About GLØD

Founded in 2005, GLØD Explorer provides quality activities and expeditions, accommodation and dining for individuals, groups and companies.

From our base in Alta in Finnmark county in Northern Norway, our goal is to give our guests the best possible Arctic nature-based adventures! After a trip with us, the experiences will have changed you!

If you would prefer more exotic accommodation that is an experience in its own right, we recommend our GLØD Aurora Canvas Dome. The dome features an aluminium frame and half the wall and roof are transparent while the remainder is canvas. You can see and hear squirrels and sparrows in the pine tree above you.

If you would like an alternative to a conventional hotel, we can offer you accommodation in our modern GLØD Apartment Suite. This fully equipped apartment sleeps four guests (five) and has all modern amenities including a sauna.

Typical GLØD experiences and activities

  • Mountain biking trips and courses
  • Cross-country skiing and ski expeditions
  • Canoeing trips
  • Hiking trips
  • Fatbiking trips
  • Snowshoeing trips
  • Northern Lights safaris
  • Rental of mountain bikes, fatbikes, canoes, kayaks, skis, snowshoes and expedition sleds
  • Corporate experiences with focus on team building through activities such as Geo Caching, 71 grader Nord, archery, clay pigeon shooting and culinary competitions
  • Serving of lunch and dinner in connection with activities, either in a large lavvu (Sami herdsmen’s tent) in the field or at GLØD Headquarters
  • Meeting facilities

Quality

GLØD aims to deliver nature-based adventures of the highest quality. Consequently, our tours represent the tenderloin of our region and are carefully planned to provide you as our guest the best possible experiences.

Those who have been on a tour with us before know that our wilderness guides are skilful and experienced tour leaders. All have general outdoor recreation qualifications as well as special qualifications in the fields in which they guide. Our guides have completed the Arctic Nature Guide (ANG) programme at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Campus Svalbard/Alta. Our MTB guides are certified through the Norwegian Organisation of Mountain Bike Instructor-Guides (NMIG).

The equipment we use is solid and well tested and we never make any compromises when it comes to safety.

This means that if you are only looking for the lowest prices or a company that “takes what comes when it comes” then we are the wrong team.

Culinary experiences

GLØD also attaches importance to the culinary experience! As our guest you will experience local culinary delights based on fresh, locally sourced ingredients such as game, fish, king crab and berries.

We aim to purchase as much as possible locally and encourage our guides and guests to do the same.

New, purpose-built premises

In the summer of 2015, we moved into brand new, modern premises at Jordfallet in Øvre Alta, approx. 5 km from downtown Alta. This has created a new, more practical and streamlined environment for our staff and guests alike. Most of our tours start or end here, but pick-up and drop-off in downtown Alta is usually included.

See photos of GLØD Headquarters

Cooperation

GLØD wishes to contribute to growth and cooperation and be one of the industrial premise providers in tourism. Consequently, we are a member of the North Norwegian tourism cluster Arctic 365, which focuses on tourism issues in Northern Norway. We are also involved in Visit Alta – as a part-owner with representation on the board – which works to promote tourism locally.

We cooperate with local and regional tourism actors such as North Adventure, Sorrisniva, Trasti & Trine, Holmen Husky, Nord Ekspedisjon, Park Gård Husky, Thon Hotel and Scandic Hotel. Moreover, we cooperate with all the mountain lodges on the Finnmarksvidda mountain plateau; Jotka, Mollisjok, Gargia, Soussjavri, Suolovuopmi and Ravnastua.

Outside the tourism industry, GLØD cooperates closely with UIT The Arctic University of Norway, Campus Alta, by providing students with internships, enabling the students to use our experiences and activities in assignments and papers and by being stakeholders in research projects along with other tourism companies in the region like Sorrisniva and Hurtigruten.

We also cooperate with Alta Upper Secondary School, where the pupils use us as sparring partners in various settings.

GLØD is a member of the Norwegian Hospitality Association and the Norwegian Travel Guarantee Fund.

Safety

GLØD has a comprehensive HSE plan where all trips / activities are risk assessed and measures to meet this risk are implemented. This means that many activities have a procedure for general implementation, but an assessment is also made in advance of each trip. For example, when we are going to paddle a canoe on the Alta River, then the water level, water temperature and weather forecast are considered before departure. If necessary, measures are taken. Such as a shorter trip, escort boat and more guides.

On longer ski expeditions, the snow conditions and weather forecast will affect how the trip is carried out. On trips where we occasionally will be outside normal phone coverage, we will bring a satellite phone.

Common to all tours is that tour guides are experts in the activity they guide and all have completed first aid courses. Our mountain bike guides have completed at least NMIG Level 1 (Norwegian Organization of Moutain bike instructor guides).

Environment and sustainability

GLØD wishes to leave as little trace in nature as possible. Consequently, our behaviour is characterised by respect, caution and moderation. Nevertheless, we love game, fish and berries and harvest these when naturally sustainable. We always clear up after us along the way, while “travel without a trace” is an important principle is for us.

We will always adapt our bike tours during periods of heavy rainfall. In such cases, we will strive to find alternative routes that do not leave deep tracks.

We focus on avoiding motorised traffic in uncultivated areas. Instead, we prioritise using our dogs to carry or pull equipment on our trips. This is a win-win situation for the environment, the dogs, our guests and guides.

All the electricity we use is produced by sustainable sources such as hydro and wind power, supplied and guaranteed by the local power supplier Ishavskraft. This covers our offices, storage, Pine Forest Apartment and the Aurora Canvas Domes.

We sort all our waste to ensure our consumption causes the least possible trouble for the environment and recycle whatever may be recycled.

Eco-Lighthouse

GLØD gained Eco-Lighthouse certification in April 2021. This means that we are working purposefully to improve our environmental performance in the areas of working environment, waste management, energy consumption, purchasing and transport. This provides us with the conditions to be able to contribute to achieving several of the UN sustainable development goals.

The Halddemarsj

GLØD arranges the annual Halddemarsjen, an organised mountain hike and mountain run from Kåfjord outside Alta up to the Northern Lights observatory on Halddetoppen. The inaugural event took place in 1984. For more information, please visit the event’s Facebook page.