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The 1st place of Swedens roof is threatened…

The advent calendar is over, but it is Sunday so the blog will be updated as usual. When it comes to the highest peak of Sweden there has been a discussion about if the Nothern or the Southern peak is the highest. The Land Survey has during the last period connect data with decimeter precision, this ha resulted in that the peaks in the Sarek area has been upgraded. With the current levels it is only eight meters between Keb Norhtern peak and Sarektjåhkkås peak. There has also been a scanning during the late autumn and the result will be presented in the near future. This will be interesting from a Tourist Point of view…

(Sarektjáhká peak)

When it comes to the Utehelg at Skeviks cabin at Varmdo – Stockholm 22-24 May, I will be there and also Outnorth which is the main sposor of the event. So lets meet there in May. I will umpdate you all with the program in the future.

I will also pay attention to a painter from Varmland. Nils Walfrid Nilsson. Born 1868 in Norra Rada in Varmland, and dead in 1956 in Karlstad. He knowned as the mountain painter with icy landscapes..

 

See ya soon…

24th of December I wish you a merry Christmas.

Now the advent Calander has come to an end. And I a merry Chrismas greeting will to all of you send.

Nine adventures:

Concluding this year it has been nine adventures in the Mountains. Three out of these has been with guidning. Kebnekasie, Salen with dog camp and Utefest at Docksta. Also ice Climbing at Abisko, skiing in Salen, Sonfjallet etc. Really nice. A lot of work with the Swedish mountain Leader organisation as well. And thank you www.viaferrata.se  for your Life time membership. 

 

 

The Mountain Leaders chronicle:

A good year with lot of adventures. What i learned most this year will be the Risk Management planning. How important that is. While Reading all reports, articles and technical investegations I understand and really dont want to end up in this kinds of situations. And here back to the old knowledge; surround yourself with the right people and they will encourage you to develope your skills in the area. So thank you Mattias and Mikael, Matt and Markus for that. Another thing is to never stop enjoying the nature and the mountain views.

Early morning, it is still dark while I pulses in the snow with snowshoes. The Husku is eager due to all the reindeer tracks, he sticks unsteadily on. The sweat cover my back, then I turn and can see Helags, Lunndorrs pass and Are. I stop and just listen to my own breathing, and I Think I must be the happiest man on the Earth. I quickly get out of my thoughts, the husky got a new track to follow and he is eager to continue…

Merry Christmas my friends…

23:rd of December and abut accidents.

This year i’ve been working a lot with Risk Management and read a lot about the area. When it comes to climbing accidents reported in Sweden, there is a pattern. First of all, it is not related to Equipment failure. The lack of comrade Control is one of the big factors. And also the lack of knowledge of Avalanches.

When it comes to hiking/ski accidents we can see a trend that it have increased. Practitioners tend to take more risks. This specially in Groups, were the responsibility can be divided. And even with a guide the padrticipant are willing to take bigger risks. This will means that we as guide must take a bigger responsibility of the Groups skill and knowledge levels.

See ya tommorow…

 

22:nd of December and about Vålådalen..

Vålådalen is situated in the middle of the western Jämtlands mountains. The area includes a range of mountain cabins. All off them got there own character. Anaris is placed in a tarn area. The closed trail is over 20km which will means less of other hikers. Lunndorren, yoy can reach this cabin from Valadalen, Vala cabins, and also from Tossasen and from Vallbo. Vala cabins can be reched from Gasen, or from Stensdalen. Yea you understand that the area is easy to access and you have a lot of options. Even if the the trails just follows the foot of the Mountains, the nature is barren so dont underestimate it. The wind can blow hard, so you better be knowing what you are doing in the area. Both Stensdalen and Lunndorren got sauna, something that is preciated after a Cold day at the Mountains. So if you havent been in the area you should visit it.

Todays X-mas gift suggestion will be a book of a Norweigan author. Åt helvete med fjällvandring is a book of the Norweigan stand up Comedy profile Are Kalvö. It might be a funny and interesting book for us mountain nerds..

See ya tommorow…

21th of December and a historic tragedy..

It was the 13th of february in 1957 at Storlien. The weather was good andalmost no wind. The atmosphere was top notch. Nine corporals has just finnish there fourteen day Winter training at Boden. The Colonel at I12 ere so satisfied with the result of the training so he gave order to the Company of some freetime at Storlien for skiing and recreation. The day after the arravial they started to ski to Snasahogarna from Storlien. Led by the captain Liljeblad from Stockholm a Group of nineteen person heading for a tour in Western Jamlands mountain. With Trolleys from Storlien to Enafors, and from there by skiis bounding for the peak of Storsnasen. With good weather they skii over the moors towards Silverfallet. When the Group get closer to the foot of the mountain the board conductor desided not to go for the peak, regarding to that the wind has started to be too strong. So now the Group started to go up towards the gully in serpentines. At 11.15 am one of the corporals feel something strange under his skiis. He describes it like the ground disapears under him. And in a sudden the hell brake lose. No one of the Group really understood what happened, but the whole mountain side was coming down towards them. We were like paper wads explain Lennart Thuresson who was a part of the Group. The avalange has buried 6 of the Group, the survivals start now to try to rescue the rest of the Group. After all have cathed up and come to mind, one of the officers gave the order -Boys now we have to start digging for our comrades, ’he said. After that we digged with all we got, skies, hands, shovels all we got. A couple of hours the mountain rescue came to the help with the research. At the end there was six victims. Three officers from I12 and Three civilians; a Danish student, a ski instructor form Austria and a priest from Kramfors.

the group’s six remaining corprals, three continued on the already beaten military line, including Lennart Thuresson himself. Others chose civilian careers.
– Over the years we have probably all often thought about what happened, but we have not talked about it so much. I think I can be the only one left with the life from the company that was in the mountains, says Lennart.
He has never visited Storlien after the incident.

So you might have something else to Think on while heading for Storsnasen, and getvalen after this story..

See ya tommorow…

20th of December Ice climbing

Today it will be about Ice Climbing. Ice climber is an extinct genus. Due to the fact that the season is very limited. Also the global warming affect the  opportunitys of climbing ice. Climbing in Alvdalen has been very nice, but Rjukan in Norway will be my first choice. After being in Abisko, Rjukan is the shit for Ice Climbing. And the village is also very nice. 

Rjukan Norway

See ya tommorow

19th of December and a reccurent theme..

It is incredibly important that we listen to the indigenous people. They have lived in balance with nature for so long. These words came from Greta Thunberg. So the topic is more important than ever. But at the same time, our own natives stuggle for there rights and there culture. So why do I think this is a so important subject? Well first of all we have a lot to learn from them, both regarding to knowledge and skills, but also there culture and relation to tne nature.

The history of the Samis starts before 11000 F. Kr. In the north of Norway tracks from the first people, which was hunters and collectors. In 1100 n a Norwegian history work, a story is told of how a gracious, a Sami shaman, through his drum, puts himself in a trance to save a sick person.

In 1600 Gunilla Jonsdotter is an unmarried three-grandson, sister of patchworkman Tomas Jonsson and a well-known healer who also refuses to take communion will be sentenced to death for sorcery.

n 1685, the state decided that the Sami would be forced by Christianity. Seites and sacrificial vessels were demolished and the holy Sami sites were destroyed.

And like this the history goes on and on. Sápmi was a country where the reindeer roamed freely. That the reindeer herding Sami would be allowed to move across national borders has long been a matter of course. But the rights …

During the 1920s and 1930s many Sami people were eliminated from the reindeer herding. Several investigations found that they lived in severe poverty. At that time, the state invested considerable amounts in populating Norrland’s hinterland with kronerotorpers. But the Sami received almost none of this support. Although many of them had already taken up successful new construction, the authorities did not consider that the Sami could handle such work. Yet in 1941, the Board of Agriculture found that the Sami were not suitable for agricultural work for ”racial biological reasons”. The end of the Second World War meant that race politics did not become very viable anymore. Now began a new era in which the problems for reindeer husbandry and Sami culture were caused by modern Sweden’s intrusion with large-scale forestry, hydropower developments, mines, roads, railways and eventually large-scale tourism. Much of this also benefited the Sami, but the space for their way of life and their culture became smaller.

The times when the Sami ran their reindeer on skis have long since disappeared. Numbers are otherwise required for reindeer husbandry to be profitable. In modern reindeer husbandry, for example, scooters, crossbikes and four-wheeled off-road vehicles have become indispensable tools necessary to effectively operate the reindeer.

See ya tommorow

 

 

 

18th of December about hidden and forgotten trails..

Sometimes we forgott the old trails. trails or peaks that has been hiked/climbed long time ago, but has been forgotten. The first to start with will be the peak Bratteriet. With its 1276m it may not be the highest peak, but one of the nicest. One of the cheekiest one in Harjedalen.

Or why not do a detour to Fettjafallet close to Klovsjo. Dramaticly and foamy is the glittering scenery, and with its 70m is something special in the moutaneering world. Follow the trail cloce to the creek, with its small rapids and falls.

The sandfjallet in Skackerfjallen is also worth a visit. 1230m and far away from the civilsation. Here you will be on your own, instead of tubling around at the Jamtlands triangle..

 

 

 

 

See ya tommorow…

 

17th of December and a adventure area.

Day seventeen in December, and today the topic will be about a Italien area. More specific the Dolomites. In the North east of Italy you find it. It is easy to access from Venize for example. The highest peak in the area is Punta Penia with its nickname Marmolada 3 342m first ascent in 1864. The area has been in military focus during the World Wars. It was here the Via Ferrata/klettersteig was founded. The routes are well defined, and lots of hut you can stay at during the hike. The are is devided in to two areas. The western part, and the Eastern part. on either side of the valleys Gadertal – Campolongo Pass – Cordevolvalley. You can find nice rotes in both areas. I will give you to suggestion of challenging Via Ferratas, first Mesulius:

And also the Lipella.

So why not planning a nice hiking and Via Ferrata in the dolomites…

Todays christmas gift suggestion will be a hybride jacket from Salewa. I really like this brand..

See ya tomorrow..

16th of December, Gore-Tex or not..,

Clothing, this topic can always be discussed. Own experience will be one important thing while discussing this. The metabolism etc. will affect how different clothes affects just you. But first I will start with a look at the shell. Wind-water-breathable and prevention from the chill effect, it all must be taken under consideration. Today Gore-Tex got a big amount of the market, but there are some competitors taking up the struggle. Today product as HyVent and NeoShell has become an alternative to Gore-Tex. And if we are looking into the ability for breathable, this got a much better capacity for letting trough moister and heat and this to a much lower price than Gore-Tex. So why not try something other than Gore-Tex next time. Normally a soft-shell jacket will be a good choice as well, with a windstopper solution it will be both breathable and cover from rain. When it comes to the warming layer, then we got the Prima-loft, hybride or down. Here the environment you will be active in will be the way to choose. If you will be in wet areas, then the Prima-loft or Hybride will be the choice. But if it’s cold and dry the down will be the probable choice. The advantage of down will be the weight and the packability and the warmth. The disadvantage will be the sensitiveness of moister.

So how does I conclude this? High altitude, in Cold weather use Gore-tex. Also in areas with rain. If you going for high itensively activites you might should  try one of the others.

See ya tomorrow…