TWIN TRACKS
THE COMPANY
Twin Tracks is a boutique polar cruise agency for discerning travellers who are looking for the adventure of expeditioning without the big cruise ship feel.
What makes us different? All of us at Twin Tracks work on the ships that we represent. We know the ships, the operating companies, the itineraries, and the regions inside and out. It doesn't get much more "insider" than that.
Twin Tracks Expeditions is the brainchild of twin brothers Rickard and David Berg, both long time polar guides and expedition leaders. Also on the team is Rickard's wife Heather Thorkelson, a seasoned expedition staff member herself with a passion for customer service.
Rooted in a deep love of our earth's coldest regions, Twin Tracks was born to serve as one more way that Rickard and David can help connect intrepid travellers with the breathtaking polar experiences they've come to know and love.
RICKARD BERG
Polar Expedition Leader, Dog Musher, Kayak Guide
Rickard is a seasoned Expedition Leader from Sweden. He began his professional guiding career working in a kennel in Svalbard in the Norwegian high Arctic. After four winter seasons there as a dog musher and ice cave guide, he spent two seasons as a dogsled instructor for the British Army in their winter adventure training in Canada‘s Rocky Mountains. He is one of a small number of mushers who have traversed Svalbard by dogsled (with 5 guests in tow and 45 dogs) multiple times. Rickard’s passion for tough adventures has also led him to work as a kayak guide for long expeditions along Greenland’s northwest coast. Furthermore he’s had the privilege of standing on the North Pole 5 times.
Rickard is a ships officer and professional wilderness guide, and has spent the last decade working on expedition ships in Norway, Svalbard, Greenland, Iceland, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and Antarctica.
His love of polar history and his enthusiasm for storytelling mean that there is rarely a dull moment when on expedition with Rickard.
Photo credit: Brandon Harvey
DAVID BERG
Polar Expedition Leader, Kayak Guide, Extreme Adventure Skier
David is an accomplished professional guide and polar Expedition Leader from Sweden. He has spent the last 5 years splitting his time between the Arctic and Antarctic, working as a full time adventure guide. David has a wide range of experience having led expeditions in Svalbard, Greenland, Scotland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, South Georgia, the Falkland Islands and of course Antarctica. In May 2016 David completed an unsupported crossing of Greenland’s inland ice following the footsteps of one of his heroes, Fridtjof Nansen. The 600 kilometer long journey across the ice totalled 27 days. Furthermore, he has spent several winters driving snowmobiles and guiding for Sweden’s IceHotel, often in temperatures dropping down to minus 50 degrees.
Beyond being a polar history enthusiast, David is educated in earth sciences and glaciology and as an accomplished lecturer, loves sharing his knowledge about the polar regions with everyone who travels with him.
Photo credit: Christopher Michel
HEATHER THORKELSON
Business Development Manager + Polar Expedition Guide
Heather is a certified and widely-travelled adventure guide and entrepreneur from Canada, now based in Sweden. She’s been expedition cruising for twelve years, has seven years of experience in sales and business development specific to polar expedition cruising, as well as four years of hands-on work as a polar expedition guide with a specialization in delivering exceptional passenger experiences.
In 2018 Heather was inducted on to the Board of Directors of the Polar Tourism Guides Association to help support the standards of professionalism in the polar guiding industry - something she feels very passionate about.
Heather fell in love with the polar regions in 2007 when she visited Svalbard for the first time and was overwhelmed by the sense of utter peace that only a vast and remote landscape can inspire. Not long after that, an expedition to Antarctica followed and she has now returned over 30 times.
Besides her polar work, Heather runs a digital business consultancy, is a certified life coach, and has traveled to 48 countries, including living in seven different countries on four continents outside of her passport country, Canada.
Photo credit: Dean Tatooles
INSIDER ADVICE
We’re a different kind of agency. We work on the ships, with the teams, and are currently active in the polar regions. Our insider advice is truly that - straight from the field - and it's updated in real time if things change.
