Ski and Paddle Norway 2009

Distance 29km | Time 9hrs | Ascent 140m | Descent 380m

Everybody started to stir around 0630 and I got up at 0700. It was a sociable breakfast and everybody was quite talkative. Outside there was a west wind and it was just below zero as the spindrift was blowing about. It seemed all the Finnish girls were going off on differing day trips.

I eventually set of at 0900 and headed east with the wind in my back. Luckily the red wax I had on from yesterday was not causing the slightly below zero snow to clump up on the bottom of the skis. It was quite sunny despite the wind.

A dog sled group with smaller, faster Alaskan huskies came speeding towards me. The dogs were working hard up the shallow incline and their long tongues were hanging out, bouncing with every step.

As I dropped down into the very shallow side valleys the wind dropped off and after a couple of hours it was even absent from the ridges. It was turning into a nice day.

I stopped and chatted with a couple of Germans on snow shoes plodding up the hill. It seemed to be the wrong mode of travel. They would have been much better of with a couple of Jan Kopka’s bicycles. While I was chatting one on the young Finnish girls, Saiga, from Kuonjarjoki cabin caught up. We continued together for an hour to Meekonjarvi cabin. Her on here enormous wooden ex-military skis and Nokia gumboots and me on my fast mountain skis.

It was an interesting chat. She was an student art teacher. Very happy natured and easy going. Her skis were really designed for the forest. Indeed most Finns had huge skis which were about two and a half metres long and quite wide. Almost double the surface area of mine I would guess. They must have been a nightmare to turn.

The cabin at Meekonjarvi was nicely positioned on the valley floor beside frozen lakes and under outcrops of steep black crags. They looked like basalt or gabbro. The cabin was a free cabin and had a sleeping platform where about 8 people could lie. There was also a stove and a gas cooker. Outside was a woodshed and toilet. I chatted here with Siaga over lunch when another two showed up. They had come from Taapmajarvi cabin yesterday and said there were tracks there. This was good as it was where I was aiming for today.

I said my goodbyes and started off west down a chain of beautiful lakes. These lakes were beautiful now but must be stunning in the summer time with the birch trees around them full of insects and birds and the forest floor covered in lush flowers. The crags soon faded behind me and infront was a flat undulating landscape.

The change in the landscape felt significant. I think in front of me was the old unchanged bedrock of the Baltic shield. This is the oldest rock in Europe and covers the northern Baltic tectonic plate. Behind me was the edge of the Caledonian mountain thrusts which had been forced from the sea bed up onto this bedrock some 400 million years ago. I had been skiing through the eroded stumps of these thrust blocks for the last 3 months but I think I was now leaving them behind for the undulating shield.

As I skied down these lakes I passed a whole family of 7 people all spaced out evenly in a line fishing through holes in the ice. I then passed another free cabin at Jogasjarvi but didn’t go in as it was just another 3 km to Porojarvi cabin where I was intending to have another break.

Porojarvi cabin was another beautiful lumber cottage. It was again free. It had no gas but a wood stove which one could cook on and a large supply of wood. There was room for 6 to sleep here on a wooden platform. It was very quaint and an excellent service by the Finnish state forestry department to make them available to skiers and hikers.

I left here at 1600. It was getting warmer and warmer and I was down to my vest. I had to put extra red wax on for the climb. The problem with this is that when this unseasonably warm spell ends and the temperatures go back to minus 10 the snow will stick to the ski until I remove this sticky wax. And removal can be a problem without spirits. I was hoping it would wear off.

It was a very gentle 9 km climb up from Porojarvi cabin to Taapmajarvi cabin. The mountains were fading behind as I headed onto this undulating plateau. There were masses of reindeer tracks as these animals were now migrating from the forests where they had been wintering to these calving grounds and summer pastures. These were domesticated reindeer of the Lapps.

The tracks I was following were largely firm but occasionally where I could see willow scrub poking through I knew I would sink in a bit. Still the going was good and after two hours and nine km the small cabin appeared on a snow covered knoll.

It seemed a herd of reindeer had been here as the ground was trampled and covered in droppings. Soon after I arrived a young Lapp on a scooter with a huge trailer showed up. He had food pellets for the reindeer in sacks in the trailer. He spotted his herd with binoculars and headed off to them.

I lit the fire to cook and turned the little cabin into a sauna. I was too soporific to write or cook so slept for an hour until the place cooled down. It was still plus 2 outside. After supper I managed to write and crashed out at 2230. It had just become dark. The temperature however was still plus 2. I hope it freezes as I have a potentially difficult valley to cross tomorrow called Reisadalen and need firm conditions for this.

It had been a great day. Warm if not hot, nice scenery, good company and quaint cabins. It was also nice to have a cabin to myself this evening after sharing for almost the last month. Tomorrow I would be back in Norway. My foreign excursions to other Scandinavian countries are now over.

Distance 22km | Time 7hrs | Ascent 500m | Descent 120m

The breakfast at the hotel was early and so by 0830 I had finished it. It was the other redeeming feature of the hotel. The first being the wireless internet. However I then dithered for a while before setting off on the next stage to Masi. I reckoned this would take about 6 days. I eventually left Kilpisjarvi at 1030 after doing a bit more shopping. It was not a moment too soon as it was a culturally bankrupt place.

The temperature was around plus one so I used the new red wax I bought. This gripped the snow well and prevented my skis sliding back. The ski and scooter trail left from just behind the shop. Luckily there were not that many scooters on it as it was a pay as you go scooter track.

The route left the buzz of Kilpisjarvi behind as it headed up through the birch forest for a km to a small lake called Cahkaljavri. I crossed the lake with more skiers about that scooters. There was the odd skier coming back into civilization with a large sledge.

At the far end of the lake I missed the turning to Saarijarvi cabin. It was much earlier than my map indicated apparently, and I therefore assumed it did not exist as a winter route. So I carried on along the scooter track for another 3 km having spotted a route through a valley to the cabin at Saarijarvi.

This scooter track was deserted. The warm misty weather was maybe keeping the drivers at home still. About an hour after I left the small lake I was just considering to go up the small side valley to cut over to the cabin when I saw some skiers coming towards me.

For skiers they seemed to be moving quite fast so I assumed the level bit they were on was actually downhill in some sort of optical illusion in the mist. As they approached I saw a familiar movement which was not skiing but cycling. I could hardly believe it.

As it transpired they were 7 cyclists including Jan Kopka. They were Chech cycling enthusiasts. Jan Kopka arranged the tours on a bicycle and frame he designed with huge wide tyres. They were struggling a bit in this soft wet snow but apparently when it was harder or frozen they could easily do 50 km in a day. I was fascinated. I must say the Chechs are right up there with the French when it comes to innovative sports. They lie in equal second place after the New Zealander’s who are the cutting edge of crazy with bungy jumping and surfing in large rapids. I am not sure if this snow cycling will catch on but Jan Kopka deserves all the success if it does as each bike cost about 5000 euros.

After chatting with them for a good half hour I started up the valley. I was delighted to see that there was actually a marked trail going up here were I wanted to go, as off the route the snow was difficult. I was using a 1:50000 map for this area as opposed to the 1:100000 for the last month and was delighted at how fast I was moving across the paper.

In no time I was at the top of the saddle and on my way down the other side. When I thought the cabin at Saarijarvi should be about 2 km away I rounded a corner to see it was just a 300 metres ahead.

These Finnish cabins in this area are either free and quite rustic but with wood and gas or you can hire them. Often the free and the bit to hire are in the same cabin as different rooms. It was a good system. There were some older Finns staying in the more salubrious hire part who were just returning from a trip up Halti, Finland’s highest mountain at a mere 1300 odd metres.

In the free part were a few groups of Norwegian skiers who were having lunch. I started chatting with them. They were fascinated with my journey and were able to offer me some good tips. They left after an hour and I left to do the remaining 10 km to Kuonjarjoki.

These 10 km were fast. The red wax was gripping the snow well as I pushed up a 4 km gentle rise. The landscape was rounded and quite featureless. Indeed in the mist it was really quite drab. Nothing like the spectacular mountains of Norway and Northern Sweden.

At the top of this shallow incline was a gentle descent for 2 km to the cabin with its two tier status. The free part had a Dutch couple who were living in Norway, and some 6 young Finnish female students. All were nice but naturally I gravitated towards the Dutch for conversation.

It was a sociable evening at the expense of the blog. I waited until everybody else had gone to bed at a very early hour and then wrote for a good hour eventually crashing at 2300.

It had been an OK day. One of the high points was leaving Kilpisjarvi. The skiing was quite good and certainly easy. It was quite a sociable day with the Norwegians at the first cabin and the Dutch at the second and the eccentric Chechs. The weather was like the landscape and quite plain.

Distance 26km | Time 7hrs | Ascent 520m | Descent 640m

I didn’t get up early as I had wanted because the weather outside was poor. It was snowing heavily with a reasonably strong wind, which was well short of a gale. The visibility was also poor at about 100 meters. So at 0600 I went back to bed. When I finally got up at 0730 it had improved tad.

Breakfast was a sombre affair. The Norwegian girls were still in bed and it was the 6 Finns in the kitchen. No one seemed very jolly at all. I was beginning to wonder if this was a national trait.

After my breakfast of dehydrated monkfish and mashed potatoes I was ready to go over the mountain route to the Kilpisjarvi lake. This route was a lot shorter at only 14 km compared to the more secure valley routes which were almost double. I set off at 0930.

It was a very up and down route over Duoibal mountain. Once I had climbed up the initial slope to gain the top of the plateau like massif I started on a roller coaster. This initial climb was quite steep in places and there was the odd snow flurry. However generally the weather was slowly improving. The sight remained poor.

Form the initial climb the route dropped down to a lake. This descent was not steep at all but the poor visibility made it difficult. I could not make out the wind blown ridges and dips in the snow and at least one caught me out and sent me tumbling.

Then there was another climb and a similarly difficult descent to another lake. It was a very barren landscape I was in with dull rolling hills and a grey light. After I had climbed up from the second lake things got a bit clearer. There was a distant view obscured by clouds of some spectacular mountains to the west in Norway.

From the high point after the second lake I could look down into Stordalen. Beneath a crag on the other side was Treriksroset. This was the meeting point of Norway Sweden and Finland. It was quite a popular destination and there were some cabins nearby. The ski route I was on split at the high point with one route going to this Treriksroset and the other, which I would take, going to the west end of Kilpisjarvi lake.

The descent to the lake was quite exciting in places. Firstly it descended open hillside and I could make long traverses. After that however it followed a scooter track down through the forest. This track offered consistent a surface but it was narrow and steep. The forest beside this track would be mostly firm with a sudden trap of knee deep sugar snow. I chose the scooter track, snow ploughing firmly as I could not see what was round any corner.

With burning legs muscles I arrived at the lake. It was only 1300 and I thought just 7 km to Kilpisjarvi town. There was a slight wind against me on the lake but it was mostly a side wind. I soon came across a dedicated ski track. I put my skis into the prepared slots and started to ski vigorously. I was flying along and getting a good glide with each step. Before long I was reaching the built up village of Kilpisjarvi.

Or so I thought and it is what the map said. However there were two Kilpisjarvis separated by 5 km. I was at the one with the youth hostel but not the shop. The youth hostel was full of Norwegian families on snow scooter holidays and culturally bankrupt. The owner arranged a reasonably expensive hotel room for me at the other Kilpisjarvi some 5 km to the south. After having a huge buffet meal here I set off.

The 5 km ski was very easy and fast. Again there was a nice ski track and the busy buzz of scooters on the lake had to avoid the track. I soon reached the hotel. It was part of a chain called Lapland hotels. My room was in a dilapidated barrack style building. It was exceptionally bad value for money. I tried to find somewhere else but it was Easter and the whole town was full of Norwegian holiday makers so I took the room.

I then went shopping and bought 6 days worth of food for the next leg to Masi. I was surprised the shop was open as everybody said it would be closed.

Back at the barracks nothing really worked. The water was tepid, the sink was almost off the wall in the shared bathroom and the shower curtains were barely attached. I washed all my cloths in the sink and shower an treated the whole place with the disrespect it deserved.

I didn’t eat at the hotel as I was still full from the buffet. However the hotel did have one positive aspect and that was free wireless internet. I was able to send all my blog updates and some 20 photos using it which saved a lot of money, as I would have been roaming.

It had been a mixed day. The skiing was not that good and Kilpisjarvi was a disappointment. The friendliness of north Norway and Sweden seemed to be lacking here. Indeed it seemed Kilpisjarvis primarily purpose is to extract money from Norwegian holiday makers and shoppers.

Distance 19km | Time 5hrs | Ascent 180m | Descent 270m

I didn’t sleep that well as there was a lot of movement and noise in the small room with the four of us. I woke at 0630 and got up after everybody else at 0730. Paula invited me to share their breakfast of home-made haddock fish cakes and cranberry jam. It was delicious and surely beats porridge.

The three of them were heading down the valley towards Daertahytta, but stopping in a small Lapp cabin just before. All three had Lapp connections. This meant skiing into the fresh wind with a temperature of minus 9. The visibility was also not very good. I would be heading north with the wind behind me which was a far more comfortable scenario.

We lingered, chatted and Ivar joked with us all, during breakfast and some time after before they packed their sledges and me my rucksack. I was ready to go at 1030.

The visibility was quite poor when I set off and soon got a lot worse so I could just see about 30 meters. The wind also increased from a force 4 to 6. After about 3 km I decided I needed to put my wind proof salopettes on as my legs were getting cold. This was a time consuming and tricky operation. I had to be careful nothing blew away.

Once sensibly dressed I continued north up the valley in a sphere of visibility which was only some 50 metres. Luckily it was pretty flat and I was going up the valley in the same direction as the wind. At times I was almost blow along. The skiing conditions were very good. Not quite the silk conditions of yesterday. There was the odd old ski track or scooter track but they were barely visible and not worth following.

Luckily I had adjusted the settings on the GPS so I could find out my position. I needed it in this flat valley. There were some lakes but it was impossible to tell where they finished and frozen marsh started. I could also not see any features to the side of the valley due to the mist so was reliant on the GPS to pinpoint my position.

After what seemed like a couple of hours I got to the area where I had to bear more north east and follow a different valley. I went on a compass bearing for a good half hour until there was a clearer spell and I could at last see some dark crags and then the shape of the hills on each side. The visibility got better and better until the whole open smooth rolling tundra landscape appeared. There were some steeper hills behind me and one in front but it was mostly quite featureless tundra.

My route now crossed into Sweden and then climbed up the gentle spur of one of the shallow ridges which descended from the mist higher up. At the top of this ridge was a wonderful descent all the way down to the valley where the Kummaeno river flowed. At the west end of it, where the forest started, at the treeline was the Paltasstugan cabin.

I made this easy gentle descent down across open snowfields and then across the sides of moraine piles just before the next batch of poor weather and visibility arrived. There was a flock of snow buntings hanging around the cabin when I arrived and they stayed a while.

I was the first to arrive. Then came 3 parties of Finns and two young Norwegian girls. Everybody pretty much kept themselves to themselves with the minimal cross group conservation. This suited me as I had two blogs to write up and get ready to send when I received Finnish mobile reception tomorrow.

It had been a bit of a tedious day. The ski was dull as I saw very little while I was buffeted by the wind. Then the cabin was quite quiet. I also had to write for nearly 3 hours to catch up with everything.

Distance 33km | Time 9hrs | Ascent 920m | Descent 700m

I got up as I planned at 0700. The father and son fishermen followed soon afterwards. Breakfast again was a slow social affair and I did not get packed and away until 0900. It was another beautiful day and from the cabin there was a spectacular view across Dividalen to Anjavassdalen.

The two fishermen were were knowledgeable about the area and gave me a few tips. They also gave me some food. They had been good company and I enjoyed my stay in the cabin with them.

Following their advice I followed their tracks for a couple of km up through the birch forest, meandering through the trees. Then their tracks and many others headed east up into Julosvaggi valley. I followed them and soon was above the treeline heading into a bright rolling landscape of shallow hills.

As I climbed the benign sunny weather changed to breezy and overcast. There was a very bitter chill to the breeze and I had to wrap up well. A good hour and a half after leaving the cabin I reached Beassetjarvi lake. This is where the father and son had been camped fishing.

There were a couple of tents on the ice a short distance away so I detoured over to them for a chat. They were from south Norway and were up here to fish. They had managed to get quite a few over some days. This lake only contained trout and they fished with baited lines which the left. Each line was on a small rod with a bell on it to alert them to a bite.

I skied across the lake, over the south east ridge of Jerta and then headed down to a wide and open valley. The valley was covered in small lakes which were interconnected. In the winter snow however it was difficult to make out the lakes. There was a hill opposite called Mielggat which I was to skirt to the east of. It was so insignificant I had difficulty finding it. It looked more on the map.

I crossed down to the valley and headed across and then followed the stream bed up beside Mielggat. It was a easy but sustained climb for almost 3 km. En route the weather misted over and I could virtually see nothing. I tried to find my location but my GPS was set up for Norwegian maps and I was not using a Swedish one with a different grid system so could not pin point my location. I continued assuming I was where I thought I was.

As I was climbing up the valley to the west of Vanasvarri I got the occasional glimpse of surrounding landscape which confirmed I was on the right course. As I neared the top of this windy saddle the weather opened up a bit more for the level couple of kilometers at the saddle. Then when I reached the start of the descent it cleared significantly and I could see sunshine on the opposite side of the valley where I was heading down to.

The descent was initially very nice until it reached a small lake. From here there was some terrible sastrugi formations which were very slow to ski across. I had to be careful not to break a ski in this terrain.

Once over the lake I followed the stream bed down to the main valley. I was wary of 3 contour lines on the map which seemed to indicate there was a steep rampart across the whole descent and the stream bed was the only weak point. This was not the case and I could have descended anywhere. The stream was quite exciting however with good snow on the huge drifts on the west side.

I saw some cabins about 4 km to the west. I looked on the map and saw they were Daertahytta. I could easily have gone via them and saved myself the problems of the climb over the saddle in the poor visibility I had. I would have been some 4 km longer, but quicker for sure.

Once in the valley the snow conditions were superb again. A firm base with a couple of cm loose powder snow on top. Silky conditions. I skied east for three km until I reached Stor Rosta lake. Just before it I came across some very new scooter tracks.

I followed the scooter tracks over a small spur as they veered to the north and then saw the cabins some 2 km ahead. It was a short ski to reach them. The scooter whose tracks I had been following was one of the park wardens and he had just brought a load of wood to this cabin.

There were also 3 skiers and just one free bed. The skier who greeted me was about 60 and clearly a bit drunk. His two companions, a couple, were not and told him to behave. I was wary of sharing with him but there was no option.

As it transpired the drunk skier was called Ivar. He was quite unique. He was a 62 year old who was previously in the special forces. He had climbed the Troll Wall some 30 years ago, been storm bound on the Eiger, kayaked round Spitsburgen and spent many months each year camping and fishing remote spots. He did nothing by half measures including drink and needed adrenaline or alcohol coursing through his veins. Remarkably he had retrained as a dentist and practiced this when not in the outdoors. He had kayaked much of the route I was planning.

His friends Paula and Auscar were extremely nice and served me a meal of moose meat balls. It was delicious. Ivar not wanting to be outdone on the hospitality stakes poured me an enormous cognac and Baileys mix, a whole glass really, then a beer and then another glass of cognac. They were extremely nice friendly and good company. Ivar drank too much in the end. He was going to live life to the full even if it killed him.

I didn’t write as there was no opportunity. It would have been rude in the small cabin after the hospitality I received. Despite Ivar being drunk he was very good company and his friends humoured him and kept him in check. We all crashed out around 2300.

It had been quite a hard day. The ski was long the conditions were difficult. However it was a nice surprise to arrive at the cabin and be served a nice meal and then be plied with a metrosexual cocktail while being entertained by a full on outdoor nutcase!