Tales and adventures of two lean mean mountain machines
We saw the bus leave, waved goodbye to Alec and then there was only two of us again. It was really nice having another person there and being a small team, short as it lasted. It was a beautiful day again, not a breeze of wind and not a cloud in the sky. PJ and… Continue reading Padjelanta and Sulitjelma
The second of March announced itself brilliantly, with a morning sun rising into a pale blue sky and not a breeze of wind moving the air. It was a stark contrast to the storms that battered us the week before, blowing off roofs like they were mere sheets of paper and even relocating entire cabins.… Continue reading Narvikfjell
Last week the sun hit the village of Abisko for the first time. Yes, we are still here, biding our time and patiently waiting for the conditions to be good enough to continue. This great wait will proceed until the end of this month, as we are now working and have a contract until the… Continue reading The Great Wait
On the first of January we left Abisko for the King's Trail, loaded with 22 days of food and fuel, enough to reach Sulitjelma in a single push. On January 4 we were back in Abisko, defeated by a wall of snow, having had a storm over our heads yet again, disquieted by signs of… Continue reading Polar Night
I forgot to check up when the polar night starts! I remembered it shortly after we left Abisko and were making our way through the national park towards the lake, Abiskojaure. It could not be long now. The sun rose at 10.22 and set at 12.48. Six days? Maybe seven? In any case we would… Continue reading The Setting Sun
Grey days came. Grey days went. Kilpisjärvi was a quiet place in late autumn, seemingly existing only of empty hotels, dark cabins, a sports shop (surprisingly) and a supermarket. Only on Saturday night there were people to be found, when all the Norwegians crossed the border to get their parties going on slightly cheaper beer… Continue reading Øvre Dividalen
The thermometer showed -16°C when we left the hotel in Kautokeino at 10 in the morning. The temperature we were actually feeling was -23°C. It was a crisp, clear morning, everything sparkled in the sunlight. Every twig, every blade of grass, every needle on every pine tree was frozen and covered with a thick layer… Continue reading Reisadalen and a stormy crossing into Finland
The crossing of Finnmarksvidda had made me nervous all along. While going over the maps during preparations it was always there: a huge empty spot on the map, barren, exposed, prone to very sudden changes in weather, only few cabins and they are far in between. Our encounter with the Germans in Honningsvåg did not… Continue reading Finnmarksvidda
While setting up camp on the south side of Nordkapstunnelen we noticed that the weather forecast had changed. Initially we had a 10 day good weather window reported, but all of the sudden a storm was bound to blow in during the night. At around 2 A.M. the winds picked up. Our tent, pitched on… Continue reading To Olderfjord
When I retreated to my own bed for the final time on the evening of the 8th of October I had an odd feeling about it. I've always thought that the strangest moment of any expedition is the final night you sleep in your own bed, in the knowledge that when you put down your… Continue reading Nordkapp
