At the moment we are in a weather situation that is cold. So what can be better than the topic cold skills. So here come some topics for how to better handle the cold environment? The first thing can be to adept your body to the cold, start by prepare your body, two hours per day will be a good start. You can use a scarf for tricking the brain by warming you blood in the neck. You can also prepare by reduce the temperature were you live. Take cold showers. Research has shown that regular cold showers can reduce your metabolic rate by 30%. I know that sounds tough, but start by alternating the water from warm to cold. Try longer periods each time.  Ok, so now you have prepare and now you in the cold environment, so what to do now?

1. Move, clothing etc. don’t give you heat, but movement does…2. Pace yourself so you don’t get wet of moister. 3. Adjust layer continuously. 4. Eat more, keep up with energy. 5. Drink hot drinks, and use drinks with sugar such as chocolate etc. 6. Keep spare gloves-mittens so you can change if needed. 7. Two beanies is good to bring, A warm one for rest times and if the other become wet. 8. Pre-warm boots and gloves. use warm heaters and put the sole in the sleeping bag during the night. 8. If you take a break, use a down jacket etc. 9. Keep you body from ground cold. Sit on your back pack if you don’t got a sit pad. 10. Warship the sun, hunt the sun as often as you can. You avoid the wing etc. so why should you not hunt the sun…

The Dead South Christmas Greetings! – YouTube

See ya tomorrow…

Todays blog will be about a favorite area in the Jämtland area, Oviksfjällen.

When most of the people go to Åre, the one living in Östersund go to Bydalen. This are have a lot of really nice spots and trails. Västerfjället which can be reached from both Bydalen and Mårdsundsbodarna. You also got the opposite side Höglekardalen and Drommen with the Falkfångarfjället in the middle. This is a really nice trail. A roundtrip over the whole area can be done with just over 50km. Stay at Arådalen for a night and a tent night or a stay at Gräftåvallen. You also got the Dörrsjörna as a really nice detour. You can also reach the small but really nice mountain cabin Anaris here as well.

Todays Christmas gift I will suggest the middle layer sweater from Ulvang. Peak field hoodie in Merino. A really nice middle layer..

Peak Field Hoodie Full Zip Mellanlager | Ulvang

The Kinks – Father Christmas (Official HD Video) – YouTube

See ya tommorow

Today’s topic will be winter tenting. The first feeling for most of us when mention winter tenting will be -Hm uncomfortable, troublesome and cold…So what can we do about it then? Well, here follows some suggestions. First thing will be to make distance from the ground cold. So you have to choose a sleeping pad that is produced for the cold. So pick one with a R grade at least over 4.0.

Another suggestion is to bring a standard sleeping mat as an extra layer, such as Z-rest for example. This one you can have between the pad and the sleeping bag, this will reduce the moister. Nest thing will be the sleeping bag, comfort temperature is the important thing here. Forgot all the “extreme” level and focus on the comfort rating. You can also use a liner for getting more comfort as well. Another thing here is to not put your face into the sack during the night, this will bring lot of moister into your sleeping bag.

(the author showing how to use the sleeping bag in the right way)

Normally the sack has a construction so you have just the breathing part of your face “free” from the sack. Use a light beanie as well, this will prevent the heat for passing out from your head. Another very important thing is to eat before sleep. Also a easy workout will be good, so you a warm and not need to warming up the sleeping bag as well. Ok, before you going into the sleeping bag you got two more things to do; 1. Boil and fill up your thermos. 2. Fill a plastic bottle to put into the sleeping bag (but be sure it not leaking). So now you got an external heater for the sleeping bag, and you are already done for making the breakfast…So, now it is time to go to bed. Wool 1^st liner will be a good choose, and might have one set for just sleeping in. For having a real nice time a LPG lamp can be real cozy and will also give you some warmth. When it comes to the tent, open up all ventilation and open up the tent door. If you are more then one in the tent – you even don’t need to use a inner tent. But if you do bring a wetex rag for the “morning” moister in the tent (it can often be a layer of frost) Sleep tight😊.

Another very good detail is to use a mini compressor for the sleeping pad, then you avoid getting moisture from the breath into the sleeping pad. Sleep tight and see ya tomorrow…

Ice Climbing in Gudvangen – YouTube

It’s Christmas Time – Music Travel Love ft. Francis Greg, Dave Moffatt & Anthony Uy – YouTube

Today was the first official meeting in the Mountain Leader Council. Since the Swedish Mountain Safety council and The Swedish Environmental Agency decided to not take responsible for the Swedish mountain Leader Norm, a work with starting a branch organization has been ongoing.

The Swedish Mountain guide organization(SBO) together with Swedish Mountain Leader Organization (SFLO) has been driving the issue of ownership. And today the organization was founded with a board in place. So today is a big day in the Swedish mountain history.

This means that FLR will be the principal for the ownership of the Swedish Mountain Leader norm. Since it hasn’t been updated for a long time this will be a big step for the mountain safety.  And in addition, I am both happy, humbled and proud to announce that I was elected chairman of the council. It is with great respect that I take on this assignment…Todays quiz will be about the Mountain leader norm. How many moment is included in the norm? And what includes in number 16? SMS your answer to +46 702 50 90 28.

Todays Christmas suggestion will be a book. What can be better than sitting in the front of a bonfire, drink a coffee and read a book – So here to the present gift you might can wish from Santa…The new outsiders…The New Outsiders – Fotografi – inbunden (9783899559644) | Adlibris Bokhandel

Wrap Me Up – YouTube

See ya tomorrow…

Today I was invited to the Swedish Mountain Guides day of experience exchange.

It has been a real interesting day, with a lot of new knowledge and a lot of nice people. It was also some presentation from a couple of companies in the branch. Fjällräven informed about the new upcoming Bergtagen 2.0 series, and also Petzl was one of the presenter with a new helmet and a updated version of the  harness sitta and also the new Neox belay. This organization is well established with a very good standard. Worth to tell is that is 30 years the first Swedish IFMGA course was held…

See ya tomorrow…

Sia – Snowman [Official Video] – YouTube

Today we open the first door of the advent Calendar this year. What will you say is good characteristics and good behavior? Demonstrate confidence, be unique, communication skills, show respect, be knowledgeable, having willingness and humility to admit mistakes, handle stress positively, do what you say you will, respect others and show enthusiasm…All of this characteristics will be hard to being able to live up for, but some of them might be able? Those are the things a role model show, and I think it is a good way of looking to my own way of doing things. At one of my leadership training the instructor ask me -What is you personality? Well, I am focused and target driven I replied. After 5 seconds of quietness he answered. But Ulf the most significant label of you is that you always going your own way.  He was of course spot on, I have never chosen the  right or the easy way but my own. Sometimes in good sometimes in bad the god will  knows that:-). But that confirm a feeling that I got, and the puzzle fall in place.  But the conclusion of all of this reasoning will be keep on developing and be a role model at least for your own.  It will build up your self confidence and you will get a good life. And you go your own way, I like that….

Todays Christmas gift suggestion will be: A long spoon for the dried food to avoid sticky fingers. Primus Långsked svart..Primus Långsked svart – addnature.com

Ulf Lundell – Stockholm i december (Official Audio) – YouTube

See ya tomorrow…

When you drive among E14 toward Storlien and just before you pass Ånn, you got the view over Storsnasen and Sylarna. Every time when passes this spot the view hits me, and my pulse starts to speed up. Excitement, enthusiasm will be build up inside of me. I can compare it with when you after many days of cloud cover, fly in a aero plane and sees the sun rice, but emotional you still miss a piece compared to the mountains. This area includes it all, it is the cradle of mountains. I feel calm, and at the same time expectant. Even been here so many times it still is an full experience.

Even after 40 years in the area I still can find new trails and new areas. At the wind shelter at Getvalen (Snasahörna) you got the finest strat point for a whole weekend of ascending peaks, such as Norder Tväråklump, Sönner Tvåråklump, Getvalen, Getryggen and Lill and Storsnasen. So a real good place for adventures.

This weeks hidden trail will be the one between Arådalen towards Gräftåvallen. This tour is 21km and you will hike just in the border line of pre-mountain and the mountain…If yoy feel strong, male a detour  to the Dörrsjöarna. Here you also got real nice places for tenting.

This week I will do a review of Black Diamonds Mercury Mitts. This is a mitt with a shell and a liner. It is developed for manage -30 Celsius, and with my frostbite fingers I will see how good it is.

Next week at this time this year’s advent Calendar will start. Just for give you a teaser I can tell that it will be about Mental training, Books, suggestion of Christmas gifts among a lot of others stuff. So I hope you will join in…

INTENTION – YouTube

Out of Time Man – YouTube

See ya soon

What is mountain safety? Well, this is a good and complex question…And is looks like all got there own view of the area. So I will present my view here. Some mean it depends on the activity, others that is the environment, and some talk about skills. This means it is complex as you understand. I will also add the human factor. One interesting thing connected to the human factor is how people act with a guide. All of a sudden all responsibility is removed, and you can act as a child. The reason -You are not the one in control anymore.  This is a funny and scary thing, that peoples mind changes in this moment. Therefore the heading.

But lets dig deeper in to the subject. The environment stand requirements on us. Wind,  cold, precipitation etc. Also if its rocky, avalanche risks etc.  Then it depends on what we are going to do in the environment as well, If we go skiing, with snowmobile or ice-climbing for example. And then we also got our preparation and knowledge and skills. Today we can get a lot of information from a lot of sources in the Internet. But this could never replace our own experience. All of this ingredients will be the thing to put into the scale, and the outcome will be your risk plan. So with all the consideration of all of this you can start the  planning your route, and have a good view over how to secure a safety trip ahead. The next step will be about being well and right equipped for the activity due to safety, but as Kipling Said -thats another story…

Ayla Schafer ”Grandmother (I am the Earth)” Official Video – YouTube

See ya soon

This weekend I been on the autumn meeting with the Swedish Mountain Safety council. The topic the first day was climate adaptation and mountain safety. Erik Kjellstom professor from SMHI started the day with a presentation of the climate models in the future.

The conclusion in a bigger picture is that it will be more precipitation (snow and rain) in the northern part of Sweden and in the near future no snow at all in the southern part of Sweden. We also got information about how the Swedish ski areas industry association work due to reduce the environmental footprint. It was also a lecture in how to handle hypothermia. And also how the environmental change will influence and change the mountain activities conditions, such as winter trails with bridges etc.

The second day it was an ordinary information day about statistics. It was also a presentation from the Swedish accident investigation agency about the accident at Kebnekaise which caused a death. Docent in catastrophic medicine Anton Westman presented a study in Swedish mountain rescue. It was also an interesting information about the eight high altitude weather report stations and statistics. The one at Kebnetjåkka showed wind speed up to 72m/s.

Becoming a role model…

I think it is important to become a role model, that is a good target to strive for. You got self awareness, this quality means you can see your self clearly, you can managing your motions and well-being. You have the ability to align what you do – and how you do it – with your values. Positivity will be the next quality. No one can be cheerful all the time, but you can look for opportunities in difficult situations. So focus on what you can do instead of what you cant. Humility be honest when you not sure what to do, and be are happy to ask questions and learn. You are comfortable with encouraging other people to flourish, you give credit where it’s due, and you don’t hide behind rank or experience. I will continue next week with the three lefts part;  Empathy, professionalism and integrity.

Next weeks blog will be a more deep dive into mountain safety from a guide and training perspective…

Seo Linn – Siúil a Rún – YouTube

See ya soon…

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts..

I don’t think it is necessary to improve, or trying to be better time after time. But I think it is important that we as person grow and develop. Due to that reason we all really need time to reflect on our selves time to time, and if we don’t do that we will stop being good. We need to work with a plan for become a better me. So the first question would be; who do you want to be – When you got the answer your will be on the way. Now you can or probably would question me -But how do you know that? How shall I know that? Well, I think that is one of the reflection you need to do. It won’t come an answer after 5 minutes or 5 hours or 5 days, it might come after 5 month or 5 years. But the develop/journey starts with the reflection. It will be there and growing as a plant, and in a sudden it will be crystal clear. It even happen without you being able to recognize it. Hm. What is this for “fluffy” crap you might think now. But everything start with a seed and then it will grow. Do the work that matters, this might means you should do the choice that scars you…Be a believer. You must believe in yourself for being able to do the things you really wanted to do. Ok, so now you might think – well I know that I need to develop, but what then? I really don’t know what habit or quality or behavior I should develop…

Well looking into the compass of human development might help you. Quality’s such as curiosity, sociability, resilience, self-awareness, integrity, resourcefulness, creativity, and empathy. This areas might can help you out here do define what area you need to develop.

From a personally perspective I can see a lot of effort due to continues developing. Just for clarification, this is not to be taken as a advice, it is just a reflection from me from my life,

First of all my time in the service(Army) was the best time over all, that is the reason for who, what and where I am today. I am so grateful for all years, month, days, hours and seconds I spend there.  This is my core of almost all I do today. I have got the guts to try new things, and that have led me to both success and failures, but in the end the experience has been good. And at those time, when I have formed a picture or goal of what, who or where to be I have succeed and reach it. This is a bit like the Swedish skier Ingemar Stenmark said; the more I train the more luck I get. I have always gone my own way, with no fear of not being like anybody else. So with a focus mind, and a tireless patience I always have reach the goal(even if it sometimes as been adapted or changed among the way/process). Next blog will be about Role model and Charisma and a report from the Swedish mountain safety council…

See ya soon…

Jason Derulo – When Love Sucks (feat. Dido) REMIX – YouTube

Out of Time Man – YouTube

By the way…soon time for this years Christmas calendar…