Alla inlägg av Ulfons

While the other is sleeping…

Early morning is the best. Normally the weather is better at this time. You will be almost alone, and everything is calm. This morning I was speedhiking with my husky, and I was happy and almost felt alone in the world. Many are the mornings when I felt like this. The peak trip to Sönner tväråklump, or starting skiing from Sylarnas mountain station. Starting early before the sun has rise, or the morning when I went up early, early towards Helags glacier and did some telemark tracks before the others have woke up. So my opinion: mornings are the best.

When it comes to the workout, I still mix as much as possible. At the moment I am focusing on leg strengt and stamina. Ended up the week with a climbing session at the climbing gym.

Today we have come to the section of risk mitigation in the risk management series. The difference between risk avoidance and risk mitigation is that due to risk mitigation, you dont avoid the risk. But you try to minimize it. The example last week was to take another route to avoide a ”airy” one. If you cant do that, you instead can use a rope for a better safety. You can also build fixed field work for a safer passing etc. The better risk planning overall and risk awerness the easier it will be to define how to mitigate the risks. And the earlier in the planning you can identify the risk, the better the mitigation planning will turns out.

 

There are four diffrent ways you can do the risk mitigation. Accept the risk, and calculate with it. Avoid it, You can also tranfer the risk(this is more common in the business, rather then in outdoor). And also to reduce the risk..

And at the moment it is just 4 weeks to go before this years advents calendar will start…

Enjoy life, and do some more enjoyful activities…Stengthen yourself with filling up your life with funny and challenging things…Montains are calling, and I must go:-)

Why not do same sky or trail running…

https://poddtoppen.se/podcast/1373161006/vandringspodden/11-spring-vad-ar-grejen-med-fjallopning

See ya soon…

Pre-Winter planning and Risk avoidance…

Today it will be about Pre-Winter planning and I will also continue with the risk planning and the next step. I am in the middle of the planning of a pre-Winter tour. This season hav its extra demands. The first challenging part will be: how to find the trail? You want be able to see the summer trail, and the Winter trail is not frozen, so what to do? Either you are very well known with the trail, so you know were it is. Or you choose a trail where the summer and Winter trail is the same. Normally there is none, or at least a few others on the move in the mountain Environment. That is something I like, but that is also a risk you have to consider. You will be on your own what does it all mean. You have to take care of yourself, even in a accident. This time it will be a tour to Harjedalen, one area with lots of bears, wolves, Lynx and also Wolverines.

In the riskplanning part we now have reached the risk avoidance part. What does that means? First of all we nead to clear out the difference between risk avoidance and risk reduction. Risk avoidance deals with eliminating any exposure to risk that poses a potential loss, while risk reduction deals with reducing the likelihood and severity of a possible loss. Risk avoidance is not performing any activity that may carry risk. So a practical example: For reaching a peak, we can choose two diffrent ways. One is exposed with a part known as ”airy”, and the other is not. Then if we choose the one that not is exposed, we have done a risk avoidance. On my pre-Winter tour this means that I will avoid the severe block terrain, this for avoiding the risk of a fall with a slippery and icy Surface…

See ya soon..

A mystery expedition and about Descision making…

Today I will continue with the Risk Management part, and a way of how to make good descision. One of the most important part when it comes to Risk Management. I will also write about Risk Awerness And I will end up with the history of the Djatlov expedition in the Ural Mountains of Russia.

When it comes to the Risk Management we have now end up to point two. The Risk Awerness, During the work with the Risk Plan you now have get awere about which type of risks that will be included in the activity. Now you might need someone else to review the plan. You also need to think of the box. Which risks have you not foreseen. Now you probably need to update the risk matrix as well. As a private person you can think about:

  • Lost gloves, cutting edge from the ski, allergy reaction of some food etc.

When it comes to decision making, there are a lot to think about. Normally in crises situation we take decision with Amygdala, this means that we dont use the frontal lobe. So we dont have access to out whole intellect. So the result of the decision will be from the ”fight-flight” behavior instead of reasonably controlled. This is what trauma team at hospital train a lot on. Something we as outdoor nerds also would be good at. With mental target image training we can improve our ability in the area. So trough training to avoide the emotional way of making decisions you will be better to make the right decisions…

 

Februari 60 years ago in beginning of Februari a 10 man  expedition lead by Igor Djatlev from Ural Technical Collage, started  for ascending the mountain Cholat Siachi (The meager mountain). They never came back. Three weeks after they were expected to be back the relatives asked for a search of them. They were found a couple of days later. Two of them was found under a three, There was trace in the fir were they have had as a shelter. Three others were found dead on the way back to the tent, The other was found dead in a gully. Despite a lot of investegations there has not been any explanation of what happened that night. The first theory was that a inuite was the perpetrator, but there was no footprints from any other than the memebers of the expedition, The victims have used a knife for getting out of the tent. They havd left the tent without boots nor warm clothing. So the question is – could it have been a avalange or a very strong wind from the mountain? After 60 years we still dont know the reason to the accident. The victims also got strange damage on their bodys. One of the two women in the exedition was found with out her tounge. There was also trace of radition of some of the clothes that was found. This leads to a trace of that the expedition have went in to a test area for the army and a missile has explode close to them. The investigator that was in charge, were called home to his superior when the bodies was found. When he went back he was sealed and did not cooperate with the rest of the staff within the investegation.  Another remarkable thing was that the participants of the expedition was very skilled and got all the right equipment for this type of challenges. So it it quite intreating of what has happended. Was it an avalange? was it yeti? Was it a missile, was it a fighting jet that make them think it was a avalange? Will we ever know what really happen the 2:nd of February in 1959?

The Sweden Mid University has been given funding for a four year research program for the effects of sports and outdoor life in nature and environment. Mistra has given support of 56 milj swedish crones. An important ant interesting program.

See ya soon…

 

Risk Management…

I’ve been writing a lot about safety here. When doing outdoor activities there will always be a part of risk included in it. Outdoor activity as a art is about feeling the fear, expectation and scary. But it should be like riding a rollercoaster, were you have a lock for not falling out. It will be the same in outdoor activities. But here you (as a guide, or parent or organizer) will be the ”lock”. From my point of view,this area become more and more important. The reason threfore is that the season and the global warming up will affect the outdoor environment. Also all new activities will also affect the risk factors. So to begin with I will present the diffrent parts of the Risk Management. Then I will present all diffrent parts in details in the upcoming blogs. Risk Management consists of: Risk planning which includes risk value etc. The next step will be risk awerness, here you will describe all risks that can be occure. Then the next step will be risk avoidance, how can I reduce the risk and risk factors. Then the time has come to risk mitigation. After that part there will be a definition and how to hadle common risks, and also exampel from real life. And at the end the formula, how to work with risks in a proper and structure way. Now you as a private person and not guide ask what is it for me? Well you can use parts of it, I will have special updates for you in the ”chapters”.

Risk Planning; Normally we got a general coreplan for this. But you still need to make a plan for every single occasion. Every activity will be uniqe due to weather, area and participants etc. Here you can start with thinking trough the whole activity from A-Z and what can be the risks? When you have define all risks it is time to value them. Then a matrix can be useful. After you have define all risk, and have them evaluated you think trough it again and may ask some else to check and thing together with you. Step one is now done. Here you got an example of a useful matrix. The likelihood and the consequense will be the main lines here.

  • For you as a private person, you can think for just a specific activity day. For example, the family is about to ski in a ski-area. What can happen? Blisters, spraining, the family migt be devided, if its cold frostbite might be a risk etc.

Ok so here we go, next blog will be about risk awerness…

See ya soon..

Autumn, workout and preparing..

The autumn is here, and there has been to Little of rock climbing. When passing Ryssgraven today, I was thinking that I haveepected more Cliff climbing this year. But it has been a lot of other interesting adventures:-). 

When it comes to the workout, it follows the planning. Fighting, strength, endurance and now wall climbing. It will be a real interesting autumn.

For reconecting to last weeks topic, also Visita has notice that the visit in the Swedish Mountains has increased. A interview with one of the German visitor he told us about that there is hard to find a spot to be alone in the mountain Environment. Here I can give you a suggestion: Contact a mountain leader. We know places that is really nice, and were you will be all alone. I have at least about 75 places at one on my mind…

Now its time to start the Winter planning, here I give you a suggestion of Equipment for a cabin tour. 

A backpack at 35L. A shovel, so you can dig a shelter or a Cave. A windshelter, a emergency sleeping bag,Thermos, a first aid kit, plasters and a sleeping mat, goggles, Compass, a small stove, a balaclava and a extra layer, emergency food and a extra pair of socks.

A nice spot Close to Sylarna…

See ya soon…

Preparing for the winter…

Tarfala research station, in Kiruna area.

The autumn is here for sure. The cold is biting us in the nose, me and the husky really loves to breath in the cold air. The expectation and the smell of adventure follows with the air. Now we got a couple
of weeks for preparing of the pre-winter and the winter season. It’s time for checking the headlamp, and sharpening the ice axes… After a couple of “full” weeks, it’s time for some recovery. This period
is perfect for assembling the thoughts. With an intensive work for the Swedish Mountain Leader organization, I think we become what we wanted to be. The members give us good feedback, so we
know we are on the right track. Being a part of the Utefest was also good and important, that from a couple ofangels. We got a good role as an influencer for mountain safety in the Swedish environment. The guiding for my own company must stand back a bit, but it will be an intensive winter I hope. So, if you are interested in a winter tour, please contact me for an arrangement. To summing up this summer
season the tourist visit has increased. Comparing to the last year, the visiting in the Mountains environment is Sweden has increased with 8%. One thing that is remarkable is that Vindelfjallen and
Rogen area has increased with 20%. From an environmental perspective that is good, because then the pressure will be left from the most popular spots. Sylarna has its all-time high I July this year.
Valadalen has an increase 26% in June + July.

 

https://www.svenskaturistforeningen.se/om-stf/aktuellt/rekord-for-svemesterfjallen/

News on the market:
A new book for outdoor enthusiasts. The “Everything I loved more” is about a young man searching for sincere adventures along the tops of freight and mountain ranges. As he explains how he recorded all feelings and adventures instead of calling his girlfriend to let her know he hadn’t fallen while free solo climbing. The review overall of the book is top and bottom. But being a outdoor freak you will probably likeit.  https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dakotawalz/everything-i-loved-more-true-tales-of-rocks-and-rails

When it comes to climbing back packs, the mystery ranch will be a new brand for me. With a background of deliver backpacks to the Military and to the fire brigades, they got good knowledge of special features. Here comes their comment about the Scepter sacks:

Before now, we figured that our three-zip daypacks could be adapted easily for climbers. They’re built to be ripped open. But even though they allow you full access, we didn’t have a good way to
attach a rope. The top-loader Scepters make that easier and better. The lid opens from the body side of the pack so that if you & #39;re on a hanging belay, you can just clip the pack in and easily catch
everything instead of fighting the lid. You can clip stuff on the upper inside of the pack so it's all there and ready to be pulled out one-handed. We’ve also done a lot of work to make them as light as
possible and strippable, so you can get a nice clean profile if it must go through a tight spot. https://www.mysteryranch.com/Packs/Outdoor/Climbing

l get you skilled to handled it better during the Winter. Today I will focusing of the navigation at Winter condition. Due to the change in the environ due to the global heating, you have to take that in considiration when choosing routes. The ice will not be the same as it has been before. Also if you travel with ice-axe you must bear in min that the axe can affect the Compass(especially the head of the axe). During Winter the sight will be reduced, so that you have to handle. Have controll of the time, and make sure you use bearing of the Compass. If its going to be ”White out” you need to know the distance and bearing. Also use ”short steps” when you orientering during Winter environment. It is easy to go wrong with big gloves etc. And always, always carry a windshelter in the back pack.

This week it was a interview with me as a guide in the local post. A nice repotage about as working as a guide…

 

See ya soon…

Outdoor Feast with guiding.

This weekend it was outdoor feast at Docksta. I was invited as a part of the activities. There were lot of diffrent types of clinics, such as kayaking, bush craft, Sup and a lot of Outdoor companies. The Via Ferrata was also one of the main activity. Friday and Sunday offered nice weather with sun. During the night to Sunday the rain came in. This was my adventure day, a hike in the Skule forest towards the Slottsdals crevasse. So at 08.30 the hikers were ready to be guided trough the trail in the mystic wood. The hike started slightly uphills and after 20 minutes the first stop, was done. A short information about clothing and how to plan the tour. Then we continued upwards to the Slottsdals crevasse. The participants got 25 minutes on there own to enjoy the view of the High coast archipelage before we contiued to Tarnattvattnet and a short lunch. Now the sun started to brake trough the clouds and the weather become nice. Soon we were close to the Bottenvikens shoreline at Naskebodarna. Now the trail was a easy hike towards entry south. At the end of the occasion,  one of the participants comment: With u as a guide, I really feel safe and comfortable. That is feedback that make a guide smile.

Föreläsare & Kursledare på Utefest

When it comes to new gear, I will present to new apparel today. First out will be a jacket from Schöffel. This brand was founded in 1804 in Germany. The Softshell jacket Hdy Val d Isere is a quite interesting new jacket on the market.

 

Also the the Berghaus, which is an old brand with always high quality. Check the Extreme fast hike trousers. A apparel with alpine fit, light weight and breathable.

See ya soon…

Rethinking…

Lot of focus on training and work tasks makes you feel tired. There must be energi in what you do, otherwise you will be burned. so you have to get energy. Upcoming weekend I will focus on getting energy. So there will be a start on Saturday with bolied coffee. I have preraring the stowe and the coffee. When Life get complicated, you have to simplify it. So just get your self a small easy adventure and enjoy Life…

If you are going to Cham for climbing this might be a suggestion…

See ya soon..

 

Tough Viking…

Let’s start from a different angle this week. Sit down, imagining that you are sitting at an outdoor café or restaurant in Chamonix at Rue du Docteur Paccard. It is afternoon, and you are just drinking an espresso while the sun is slowly going down.. Close your eyes and you can hear the noise of the people talking around you. A mountaineer just passing, and you can hear the carbines bumping into each other. You just sitting there enjoying the atmosphere… Now start the video and close your eyes and dream on. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9ZsWR4unWY

This weekend it was the Tough Viking OCR race. After preparation of a month with obstacle tracks, the race went quite ok. 15K which in the real was 16,7K within 42 different obstacles was real challenging. My tactic was to start the race with controlled pace. It went good until obstacle number two, the ice tank. The adrenaline was pumping out in the blood, and the body was in full stress. After 300m I was back in controlled pace again. Now the pulse was the right and the speed the same. Crawling under barbwire and jumping over hurdles, swimming in mud and climbing rope. I ended up as 133 out of 3320person, and 2: nd place in the H50+ class. The old man still gains.

When it comes to the IML (International Mountain Leader) certification we are taking step by step in SFLO (Swedish Mountain Leader Organization). Perhaps we will have the first training of instructors during this year. So, then we will be a part of the UIMLA association with full IML certificated guides.

When it comes to the workout programing, so here you got this week challenges:

Monday: warm up 3 rounds 8 x front squats, 4x Scotty bobs instep stretch. 6 rounds of: 4x front squats, increase load up to heavy. Hip-flexor stretch. 6 rounds of 10 x hand release push-ups, 10 x horizontal pull-up (Row on barbell) 5 x shoulder dislocate. 10-15min grind. 5x ball trough @20-40kg. 10x dumbbell crawl, low back lunge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOUbzIkkLBQ end with 10x poor man’s leg curl.

Tuesday: Rest.

Wednesday: Endurance day, warm up 7min. 10x30s air assault bike (rest 60s between) max cal. Target 100cal. 5×10 bench press @ 70% out of max. Box jump+weighted jump @5-12kg

Thursday: Rest

Friday: Warm-up 7 min, Dead lift 12,10,8,6,3,3,3 increase weight every set. 30s atomic-step, 30s box jump, 30sstep up 30s rest x 6. Walking lounges 8-16kg BB 10m x 4 60s rest between. Cool down.

Saturday: Endurance 90-120m

Sunday: Endurance with hill 90min.

 

See ya soon.

Thin air, programing for mountaineerers..

Summer rescues….
During the summer there have been a lot of rescue missions at Kebnekaise. One night there were
three different rescues. The weather was misty and, the tourist/hikers didn’t have experience of
hiking in the mountains. That combined with poorly training probably was the reason. So, from that
point of view, I think it’s is important for the hut and mountain station to inform the hikers about the
risks and the condition of the trail and weather. And might suggest the clients to hire a guide. The
cost of rescue missions will increase, and there will also be a risk for the rescuers.

Becoming a Bad Ass, the way of change…the difference of wanting to change and will change…Here come some thought we need to ask us selves sometimes…

 Why you are the way you are?!
 Know where you want to go…
 Why you want to go there
 How and what you need to change to get yourself there.

About thin air.
When it comes to the atmosphere, it extends to 8000m out to space. Outside there is almost no oxygen. The surrounding air sea exert a pressure towards the earth. At sea level the air pressure
normally is 740-770mm Hg. But the higher altitude you get, the lower the air pressure will be. This means that every liter of air will contain less of oxygen, here we got what we call hypoxic. Every 12 th meter the air pressure will be reduced with 1mm Hg. At 2000m over sea level the air pressure has decreased to 596 mm Hg (vs. 740-770 at sea level). This with the result of a reduced amount of
oxygen to 80% (596/760 =0,8). To be able to do the same work, you must breath faster and deeper, you pant…At the peak of Mount Everest the air pressure will be 230-250 mmHg. This meaning a third out of the level at sea level. This is just the minimum of what a human body can manage. Climbing and working hard during this circumstance is very tough. Without a couple of month of
acclimatization, it will remain in death for the most of us.
Why is the oxygen being so important? All muscle work require energy. It can be from fat or carbonates. This substance will be converted to energy in the muscles, supported by oxygen (a so-called aerobe process). The more oxygen the muscle can get, the higher energy metabolism and more work can be done. During short moment the muscle can work without oxygen, example we can swim under the water, but at the same time lactic acid will be produced in the muscle. You that have been at high altitude know the feeling when you need to stop and take a paus and breath. That is when your body “clean” the muscle from the lactic acid. A muscle is the organ that can vary its energy metabolism most, unlike the nerve system and the brain which require an even and a permanent supply of oxygen. Reduced access for example the brain will leads to that decisions making will be affected. So, orienteering, the ability to read equipment and take decision about to turn when the situation so require will be affected. Here you can find the explanation of the accidents at “thin air”. Accidents at a level under 4000m can usually
be derived by low blood sugar levels.


We are all losers…
One way to get a better ability to adapt to lower oxygen levels is a good physical shape. This because of the capacity to transport oxygen. With a good workout of the body you will increase the blood
quantity and increased heart volume with a better stroke volume as well. A normally person can start feeling the impact of “high” altitude at 800-900m. The body ability to adept is impressing. Already after an hour has the endogenous (sv. Kroppsegna) hormone erythropoietin(Epo) increased its activity. It will stimulate formation of red blood cells. Another effect is also that the lupus pulse increase. The first days it can increase with 10-15 strokes. This means rest and recovery will be decreased. Some persons can get back to normal levels after a couple of days. The third affect is that the HRmax (sv. Maxpulsen) decrease. At a level of 2000 the result is reduced within 10-12 stoke/min. So, what does all this means in the relative? A high lupus pulse combined with a decreased HRmax,
will result in a reduced working interval for the heart. The bloods increased oxygen contain combined with decreased HRmax will result in a decreased oxygen consumption. All this result will be
individual, some can lose 7-8% at 1700 over sea level, while other can lose up to 15%. Ok, so it is individual how much the loss of oxygen will affect us. But we all get affected. Increased breathing,
increased heart rate and added lactic acid production. This means that the body will sets up to burn carbohydrates. From this point of view, it is very important to eat enough with carbohydrates, and if
the body don’t get that it will start to burn fat and protein to release energy. The increased ventilation will also affect the fluid loss. You must add one liter more /km in height. It is also worth to take in consideration that high altitude and the stress related to that affects the immune system. It is easy to get infection etc. So, the hygiene is very important. Even if you don’t have access to high mountains it still will be valuable to climb, hike and workout in a mountain environment.So, conclusions:

We all have different prerequisites of adapting to “thin air”.
-With less oxygen, you must breath faster and deeper to be able to do the same work as at sea level.
-The loss of oxygen will affect the brain, which can lead to bad decision.
-With a good fitness level, you will have better prerequisites to adapt to Thin air.
-You need to have focus to drink more, due to the increased ventilation.
– Bring carbohydrates so you can produce lactic acid to avoid burning fat and protein.

At the MUIN there are a lot research about the area. I have a dialogue about, it it is possible to have the ”dyving-response” effect regarding ”thin air” Is it possible to adept the body Before a climbing expedition. I will come back about this…

Programming for a mountain athlete.
When it comes to workout connected to be active in the mountains there will be a lot of different suggestions. I will start to give an example of a four-week program. So here follows a “free” program,
if you want an individual programming for an upcoming event/adventure please contact me and I willhelp you out. This program is just a start up for becoming a mountain athlete.

General instructions: Warm up until you feel warm and soft. Rest time is normally 45-60s. But big muscles-groups as arm/leg requires up to 120s. rest. In the beginning of the program take it easy
with weights. This is just a taste out of a “real” programming…

Monday: warm-up: 7min upper body exercises. 2×4(two set four reps) pull-ups. Bench-press
10,8,6,4,2,1 reps. Increase weight every step. 2×10 push-ups. 4×10 dumbbell to skull crusher.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir5PsbniVSc 4×10 hammer-curls https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC3nLlEvin4 3×10 strict press. Ending with 7 min stretch and
cool down.
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: Endurance day, Warm up 7min. you need an air assault bike(Aab) and a row machine.
40cal row, 40 cal air assault bike, 30cal row, 30cal Aab, 20/20 10/10. The alternative will be to run a
1k hilly track 6 times. Target will be under 30min.
Thursday: rest
Friday: Warm up 7min Lower body. 8,6,4,2,1 Deadlift. 10m walking lounges x4, 10 box jump direct
followed by 10 weighted jump(dumbbell) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOTO2qWRy9U x 4.
5×3 back squats light weight (60% of max). 10m bear crawl forward and backward x 3. Stretch and
cool down.
Saturday: Endurance day, 90min at 60% with back-pack (running, canoeing, cycling, speed-hiking,
skiing etc.)
Sunday: 3x20min endurance 70% of max.

See ya soon…