Eva had been out in the field for nine consecutive days surveying Arctic foxes for Stockholm University. It rained the entire time. And she still thought it was pretty fun. That summer became a kind of proof: she could handle being outdoors for a long time, even when the weather was grim. Gröna bandet had been taking shape as something more than a vague idea.
Friends since birth
Eva and Frida have known each other since the day Eva was born — Frida is one month older. Both grew up as orienteers, the forest in their blood, but in different ways. Frida grew up on a farm outside Örebro and attended an outdoor preschool through the Swedish Countryside Association. From age seven, she was permanently rooted in the forest. Eva, more of a city kid by comparison, got her spark as an exchange student in Canada, where she hiked to Mount Robson base camp. The following year she climbed Kebnekaise with her family.
How the plan came together
Frida had the idea of Gröna bandet first, around age 25. Eva came to it later, partly after working seasons at Kebnekaise mountain station and meeting people who had completed the trail. A guy on a mountain guide course she took had done all three bands — white, blue and green — in a single year. The inspiration was hard to ignore.
But it was Eva who finally got things moving. As she put it: "I started getting really afraid that Frida would grow up and start a family. Suddenly. And I didn't want to do it alone — so I figured I'd better rope her in." When Eva mentioned the idea, it turned out Frida had been thinking the same thing. They decided to do it together.
The boss conversation
Eva, a civil engineer at a consulting firm, asked her manager in October — eight months before the trip. She didn't lead with the duration. She said she wanted to hike from Grövelsjön to Treriksröset. Her manager said yes. Then she told him it was 10 weeks.
"He still said yes. But I think the order mattered." Asking early meant her project assignments could be adjusted naturally. By summer, everything was wrapped up.
Frida, a physiotherapist working in pain rehabilitation within the regional healthcare system, had tighter constraints. The summers involve rotating schedules and departments. She worked out an agreement with her manager: be present when a new patient group started in autumn, cover her share of the summer, and she could go. Ten weeks of leave.
Five years of patience
Frida had first thought about Gröna bandet at 25. Injuries delayed it for years. She trained up, waited, and eventually her body was ready. In 2023 they finally set off.
One thing Eva kept returning to: "We have something at least as good here — just different. For me, that's a really big part of it." People she met in Gothenburg travelled the world but had never seen the Swedish mountains. Gröna bandet became her way of proving that the magic isn't always far away.
Diplomröset — the summit cairn at Treriksröset — is still there. The mountains aren't going anywhere. The only question is when you set off.
