the roar of the city. Outdoors became indoors, and the music was turned up. What little daylight there was went to studying International Business and Marketing.
But all was not lost. An exchange year in Vancouver, Canada (no less) came to the rescue. The skis came along across the Atlantic, and a cheap student season pass at Whistler rekindled his love of skiing and of being out in the mountains.
His downhill-spiralling life of lift queues carried on until the light came fully back on and he rediscovered the joy of wandering alone through remote mountain areas, summer and winter. Norway's vast and unique network of DNT cabins gave him endless variety and pleasure. Mountain skiing turned out to be a drug, the kind where you always want more, and eventually Anders left the cabins behind and started skiing with a sled and a tent.
And voilà, there you have him!
ANDERS' SECRET:
FALL IN LOVE WITH THE ROUTINES OF EXPEDITION LIFE. THEY'RE WHAT MAKE SURE YOU DO THINGS PROPERLY. AND ALWAYS SET SMALL GOALS, AND CELEBRATE THEM WHEN YOU REACH THEM.
Anders became part of the Ousland Colliard family after joining a Greenland crossing, where he showed us how much he loves spending time in vast winter landscapes with nothing but a sled and a cutting-edge expedition setup.
He chose Kathinka as his mentor and soon thrived at teaching, guiding and working in small teams. He cares deeply about the craft of expeditioning and believes that thorough preparation and planning are both great fun and great for team building. As a guide, Anders is gentle yet firm, patient and alert. He loves to teach, but he'll always give you room to push yourself and grow.
Besides guiding, Anders is a business developer and product manager at Fri Flyt, one of Norway's largest skiing and climbing magazines. In summer he takes to trail running and loves long races that push both body and mind to their limits.
Highlights
2 × Greenland autumn crossing, the Nansen Special route
3 × Finnmark crossing, plus several other trips in the region
5 × Hardangervidda crossing, plus countless long weekends on the Vidda
3 × Svalbard expeditions, including an autumn expedition to Newtontoppen
3 weeks of solo trekking in the Nepalese mountains
3 weeks solo hiking the 360 km Massiv route in Norway
