Ski and Paddle Norway 2009

Distance 0km | Time 0hrs | Ascent 0m | Descent 0m

Even if the skis had come today there was a small chance I would leave. I had skied over 500 km without a break and I deserved one. I did not crave one though. So I did not get up until 0900. It was a great lie in.

After breakfast Regina Klauer took one of the dog sledging clients to Bardufoss airport. While down the valley in civilization she kindly did some errands for me. She investigated the whereabouts of the skis and found out they would probably get to Tromso tomorrow and Setermoen the day after on Saturday. She got a box so I could post maps and some camping gear back to Oslo. Finally she kindly did some shopping for me.

I spent the morning writing up yesterday’s blog and sending emails. I needed a catch up day for paperwork.

Below me Bjorn and a neighbouring musher were making dog food. This was a serious operation. Bjorn had purchased a second hand industrial mincing machine. It could do a wheelbarrow in one go. Into it went pigs organs, cows intestines and stomachs, fish and fish organs, nutritional pellets and supplements. It all got churned into a vat and was then mixed further. Finally the vat was emptied into 25 kilo trays. They managed to mince and mix enough food to fill 200 trays. The trays were then stacked in a freezer for use.

They whole operation was industrial and efficiently carried out. The premises were built to ensure a smooth operation. Finally when every thing was minced and in the freezer the whole place and the machinery was power washed. This operation produced 5 tonnes of dog food. This was only enough for 2 months as the dogs each ate a kilo a day of this meaty fatty nutritional mix The raw materials came from a fish processing plant and slaughter house.

Regina returned without the skis but with the food. I had then a very lazy afternoon. Occasionally I went out to see the dogs. Towards 1800 the dogs started to perk up and were soon all alert and on their feet looking at the food plant. They were anticipating the arrival of the foods sledge.

When it came out of the building there was a frenzy of excitement and noise It was slowly taken down each line of dogs and they were each served a large scoop of the meaty gruel. It was just placed on the snow. They gulped it down in seconds then licked the snow where it lay. After half an hour all 60 dogs were served and the noise was abating.

Most would get a second meal each morning to build them up again after their recent 1000 km trip. Bjorn and Regin were good to their dogs and fed them carefully and well.

After a pizza for dinner in their guest house I wrote the blog. I was mentally tired and could not wait to finish and get to bed.

It had been a restful day with enough activity centered around the dogs to satisfy my curiosity. I hoped the skis would arrive tomorrow but am not optimistic. It could be a frustrating wait which I foresaw but the equipment was dispatched from Oslo way too late which displeased me as I could have purchased equipment at Abisko at a cost but without the frustration of being held up.

Distance 28km | Time 10hrs | Ascent 620m | Descent 890m

The Germans were up quite early and I followed them. They all polished off a huge pot of porridge for breakfast. Even at breakfast there was a lot of banter. I could see why they chose their guide Peter. He was knowledgeable, diplomatic and very amusing. After breakfast all the cabin chores were done, like preparing kindling for the next users.

One thing Peter told me was that the gorge I noticed yesterday and was as clear as anything on the map, as it then turned into a 25 km canyon-like valley called Sordalen, was in fact the old river bed which drained Tornetrask The river used this drain to the west because the current drain to the east was blocked by the huge mass of inland ice.

I set of about 0900. The weather was overcast and the ground was covered in a sprinkling of new snow. The first task was to climb the hill above the cabin. With my short skins and in the deep snow I made bit of a hash of it and was floundering about like a baby moose. I could see the Germans looking and muttering.

After 10 minutes the snow at last got firmer and the gradient easier. I cleared the rest of the birch trees and started heading up the slope towards the mist and between rounded knolls. It was a sustained climb and after an hour at least I had only reached Gurtejarvi lakes. Due to the mist I could barely see them and confirmed my postion with the GPS.

I had been well and truly spoilt in Sweden with marked scooter trails, fast conditions and blessed with good clear weather. I was now back to reality. Indeed it felt I was back in the struggle of Seterdalsheiene. I could see very little in front of me when the frequent snow showers came through.

Occasionally to the north and west I caught glimpses of the base of the very craggy Ruovdoaivvit mountain or the smooth slope of some of its glaciers, mostly however I was peering a few metres ahead to see if the terrain went up or down.
I saw a couple of cornices here and there.

Between snow showers I could see a bit further. On one such occasion I climbed up the long slope to the to the saddle in Lairevagge valley. At the far, or north, end of this saddle was a collection of at least 20 Lapp cabins and a series of corals and fences. This would be an area where the reindeer were marked and had their ears clipped in the summer. Curiously none of the cabins were marked on the map, yet they were old and weathered.

After these cabins the weather deteriorated further and the snow showers became one. The wind was directly into my face. It was difficult to see. As I descended the gentle slope to Salvvagge valley it was impossible to see if the terrain rose or plummeted just 3 metres in front of me. I moved forwards very slowly and carefully heading from rock to rock when I could see them.

As I came down a bit further the visibility slowly improved. The slope was gentle but I still had to move with care as there were a few side ravines coming into the main valley and all of these had drifts or cornices to negotiate. At last the birch forest appeared and I was able to judge the lie of the land better.

I was a bit quick off the mark with my descent to the dam and did not traverse round high enough. When I eventually saw it I was way below it. Rather than climb up and round I made a directline for Innset some three km down the valley. There was a river to cross but I guessed most of it would be in pipes to a powerstation.

The descent to Innset was hell. The nice slope I was lured to ski down turned into a nightmare of thick snow in a tangled birch forest. It was the type of terrain that would have made Jack London consider a catering career. For 2 km I did aout a km per hour through dense forest and snow I sunk to my knees in. It put me in a foul mood.

At last I made the road. It was just a 2 km walk down it to the Husky Farm run by Bjorn and Regina Klauer. It was 1800 and the 60 dogs must have been getting fed as I could hear them barking and yelping in excitement 2 km up the valley.

When I reached it the excitement was over and the dogs seemed satisfied. Bjorn showed me a room in his guest house. He ran dog sled tours, mostly for German speaking tourists. His tours were quite hard core. He would not use scooters to resupply en route so would go off with everything needed for a week and completely avoid civilization. He was just back from a 1000 km trip from Kirkenes to his base.

He would have about 9 dogs on his sledge and each client would have about 6 He used and breed Greenland huskies. Their forte was strength rather than speed which Alaskan huskies had. His operation looked extremely well run and managed. He was a nice guy to boot and had also done Norge Paa Langs in winter some 25 years ago.

He was preparing some 5 tons of dog food from offal and fish when I arrived This would just be enough for 2 months.

There were a couple of clients from the last trip in the guest house. It was interesting chatting with them about their 1000 km trip which took 3 weeks. They held Bjorn in the highest regard. I didn’t do the blog as I knew I would have tomorrow off.

The reason I came to Innset was to swap skis and bindings. It was a bit of a detour and would cost me a day or two plus the rest day. I could have bought skis in Abisko, but the guarantee was valid and I would invoke it. From Abisko I could have cut straight over the lake to a restored lapp turf gamme then to Vormahytta cabin or taken the tempting scooter tracks as Andre did. After the comfort of the Kungsleden I felt I needed more of a challenge again and the first day back in Norway certainly provided that.

Readers may well be tired of me saying today was yet another great day. Well not so today. It was crap. I only hope the skis arrive in time and as promised to make the detour worthwhile. However the “Husky Farm” is very comfortable and will I am sure be very interesting.

Distance 22km | Time 7hrs | Ascent 260m | Descent 120m

I had a relatively short day ahead of me when I woke up quite late. I had the giant hostels breakfast at 0730 and gorged myself. It would be the last good meal I will be having for a while.

After breakfast I had to buy food for the next week. I phoned Innset to make sure there was no shop there before buying food at the shop in the giant Abisko hostel. Mueseli and milk for breakfast, a bar of chocolate for lunch and a dehydrated meal with mash potato for supper. I would lose weight over the next week. However my rucksack went from 17 to 22 kilos which was the limit.

I phoned about my skis and they had been dispatched to Innset this morning so should be there when I arrive. I then dithered a bit and chatted with Andre who was staying a day here. I eventually left at 1130. It was yet another beautiful day.

I took the wrong turning en route to the lake. I whizzed past the sign to Bjorkliden before I saw it and carried on skiing to the lake ending up a half km to the east of the hostel. I then had to double back.

The estury from the river which entered the lake at Abisko extended a surprisingly long way into the lake. I thought I was skiing over ice but kept seeing stones poking through the snow. Eventually I found some fresh scooter tracks heading to Bjorkliden and followed them.

It was a fast surface to ski on and I made good time covering the 8 km to Bjorkliden in an hour and a half. There was a train line beside the lake, perhaps the most northerly in the world. It was used to transport huge amounts of iron ore mined in Swedish Lapland to Narvik in Norway. Here it was either exported or smelted. If felt odd to be skiing over a lake with an ore train of 100 wagons trundling past in the snow.

After Bjorkliden the train and road veered away from the lake and descended to the coast. I also veered from the shore and crossed a bay to the east end of a peninsular. It was very warm and I had to strip down to my vest to avoid soaking my newly washed jacket with sweat. There were just some old tracks here to follow and the going was much slower

The was a mist coming across the lake behind me but I was still in brilliant sunshine. I slowly neared the STF cabin of Polnosstugan. I was quite curious to see what it was and how many visitors the warden met in the course of a winter. There was a deep gorge beyond the cabin where I would go tomorrow past a cabin on the Norwegian side and on to Innset.

When the old tracks I was following reached Polnosstugan cabin I looked round for it. All I could see was a small shed. I went in and realized that it was in fact the cabin. This was not what I had expected and there was definitely no warden. There was no gas and no wood. I could easily have spent a cold night here but the Norwegian cabin at Lappjord was just another 2 km across the border. I decided to go to it quite confident it would be better.

The route up to it was difficult. I went to the end of the lake and found a fence. There had been a party of some 10 skiers coming down this way. I followed their tracks but could not climb the steeper sections without zig-zagging through birch forest. It was slow hot work. A couple of months ago it would have been dreadful but I was quite fit now.

Just before the route really started to climb there was a reindeer carcass which was half buried in the snow beside the fence. I wondered if a wolverine had killed it in the autumn and stored it here. It was now getting picked clean by foxes and ravens by the look of things.

The next one and a half km were hard. The small skins were no match for the slope and I had to zig-zag up the steeper bits wrestling with birch branches. Luckily the snow was getting firmer but I was still sinking in 15 cm. I had been spoilt over the last 3 weeks with shallow scooter tracks so this was a reality check. It would have been very, very hard with a sledge.

Before I saw Lappjordhytta cabin I smelt woodsmoke so knew there were people there. I soon saw it a god bit above me. It was a slow long slog up to it but eventually I arrived. It was a very nice cabin.

There were 8 people already there. 7 Germans and a Swedish guide. They were very welcoming and invited me to the dinner of pasta and bacon they were just about to eat. They generously gave me wine and coffee also. They were a very nice bunch from Stuttgart area and made a Swedish tour every year with the same guide for the last 9 years.

There was a lot of banter and laughter in the evening. I joined in a left the blog until 2200 when they had all gone to bed. It took me an hour and a half to rattle it off and deal with the pictures before crashing out at 2330.

It had been yet another good day. The ski across the 20 km of lake could have been tedious if the conditions were bad. But they were good. Polnosstugan was a bit of a joke really. The climb from there to Lappjordhytta was hard but worth it to reach this nice cabin with good company.

Distance 35km | Time 7.5hrs | Ascent 160m | Descent 570m

The sun was shinning into the room when I opened my eyes at 0700. It is amazing how quickly the sunrise and sunset changes at the moment up here. It seems each one is 5 minutes earlier and later respectively than the previous day. Each week the day is an hour longer. In another 8 weeks the sun won’t set here but just revolve around the sky for 6 weeks before setting again. As I go north the period of midnight sun will get longer.

I got up and had breakfast and dithered a bit afterwards. I also chatted with the hut wardens who were here last year also. He said West Possus glacier was difficult now but recommended East Possus glacier to Possustjokka. Something for a future visit.

Andre, I and a Norwegian guy with a dog set of eventually at 0930. They both had sledges so were slower and I went ahead. After a half hour the Norwegian with the dog overtook me. He had attached the dog to a harness and it speeded up his skiing immensely. It was warming up tremendously and by the time I reached the emergency shelter I stripped down to my vest.

It didn’t last long as although it was hot in the sun the was a bitter chill in the breeze. So the jacket went back on as Andre caught up. There was now a nice easy climb for a good hour up a gentle incline to a shallow saddle. There was a great view over to some spectacular mountains in Norway called Storsteinfjellet. I had noticed them each time I passed here.

As we went up this incline we passed some 30 skiers coming towards us. They seemed to be in at least 3 commercial guided trips from Belgium, France and Germany. The French had tiny rucksacks and the Germans were each pulling a massive sledge. The French had got it right as the cabins they would both be using had everything they needed, except a change of clothes.

From the top of the saddle there was a lovely run down to the edge of the birch forest. Here Abiskojaure lake appeared with the cabin at the west end of it. At the treeline the ski track became a lot steeper and I had to snowplough a good proportion of the way down. I had come up here some 15 times on my own, with friends or with groups I was taking and never noticed how steep it was.

From the bottom of the slope it was a pleasant 2km ski along a wide but unused scooter track to the very nicely located Abiskojaure cabin. This was through birch forest and then along the frozen Kamalakka river. The cabin was sited at the edge of the lake in the birch forest. I have often seen the northern lights here but obviously would not today. We stopped for lunch here and despite the temperatures we sat outside in the sun on a bench and watched a selection of birds feeding on the food the hut wardens here had put out.

After lunch all three of us continued down to Abisko. This involved a 4 km ski across Abiskojaure lake and then a beautiful 11 km ski down beside the Abiskojokka river for much of the journey. It was initially through birch forest and then the final part was in the comfort of the pines again. To the south the mountains were brilliant white in the sun. There was a deep valley between two of the mountains which was known as Lapporten or “Lapplands gateway”.

Before I knew it I was going under an arch which signified the northern end of the Kungsleden. It had been a great ski. It was 474 km in all which had taken me 110 hours over 15 days. From here I would head back into Norway.

Abisko lodge is a ugly but practical building. It looks like an old factory However it had cheapish rooms, a shop with the dry food of the brand I was trying to avoid, a restaurant and a washing machine.

I got a room, showered, washed my clothes and then ate. I reiceved the maps for the next part of the trip and studied them in the evening. My only concern was that my replacement skis and bindings had not been dispatched from Oslo yet. I was to pick them up in 48 hours in Innset. I made a phone call to Sjur Moedre at Sportsnett to voice my angst and seem to have got a result. A further phone call tomorrow should clarify the urgency.

It had been a very good day again. Apart from a slight wind at the saddle the weather had been perfect again. This was now some 11 days in a row. Had I been going south I would have been sun tanned black with this sun and its reflected intensity also. It was good to have a bit of company to ski with also. Tomorrow I would go my own way again to Norway, while Andre goes for the easy option this time through Sweden on scooter tracks.

Distance 38km | Time 10hrs | Ascent 700m | Descent 620m

It had been a bit windy all night and it was warmer in the morning at only minus 10. I did not get up as early as I wanted and eventually surfaced at 0700. There was quite a bit of activity in the cabin. Most people were eating breakfast and some were packing.

I eventually got going at around 0930 after chatting with most people. It was overcast but the wind had died off. The first part of the route was the 13 km ski up to Salka cabin. It was a shame it was overcast as there would have been some great views up Rabots glacier to the west face of Kebnekaise

The further north I went the clearer it got and by the time I got to Kaskasavagge valley I could look up it to see the impressive Nijbas mountain. There were also some good views up Stuor Reaiddavagge valley towards Nallo cabin. The mountains up there were some of the most impressive in the Kebnekaise area.

Just before I reached Salka a convoy of dog teams came towards me. There was the lead sled with 10 dogs pulling a big equipment sledge and the leader of the tour and then 8 clients each with their own sledge pulled by 4 dogs. These commercial dog sledge tours tend to overnight as Salka.

Salka is a collection of three cabins for overnighting in. It is one of the STF’s busiest and best located cabins, as a few skiing and walking routes meet here and it is a good base for day tours. I passed at least 10 people en route from Salka to Singi and when I got there it was empty. The warden was there and she sold me a few snacks. I ate them in the cabin and rested an hour before moving on.

The next leg was up to Tjaktja cabin. This was 13 km up the valley and over the Tjaktja pass at about 1140 metres. The weather was improving significantly yet everybody who was skiing towards me having come over the pass told tales of near storm conditions. One man had a beard full of ice so I was starting to believe them.

It was a long gradual climb up to the pass. The incline was really quite gentle for most of it so it was not too taxing. Just at the last bit did I get slightly steeper so I had to herring bone up. Just before the top I entered the mist but I had one last look a the white valley to the south I had just come up. There was no wind at all so it is remarkable how quickly the weather can change.

There was a small emergency shelter at the top which was there long before the STF built the new cabin a Tjaktja in the mid 1980’s. It was now redundant really as this new cabin was just another 4 km down the other side.

My skis had been waxed perfectly for the climb up but on the 4 km descent down to Tjaktja cabin they refused to glide which was a shame as it would have been a nice ski. Even when I scraped them they did not run well.

Tjaktja cabin had about 10 people and a friendly warden. I was tempted to stay but there was still another 4 hours of daylight and a very easy 13 km two hour ski down to Alesjaure cabin. If I left it until tomorrow and I had to ski this 13 km and the remaining 35 km from Alesjaure to Abisko in a strong head wind I would not forgive myself. So I decided to get it in the bag while the going was good.

It was a fast descent down to the main valley called Alesvagge. The 4 km took no time at all. Here there was another unmarked route from Haukejaure cabin which joined the trail I was on. Someone had been pulling a sledge along here very recently in the last hour or two. When the sledge puller met a small rise he had to herring bone and I saw he was using the same short skins as myself. It had to be Andre who had followed a different route for the last two and a half weeks but had to go through the bottleneck of Alesjaure.

It was a very pleasant ski down to Alesjaure. The wax had worn off and I was gliding well. The weather was back to its perfect state and the sun was starting to set as I arrived. The mountains around Alesjaure were turning yellow under the blue sky. Particularly impressive was the view up to Possustjokka where I had previously gone a few times over a glacier as a spectacular route to Nallo cabin.

I soon reached the steep slope up to Alesjaure cabin. I took my skis off for the short climb. At the top Andre came out to meet me. It was good to see him. No doubt we would have a few stories to swap. The warden showed me round and opened the small provisions shop. I bought some snacks and more supper.

After settling down I went through to the kitchen cum living room. There were about 12 people, all men. Swedes, Finns, a Dane and Andre who was holding court. I joined the conversation. Andre had done some long days but had been hampered by the weather and broken sledge so had to cadge a lift for a good few km through Saltfjellet. If he had not I would have been well impressed.

As the evening wore on I was getting anxious my paperwork was falling behind. At 2130 I started to ignore people and write. Pretty soon afterwards everybody else went to bed and I had an undisturbed time until midnight to work.

It had been a great day. I had done a good distance but never felt rushed. I stopped and chatted with at least 30 people en route and in the two cabins I took a break in. It was also good to see Andre again. The weather which I was told was going from bad to worse went from pretty good to excellent. Tomorrow there is an easy 35 km to Abisko and then end of the Kungsleden which I have enjoyed tremendously.