“Lake Uddjaure is my great love and in winter I spend countless hours ice fishing!”
Emma Hallnor, 36, is a woman of many surprises. In addition to fishing, her great passion is free-ride snowmobiling, off the beaten path. But her passions have a counterweight that requires focus. Now she is in Arjeplog, for full-time, remote studies.
“It felt absolutely right to move to Arjeplog after several years in Kalix, Piteå and Arvidsjaur”, she says during a lunch break at OKQ8 where she works extra hours.
Here, at one of Arjeplog’s meeting places and its only staffed gas station, she has an active work life and meets many people.
Her interests made her choose this path in life. She was raised in Arjeplog, with parents firmly rooted in the mountainous outdoors. She then studied equestrianism in Kalix. She moved to Arvidsjaur, but then received an offer to work with horses in Kiel, Germany, one that she accepted after brief consideration. The apartment she had just found, and her boyfriend, had to wait.
“Working in Germany was tough and taught me a lot, but it is absolutely not something I regret.”
Back in Sweden, she established herself in Arvidsjaur and kept horses of her own.
“I really was a true horse girl, but then I rode myself dead.”
And once you have listened to Emma Hallnor for a while, you understand that her language is effective. She’s happy to spice it up with expletives. She describes her life as “lived in 180”, kilometres per hour that is.
When her time with horses came to an end, she found a new passion, trading one saddle for another.
“I went on one snowmobile ride and then I was hooked.”
However, her interest in motors has been around since childhood. It was spurred quite early.
“I remember getting a Kitty Cat snowmobile from my father when I was four years old. It was fun”, she says with a smile.
It didn’t take long for her to know, as an adult, what kind of snowmobiling most appealed to her. Going off the beaten path, in loose snow.
“I wanted to learn everything in five minutes, but soon understood what was needed of me. Training, training and more training. Then you have to learn techniques so as not to run yourself dry. Loose snow is so much more fun to work in and I don’t want to follow old trails.”
As a freeride snowmobiler, Emma Hallnor has been the subject of many news stories, and featured in the SVT TV series “Skoter är livet”. She is sponsored by the equipment manufacturer Scott, which provides her with equipment.
Her winter weekends often consist of going out with others who share the same passion.
“It’s mostly guys and here I’m always one of them. No special treatment.”
They ride out to Saxnäs, Sorsele and Hemavan.
“But once spring hits, it’s best to be in the Norwegian border region, in Arjeplog municipality.”
What does your dream look like?
“I’m going to build a cabin by Uddjaure!” Emma Hallnor says with a laugh, and explains that Arjeplog is the best possible place to live.
“It’s such a nice mentality, you know if you have a problem that ‘it’ll work out’. There is always help to be found, and people are so friendly. ./.
Text & picture: Maria Söderberg