Ismael Ferrero

Ten minutes counts.

Nature is how I recharge. On a busy day that’s a ten-minute escape. Other times it’s a full weekend of survival camping.

Either way, stepping into the fresh air brings the clarity back, even when the weather is rough.

My daughters come with me. Out there they explore, discover and learn how simple and beautiful life can be.

Ismael smiling with a frozen, frosty beard in front of a hot tent in a snowy pine forest

Three hundred kilometres of Arctic, with 180 dogs.

300km of Arctic tundra

180sled dogs

20people from around the world

pulled by dogs with more life experience than I have

Ismael in a fur-trimmed parka and Fjällräven beanie, smiling in the snow — Fjällräven Polar, April 2025

In April 2025 I joined Fjällräven Polar, a dog-sled expedition across the Scandinavian Arctic tundra, with a team of 20 people from around the world.

A little over two months have passed since the polar expedition ended…
Some said they needed time to process what they’d lived.
I needed time for my hands to thaw.

I still struggle to put into words what Fjällräven Polar 2025 was.
A brutal adventure, in a place that looked like another planet,
pulled by dogs with more life experience than I have,
surrounded by people who became family within a few days.

Thank you, Fjällräven, for this beautiful madness.
Thank you for reminding me how small we are in front of nature…
and how big we can be when we work together.

Later I’ll share more moments, stories and faces of the incredible people I met along the way.
But for now, here are these images, which still smell of snow and hot soup.

Written on Instagram, June 2025

My Fjällräven Polar profile The post I wrote afterwards

Ismael crouching in a snow trench, cooking on a stove in a blowing Arctic storm at sunset — Dinner, Arctic edition.

Spend it while they’re still home.

Kids live at home for about eighteen summers. That’s the window when they’ll still hold your hand on the trail.

So I made a choice. My money goes to flights, tents and trips, not to a bigger mortgage or an expensive car.

It’s my trade-off, not a rule for everyone. But it’s the one I’d ask you to think about.

Two adults and two small girls in rain jackets and backpacks walking away on a forest gravel road

About 18 summers. Count yours.

Where the money went.

52countries,
and counting.

Countries visited: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Czechia, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Palestine, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vatican City, Vietnam.

The world 22swipe →

Europe, up close 23

Middle East 7

Three girls striking camel poses in front of a camel-shaped rock formation under a cloudy sky — Devrent Valley, Turkey. The girls meet the camel rock.

Ismael in an Argentina shirt holding a toddler, with a girl holding a fishing net, beside a lily pond with Marina Bay Sands behind — Gardens by the Bay, Singapore. Sunset and one fishing net.

Father and daughter seen from behind in an open safari vehicle, looking over golden savanna — Safari in Tanzania, her arm around my shoulder.

Family looking over a tiled bridge railing at Plaza de España, Seville — Plaza de España, Seville, Spain.

Ismael in a red jacket and his daughter reading books inside a red British-style phone booth turned into a free book exchange — Switzerland. A phone booth turned free library.

Family arm in arm facing a lotus field and green limestone hills, one with a yellow Kånken backpack — Ninh Binh, Vietnam. Everyone in one hug.

Ismael with arms wide on a cliff above a blue fjord, toddler daughter in a carrier on his back — Preikestolen, Norway. Above the fjord, daughter on my back.

Three girls sitting on the marble floor in front of the golden Buddha at Wat Traimit — Wat Traimit, Bangkok, Thailand. A quiet corner by the golden Buddha.

Two girls posing in front of the Freedom Monument under a dramatic purple sky — Freedom Monument, Riga, Latvia. Big sky, bigger attitude.

Ismael raising a clay mug and his daughter leaning on him in a candlelit medieval tavern — Medieval tavern, Tallinn, Estonia. Candles, clay mugs, house rules.

Family sitting on the steps of a carved Balinese temple gate — A temple gate near Ubud, Bali, Indonesia.

Ismael in a head wrap sitting on a camel in the Sahara dunes — Merzouga, Morocco. One camel, zero schedule.

Ismael in a red football jacket standing on a rock above Camps Bay with the mountains and ocean behind — Above Camps Bay, Cape Town, South Africa.

Young Ismael with long hair and a beanie in front of the Giza pyramids — Giza, Egypt, 2013. Before the girls.

Come say hi.

Questions about family travel, winter camping or Polar? Write to me.

Email me @s.i.ferrero on Instagram