1980 in July I was standing outside the Enafors train station. It was the first time in the mountains, since that day it has been a couple of year and times and adventures in the mountains. So after over four decades what are my experience? First of all, the mountain environment make my inner clock to stop, I will be in the presence. Even if I change, or get older – The mountains still stand there with almost no changes (glaciers not included). I have learned much about myself, and about my abilities’. To trust in myself and the knowledge and skills that I have earned. While spending time in the mountain environment makes a person to grow in many ways. So even when I have experienced hard times and resistance I have never ever regret a mountain tour. But the challenge is to continuously challenge yourself to try new paths in life and the mountains…

I have written a lot about mountain safety, and from the Swedish Mountain Safety council the information will be the main part for mountain safety. So if you end up in a “tricky” situation start with S.T.O.P S-Sit, sit down and get the big picture. Breath and use your whole capacity. T-Think, start to get an overview over the situation, analyze the situation.(building a shelter etc.). O-Observe, am I in danger?, how much light do I have left, what is my option for shelter? How can I keep the heat? P-plan, establish a plan for what to do for the next step.

It is also a good thing to use the 10 essential of mountain safety; 1. Navigation (map and compass) 2. Sun protection (sun-glasses and sun-screen) 3. Insulation (extra clothing) 4. Illumination (headlamp/flashlight) 5. First aid supply. 6. Fire (fire steel/water proof matches) 7. Repair kit and tools (multiplier and a repair pack) 8. Nutrition (extra food/emergency food) 9. Hydration (extra water and fluid replacement) 10. Emergency shelter (wind sack, bivvy bag) all of this parts can be developed into absurdity so be careful and choose wisely of what you bring.

It is also always interesting to discover a new brand in the outdoor area. The Italian brand Garsport is a new acquaintance for me. This is a brand who develops boots for both mountain sports as well for professional use for the mountain area. Here you get a link to botanize. Footwear factory Garsport, trekking boots shoes and safety shoes

Evil Ebenezer – Sunshine (youtube.com)

See ya soon..

Today’s blog will be about the visitor’s behavior,  becoming old fashion and about a tent.

First of all we can see a pattern related to how the mountain tourism business seems to be. The trend is that the visitors  in the mountains tend to in firsthand do day tours. these visitors are new and unaccustomed, the business says that this is the area that has and will increase the upcoming five years. It is really positive that new visiting groups find its way out to the mountain environment. At the moment there is high peak of season in the Swedish mountains. Week 29-31 the Swedish mountains will be visited by 70 000 individual visitors. It will be the most common areas, with mountain stations that will be the primer target for the tourism. This year it will be interesting to se the trend in Western Jämtlands mountains, due to the new restrictions in the area. The two most mistakes the beginners will do is to underestimate the weather condition and the coverage of the mobile network.

So I running fast to become 60, soon there. And ok I will confess, I am old fashion. I rather use compass instead of GPS. I rather read a book in my hands than on a tablet. I rather bring a paper ticket for the flight (and in the phone of course:-). But I don’t see that as a weakness. Our generation is in between, in between the old and the data driven society. The thins is to not become laid back (fat and happy is another description of it). So you must constantly challenge yourself. Plan and implement all the time. Because as I said before, if you stop developing you stop to be good…

This week I will test the tent Bergans Romsdal 3P. This is a tunnel tent built for 3- seasons (-10). With a weight of 3320g it is perfect to bring for a comfortable mountain adventure. The vestibule has two pockets and attachment point for clothes line. High center pole provides extra head height where it’s most needed. Light weight, Packs easily and becomes small and got good ventilation and has a high working height…

(here you can see how small the tent will be, a pen at the left makes you understand the size. And the poles are very short when foldable)

Commodores – Nightshift (Official Music Video) (youtube.com)

See ya soon…

Today it will be all about emergency shelter. First of all, we must understand why we need to build an emergency shelter. The reason can be many, such as; bad weather, someone get injured or we might be lost for example. There is also big difference of the season and where we are located. Being in the pre-mountain area, will be much easier than to being in the mountains. Winter can be more demanding, but at the same time we got the snow to use as building materials. What is important here is to bear in mind that your clothing will be the base protection for you safety, so keep it dry-always.

So then we go to the next step How do we build a emergency shelter under tough conditions such as mountain environments? First of all, this is the reason you always should have an planned escape route. This for the reason that Is less complicated to build a shelter in low areas than in the mountains, and also the wind speed will be much more decreased there as well. In your pack you should have a emergency shelter or a tent, where you can use the outer tent as shelter. Your poles is also good equipment you might can use. Since it is more difficult to build a emergency shelter in high mountain terrain you need to have more fantasy and more experience to do it. Wind, chill and precipitation will be the three area you need to protect from. All of these three will be a challenge due to the fact that low ground will keep you from the wind, but will risk to expose you to both chill and to wet. So you must chose the place with feeling and reason. This is why it is much easier to be in lower environmental conditions. But try to find a stone block which will be (This is how the environment often looks like, but here you can se some stones you might can use for a shelter…)  in a direction to protect you from the wind. Now you can start building your shelter. (before be sure to check so no water will be pouring into the place). If you don’t find any block to use, you might look for some stone/stones to use for the purpose.  Depending on how long you will be staying, start to make as comfortable as possible. Use the basic of building an emergency “wrap”. This is very important if someone is injured.

So what will be the take away points from here.

1. Be prepared for building a emergency shelter in high altitude or high mountain environment.
2. Secure you got a emergency route for evacuation in bad weather or if anyone get injured.
3. Always bring a wind sack or a emergency tent of any kind with you.
4. Use the terrain in the best of ways when building an emergency shelter.

This week I have been reviewed the Mammut Sapuen High Gore-Tex boot. This boot is marked for the Mammut Flextron technology. This meaning that the boot moves like the foot and will reduce the loss of energy etc. With a weight of 530g it is a light boot. Normally I prefer a higher boot, a model like this is good for Via Ferrata. But I think it is rally good, and on hard surface you can feel that the boot “moves” in a effective way. So for being a mid-high boot I will give it (NNNNN)

YouNotUs x Laurell – All In (Lyric Video) (youtube.com)

See ya soon

Today’s topic will be abut dedication. So the first reflection will be -what is dedication? a feeling of very strong support for or loyalty to someone or something, devoted to a cause, ideal, or purpose. But when does dedication goes to obsession then? Well, that is harder do define, because it will be more of a  personally value. But here the word reasonable can be a good way to look into it. The line, as you probably understand between dedication and obsession is subtle.

So is a dedication or curse or a gift? Well, my answer will be Greatness requires dedication. Dedication means commitment, wholeheartedness,  conscientiousness, resoluteness, and diligence. Dedication makes your very life’s work an expression of honor and affection for who and what you deeply value.

So what is dedication for me? Dedication and passion will be a bit the same for me. In my life I have most of the time get dedicated in a area. I asked my dad when he first time discovered this trait or habit (as I see it) he said -I think it was when you started with outdoor activities. You always wanted to be a professional both in equipment and skills. The first summer holiday from school my first work was cleaning a toilet trolley. The first money I earned I bought a back pack.  And honest I think I also have crossed the line between obsession and dedication a couple of times. It is in my DNA, sorry to say. During my running career, I was just living for the running. I became a Swedish military Champion, but I think it was followed by a high price. At the same time it also brought a lot of good stuff as well. So I will never have it undone.

But if you want to become someone or something, dedication and passion will be the way forward. I think I am a good example out of that…

This week I will do a review of the Mammut men’s sapuen high GT boot. The Sapuen’s upper contains more leather and less mesh. The result is a boot that can handle bigger loads in sketchier terrain, keep your ankle in place. This is a boot for load-carrying capability on technical terrain.

Sven Ingvars – En liten bit av Värmeland (Official Video) (youtube.com)

See ya soon…

Positive thinking.

This is a topic I’ve been writing about before, but it always important o be reminded of it. We always got more negative feeling than positive, this even scientifically proven . So this we really must remember and always focusing of the positive thinking.

Change Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs) – Daniel Amen, M.D. (youtube.com)

This meaning we must filtering at the positive. So filtering the positive in everything, and the first step is done. T is easy to fall into negative thinking like this:

Polarized thinking, Well, this is about the grey scale. Nothing is black or white, so se the possibilities in everything.

Overgeneralization, This is when we conclude a experience as bad for just one negative part. E.g. I failed the test so now the whole term will be a disaster…

Catastrophizing, also known as “magnifying,” catastrophizing is when we exaggerate the negative details of an event, making them a much bigger deal than they are.

Jumping conclusion, We jump to conclusions when we make a hasty judgment or believe something to be true without bothering to consider all the facts.

Personalization, This is a cognitive distortion where we take everything personally and compare ourselves to others.

Control fallacies: There are two types of control fallacies. If we believe we are externally controlled, we perpetually see ourselves as the victim of external forces. If we believe we have internal control, we imagine that other people feel a certain way (pain, happiness, sadness, etc.) because of something we did.

Blaming: Blaming is when we either blame others for our emotional pain or blame ourselves for every problem. It is always someone else reason that you feel bad…

Always being right: Similar to how it sounds, when we engage in this distortion, we believe we’re always right and will argue with people who think otherwise

Emotional reasoning: Emotional reasoning is when we believe that everything we feel must be true.

So, ok know we got the understanding of how and why we can think and act due how we think…That’s good, but that I know. What I don’t know is have to get out from thinking like that…Well her you get some tools.

1. Since you reading this, the firs step has been taken. Be aware of your thoughts. One really good habit is to scheme a meditation. Prompted awerness (such as meditation) got a habit to stop during the day and be in the presence and reflect over your thoughts.
2. Turn negative into positive. Next time you find yourself saying “this will never work” or “everything is ruined,” try to oppose that thought with a positive one. When the negativity appears challenge yourself is this true, is this thinking relevant due to the situation?
3. Adapt your thinking, adapt the situation. Take a deep breath, and try to se it from another angle. Take yourself out and distance you’re from the problem.
4. When you end up in a negative situation create a way of good thinking such as, Make it happen, I am enough, I got this, I choose to be happy. This is one of the special forces golden key. I have done some similar before, and I fixed it.
5. Practice daily gratitude, This is one of my favorite, define what are you grateful for today.
6. Pay it back. Pay for a strangers coffee, Participate in a charity activity etc.
7. Switch up your environment. Be with people that give you energy, and positivity, Spend time in the nature, this is probably something you already know and feel about.
8. Develop morning routines. For you how been following this blog, this is nothing new. Exercise-Workout-shower cold etc.

The Tierra Templet 3L Jacket is a Gore-Tex three layer alpine (heavy duty) jacket. It is developed for snowy action sports. What I like with it is the ventilation solution. This is on the side, and easy to handled. Normally this type of solution is under the arms, and can be a bit difficult to reach. But not in this case. Overall it is a good jacket, and the finish is fine. From my point of view it is a stripped jacket, with less details. But it still is a ”heavy duty” jacket which I gladly will bring in high alpine areas. So the result (NNN+)

Poor Little Fool – Ricky Nelson (youtube.com)

See ya soon

Today it was a exiting workout session. Started with 15min warm up, and then 10 Pull-ups. Run 1K and then 20 push-ups and running 1k. Next 30 sit-ups and running 1k, and 15 burpees and running 1k. 10 dips and running 1k, 10 laying rows and 15min slow running. A great workout session I can promise.

I think all got opinions of everything and I become a bit both frustrated and less of this behavior. If you have something important with a meaning then its great, but just saying for the sake is just crap. Here I will have an opinion by myself; be or become an authority in your area. Ok, you might say – what is a authority then?  power to influence or command thought, opinion, or behavior, a convincing force. So how do you become an authority than? First: Find your style – be authentic. Second: Focus outwardly-the attitude. Active listening-”read between the lines” Third take responsibility for all decisions. Third: Cultivate the third eye-The vision. Fourth: Lead from the front-The tone. Fifth: Stir conflicting emotions-the aura. Sixth: Never appear to take, always to give-the taboo. Seventh: rejuvenate your authority-adaptably. As I sad before if you stop developing, you stop being good. Be observant for that fact.

The Swedish Mountain leader Norm is now own by the Mountain Leader council and it was presented in the outdoor Magazine in Sweden. So now it is definite known in the  Swedish outdoor segment.

This week I will start the review of the Tierra Templet 3L jacket. The Templet 3L Jacket is a 3-layer Gore-Tex® shell jacket for men, designed for high alpine activity with a fabric with more sustainable environmental thinking. Of course, we have not skimped on functionality, the jacket has a hard-wearing outer material and is completely waterproof and windproof. It will be interesting to check this one…

Sandro Cavazza – High With Somebody (Live At Dalhalla, Sweden) (youtube.com)

Røros – Borgedalen og Storviglen. August 2022 (youtube.com)

See ya soon…

So we have stepped into June, and the summer is almost here. The tracking says 6 month and six mountain adventures.

Stared out in January with a Ice Climbing session in Älvdalen. In February it was time for a Winter examination in Stordal in Norway. March it was Funäsdalen with a lot of skiing. April it was snowshoeing in Jämtland. May a IML examination i Voss Norway and June Via Feratta at Skuleberget.  And also a lot of other stuff with the Swedish Mountain Leader organization, Mountain Leader council and the Swedish Mountain safety Council so a busy first half year of 2024. And with summer coming and plans are ongoing in my head for new adventures… When going hiking in alps in Europa you always here the ”bonjour” and meet with a smile. I think we could be much better in that in the Scandinavia. We should be more caring about our other in the nature, and help and support everyone. Let that be a promise for this summer.

When it comes ti equipment/gear I have been testing a watch, hence the title. North Edge Apache is a analogue watch. Yes I might be a bit old-fashioned here, but I really like ”easy to use gear” with basic function. This watch lives up to that motto. With four bottoms it is easy to use, and with just three presses you easy can adjust the height, that is something I really like…North Edge Apache watch 3’s Functions include an altimeter, a barometer, a compass, a thermometer, a step counter, world time, a countdown timer, an alarm, and a backlight. Barometer, Altimeter, compass so it got all you need. I will test it more before my statement, but so far very good…

Inlandsvägen norrut (youtube.com)

See ya next Sunday

This Sunday I thought I would spend a lot of time on Skäckerfjällen. This area is a bit of a hidden pearl, with a few outdoorer knowing the area. It is placed in the heart of the Kall Sami area. With just 10 reindeer keeper and about 2500 reindeers it is a unaffected mountain area. This also meaning that you really have to be careful in the area. Nothing or very little arranged here. So there are few trails and they will be sparsely marked. So you must have good navigation skills here even if there is one trail  between the two Mountain huts here.

The first choice of a hike here will of course be the trail between Kolåsen and Anjan, a trail with 34km can be hiked in two days, but use four and you can do a couple of peaks as well (well recommended) or why don’t do a detour to Rutsdalen, a valley which is the Jämtlands answer to Rapadalen in Sarek. Also the area between Manshögarna and Sockertoppen is a really good place for spending a tent night. Keep your eyes open in the area, because here you can experience seeing Great Moose as well as Golden Eagle etc.

Another suggestion of a nice tour will be if you start from Anjan and take the trail towards Mansjön. Then you turn to East towards the Anjaskutan, You take seight to the peak and then you go down and follow the winter trail. Take a detour into Styrdalen as I mention erlier, it is a real nice area. Then back to Anjan Mountain lodge.

During the 1300 the area was known as the way between Nidarås (Trondheim) and Jämtland Route 336 and it was a kinder choice than route 322 which was higher up in the mountain.

It has also been an interesting area during the World War II as well:

https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/ny-bok-hemliga-baser-i-jamtland-under-andra-varldskriget

Benson Boone – Beautiful Things (Official Music Video) (youtube.com)

See ya soon..

In the 70s I grew up in a working town. The weekend was spend with skiing and skating during the winter and hiking in the spring and summer. I cant remember all times spending looking into the bonfire, and waiting for the sausage to be grilled. The next step was to becoming member of the Swedish Outdoor Association (Friluftsframjandet). We spend winter cold night in Wind shelters, cabins and tent tipis. I think it was here I took my first steps to becoming a mountain man. The challenge to take part in tough adventures and proof to myself that I was able, that was would I think led me to the place where I am today. This was the first step to the stairway for mountaineering.

Last weekend I was doing a assessment of one of the IML’s that need to be assed. So flying to Bergen and train towards Voss which was the target.  After leaving the train and put some of my luggage at the hotel I went to hike towards Lönahorgi a real nice tour. Then early morning we took our coach towards Flåm for getting the clients of the day. Four American citizen’s that wanted to take a tour in one of the fjord and hike to a waterfall. So we started from Bakka and hike up hills. In the beginning the trail passed the pre-mountain wood and for every height meter the view become better and better. The ascending was hard and one of the participants have to stop after half way up. We other continued and a half hour later we reached the goal of the day. A fantastic waterfall with a incomparable view. The descending took a while, due ti it was slippery and steep in some of the passage. But all participant’s went down and all was very satisfied of the tour.

(A happy guide for a perfect day…)

The Dead South – Tiny Wooden Box [Official Music Video] (youtube.com)

See ya soon…

This has been a hectic week, du to travels and meetings. The week begun with a meeting with the Swedish mountain safety council. This time it was a distance meeting, but I was in place at Ostersund. The reason was that the Swedish Mountain Leader Council would now take over the Mountain Leader norm from the Swedish environmental Protection Agency, a historical moment. So from now the FLR owns the norm.

(Ulf Bergman (FLR), Ingela Hiltula and P-O Wikberg (Swedish Environmental Protection Agency)

The spring meeting in the council always contains interesting statistics, so even this time. What we can see the visitor rate for the western Jamtland mountain has decreased, due to the change of the area. At the same time it has increased in Funasdals area. Something the Mountain rescue can confirm. Due to this is a bit of change of mountain rescue efforts. Here the cross-country tracks will be high in the mountains and exposed to the elements. There will also be a work related to events and how to work in a constructive way related to this.

Wednesday was reserved for the annual meeting in the Swedish Mountain Leader organization. After six years as vice chairman and treasure and one year as chairman it was time for me to back of and step into the shadow. The selected board is very strong, and it is time for a new step in the organization so I have fully confidence for the future.

Chayce Beckham – 23 (Lyric Video) (youtube.com)

See ya soon…