Mid-Season at the Basecamp

As the saying goes: Time flies when you're having fun! We’re already past our mid-season point and are looking forward to another exciting six weeks. Oh boy, what a season it has been so far! Once again, the Basecamp never disappoints when it comes to our colorful crowd.

The season started out a little slower than usual, but as soon as June and its warmer temperatures rolled around the corner, we saw a huge increase in visitors from all around the world.

As is always the case, our motorcycle crowd has been quite the trip. Their euphoria for the open road is contagious, and sometimes my mind wanders with them as they leave the Basecamp grounds on their loud and powerful machines. Traveling with nothing more than a few necessities and a bag of dreams, they leave the security of the hostel not knowing exactly where the wind will blow them next.

Just as fun to watch are the many travelers who truly use our property to prepare for their search for adventure. They busily pack (and re-pack) their bags, making sure nothing important is forgotten before they venture out into the big, wide open wild. I can often sense their excitement and fears as they conquer their inner beast by testing their outdoor skills and mental strength in various remote corners of our beautiful state.

Along with them, we also host the “road trippers,” the “van lifers,” the quick Fairbanks visitors, and the bicyclists taking on the challenge of making it all the way to Tierra del Fuego—the southernmost tip of Argentina. No matter the day, we are always excited to see who enters through our doors next, listen to their stories, and have a quick chat about what brought them here.

I’m truly mad at myself for not having started a diary, but I’m glad we have a guest book that I always enjoy reading when the cold winter takes hold of the Interior.

I also have to say that this year’s team has been an absolute blast to work with. Theo, Zorissa, Tanja, and Mark have run a tight ship so far, and I’m looking forward to spending the rest of the summer with them. They’ve beautified the property with yard work, and the cabins have become even more comfortable and luxurious thanks to their ideas and efforts. They take ownership in their work and show it with love and passion—not only in their hostel duties but also in the way they care for and connect with our guests.

With that being said, I hope you, our future guest, will find your way to Sven’s—your home away from home. Keep exploring, keep being curious, keep adventuring, and we’ll see you soon...

Sven and the 2025 Team will be excited to meet you.

November 19th 2024

Winter has definitely arrived in Fairbanks and at the time of writing this blog update it is exactly 25 below Fahrenheit here outside at the Basecamp. Quite the different view and feel from 4 months ago when the whole property was vividly visited and campers, backpackers and vacationers, who were laying around, packing bags, mingling with one another, barbecuing and exchanging their ever exciting travel experiences.

The Basecamp is in its deep freeze and my caretaker Mike and his daughter Rebecca are the caretakers of the property this winter. They are renting some cabins and calling the Basecamp their home during the cold winter months. They're making sure the treehouses hold up well, sweep the wall tent cabin roofs, check the mail and most importantly just show a sign of life and purpose to the property while I'm up north running dog sledding trips and providing flightseeing adventures with my aircraft. It sure is a nice feeling, knowing there are reliable and dependable people staying there while I'm away. 

This is also the time I'm looking for staff for the upcoming summer season. In particular, I'm looking for a manager who can handle the craziness of hostel life along with caretakers and a barista. If you love hostel/AirBnB/camp environments, can handle super chill days followed by stressful and hectic periods of work, are outgoing and love to chat with travelers from all over the globe? Then Sven's Basecamp might just be your summer 2025 gig. Interested? Send your resume to: svenhaltmann@gmail.com and who knows; you might just be the one saying: "Welcome to Sven's" next summer.      

With that being said, Christmas is just around the corner.....Crazy how the good time flies...

Summer 2024

Unbelievable......where has the time gone? This is already my 12th season going strong with the Basecamp and it doesn't look like there will be an end in sight anytime soon. I'm blessed with great crews that are coming to work here from all corners of the world. They are bringing their individual interesting characters to the Camp to enhance the guests' experiences and even though phones have become a part of daily life, I'm still proud to say that my layout brings so many people together, to share a laugh, share an adventure, share a story..........

I was able to take the occasional day or week off from the Camp to learn and hone my skills as a new Air Taxi Operator. Thanks to the detailed eye of my crew, the Basecamp was looked after and taken care of just fine. Gabriele, Rachel, Sofia, Palina, Angie, Jeff and Jordan rocked it this season and made sure nothing was gonna burn to the ground. 

We probably saw a record number of motorcyclists this season. Gabriele said she counted 14 at once parked on the hostel grounds. Their glittery eyes with goals to reach Prudhoe Bay, the lower 48, South America and some just the next mechanic shop were a sight to remember. So many reasons people travel to their own various dream locations.

Another big group of people is people who work seasonally here in Alaska. BLM, National Park Service, Princess Lodges, etc. They work out in the field and come to the Basecamp to sleep in, relax and use the facilities that they otherwise don't have out in the wilderness. 

And for the 12th time in a row (actually in 2020 they took a mandatory covid break) we were hosting the always smiling, always happy YMCA camp groups. I do have to say that every time they return from their trips that I'm quite impressed by their accomplishments. Backpacking in the Brooks Range for consecutive 40 days ain't no joke but it seems they are doing it with a smile on their face. And that at age 16 to 18. Well done boys and girls......

And so it is with a happy and sad face that I'm gonna say Good-Bye to everybody that made the summer 2024 another success. Thank you all for your visit at;

Sven's Basecamp Hostel