Looks still like winter – mostly …

Yesterday I was working from home in my flat in Tromsø when an outside movement caught my eye. A ptarmigan was passing by in the snow covered garden. It went to a birch tree, picked a bit at the branches and continued its lunch walk. That was a nice work interruption.

In the afternoon I was out for a walk. The small bog pond looked quite wintry but I wouldn’t cross it anymore.

The cross-country ski trails seem to be in a good shape. People are still skiing there but some wet areas beside the trails start thawing.

I passed the ski lodge – now closed for the saison – and went down the gravel road. The snow on the road looks grey and is no real snow anymore, but pure slush.

Today it was warm and rainy and more rain is to come tomorrow. Then we may get some snowy days again. I adore snow, but I also love spring. I’m curious when the snow will have melted away in Tromsø this year and when birches start getting their green leaves.

I can’t ski, but I do

Let’s face it. I am a lousy skier. My technique is mediocre when I ski uphills and reduces to ε > 0 when I ski downhills. With the lack of technique there is empty space for panic that settles in when I’ve got too fast. But I do love skiing so I do it anyhow. And that’s a thing I’m slightly proud of.

Today I wanted to used the beautiful winter day to do something with skiing. I take the car to the neighbouring island Kvaløya with two destinations in mind: Kattfjordvatnet or Finnviksdalen/Krabbelvdalen. On the bridge to Kvaløya I make up my decision: Finnviksdalen/Krabbelvdalen. More possibilities. So I turn right.

At 10 o’clock I start my tour from the car park by the road 863 and head in the usual direction. Well, that didn’t work, the mountain stream is open. So let’s take the bridge by the car park. That works. I have to cross another mountain river but that is easier, since it is covered with ice floes easy to cross.

I realise, that I already have made up my mind: Going up the mountains to Kraknesaksla (335 m) or to the Jerremaš (467 m). It’s the mountains massif behind these trees:

I check the avalanche situation in the Varsom app. Looks good! So I continue the tour although I am surprisingly bad prepared: I have forgotten the sun blocker and something to drink. The sun has come out and I use my anorak hood to protect against the radiation although it is a bit too warm. And water I can drink from the next stream, although I do not get a lot using only one hand for scooping.

The terrain descends a bit, I cross a ski trail. Then it ascends and I am skiing uphills. Mostly I zigzag because I do not have climbing skins with me either. That is working better than excepted. When I look down behind me I get a bit nervous. Every metre I climb up I’ll have to ski downhills later. Did I mention, that I am a lousy skier? I think so.

But I feel always so rewarded when I am above the timberline leaving all trees below.

I pass the small cabins by the two small lakes whose name I do not know …

… and head to the mountain top Kraknesaksla. Since I have been above the timberline I have beautiful views on the sounds east of Kvaløya. First Sandnessundet, then Kvalsundet. That’s so fascinating, this together of sea and mountains. Down there – the island Tromsøya where I have my “work home”.

At the cairn on the summit of Kraknesaksla I have to put of my skis. Too icy and too many rocks. But what a view!

I continue my tour. For a while I can see the Kvalsundet,

… then I leave the eastern slope behind and head to the next mountain. While I have been alone for a while I now can see some other skiers in the distance. The weather is constantly changing and so the light. Sometimes it is cloudy that the snow is without any contrast at all. That makes it impossible to tell if the ground slopes up or down. And then, minutes later, the sun comes out, the sky is blue and I can “read” the snow again.

I reach the top of the Jerremaš (also called Austeråsfjellet) but here I’m not alone. Three skiers are sitting by the cairn enjoying the sun. So – no photo here. Anyhow I’ve got quite thirsty again and decide now to take a break. Now comes the part where I have to ski down and it wouldn’t have been so hard because the slope is not so steep and there is plenty of space. However more clouds have been gathering and it even started snowing a bit. Visual terrain information: not available. Colours neither.

Hmm, I don’t like skiing downhills in these weather conditions. When I finally reach the first sparse birch forests I am relieved, because now I can estimate how steep the slope is. Slowly I continue skiing down, passing another stream that is mostly snowed over.

After more zigzagging down I reach Finnviksdalen, the other valley. This looks pretty different from Krabbelvdalen because of the prepared cross-country ski trails. There are also more people around. From now on it is a bit more about skiing and less about taking photos. The last ones I make show the trail and the hexagonal cabin where skiers use to take breaks.

I however am very thirsty and quite exhausted and so I continue to the car park where a bottle of water awaits me. 17.5 km skiing and – according to the Runners app – 603 metres in altitude later todays skiing has ended. As always: I’ve never regretted being outside and this was another example of having a great day.

The following events: buying sushi and a coke · driving home · eating · taking a hot shower · taking a nap · being pretty lazy · talking to Annika on the phone · editing today’s photos · writing this blog article.

Winterland is black’n’white

These are no black-and-white photos. It is normal colour photos in a wintry landscape of black and white. When it is as cloudy as on Annika’s and my ski tour on Friday and Saturday, then the bright colours seem to have vanished from the landscape. The snow seems to be white, the clouds seems to grey, the rocky mountain parts to be black and so do the many birch trees. But if you look closer, you see that snow hardly ever is of pure white. Here, it might have a green shade; over there, a blue tint; and in an hour, a hue of purple.

Skiing home

And suddenly it looks wintry again in Tromsø. About 30 cm of snow fell in the last two days. Yesterday I walked home from work, today I took the skies.

It is so much  fun to ski through the wintry forests on the top of the island Tromsøya even when the snow is as warm and sticky as today.

From Obbola to Tromsø – home home and work home

Thursday, 20 March – Obbola

Annika and I are in Obbola, my “home home”. In the morning we get visitors. Three deer stand in our garden – always alert. Are they happy, that much of the snow is gone?

In my lunch break I am kayaking round the island Bredskär. That’s just 3 km. There is still some ice round the rocks at the shore, but much snow and ice has melted away the last weeks. What a warm winter.

Friday, 21 March

Annika and I take the car to Tromsø. We will make a stopover in Jokkmokk, because the total distance is almost 1000 km. Hejdå home home!

In warm and sunny weather we head northwards to Piteå and then northwest to Jokkmokk. Now we are north of the Polar Circle.

In Jokkmokk we meet a good friend and take a walk round the lake Talvatissjön. Around the sun a halo appears .

Saturday, 22 March

After a good sleep in the hostel Åsgård Annika and I continue our car trip. Gällivare, Kiruna, Abisko. Torneträsk – the 6th largest lake in Sweden – is still completely frozen. Good for recreation such as skiing.

Parts of the road were closed some days ago. You can still see some remains of the snow storm.

Some weeks ago it would have been impossible to drive from Jokkmokk to Tromsø in daylight. Anyhow two days ago astronomical spring has started and the days are as long as everywhere. After hours of driving the sun is low but visible. It illuminates the beautiful clouds. And then we arrive at our apartment in Tromsø, my “work home”.

Sunday, 23 March

On Sunday the weather gets nasty. Max temperature: +9 °C and wind gusts up to 23.5 m/s. Annika and I take a promenade anyhow. With spiked shoes because some of the ways are just bare, wet ice and the friction is next to zero. We arrive at home before the rain. Good luck.

Monday, 24 March

On my way to work I spot the first spring flowers in front of the Tromsø Cathedral. I could believe in spring …

Tuesday, 25 March

… but do know the forecast and it is correct: Snow, snow, snow on the next day. So it looks like in the morning outside of the apartment …

… and so in the afternoon, when I walked home.

So we did not solely travelled between countries but also between seasons. Anyhow I hope for some more winter days (or weeks), before my seasonal clock will jump to spring mode. Perhaps in mid-May?

 

Kayak – 3rd try and success

It’s less the temperature than the wind who makes the sea ice on the Baltic Sea vanish. Although we had -10 °C this morning the sea was more or less open. Time for a slightly longer kayak tour in the afternoon under a blue sky enjoying the calm weather.

But still there is some ice shield attached to the coast. As the days before I push myself forward using ice spikes.

First the ice holds then I crash through. It takes me 10 minutes to cross 100 metres of ice until I reach open water. Yay!

I decide to paddle round the islands Obbolstenarna. There is hardly any ice left on the way there but at the eastern shore it still looks pretty wintry.

The western part of  Obbolstenarna however looks like another season. Is winter over now? Anyhow, time to kayak home.

If you look carefully at the photo with the red bow of my kayak you see that the water is very smooth but with some crystal like structures. Let’s take a close look:

Despite of the sun air temperature is still below zero. Not only the sea water on the kayak freezes but new ice is also formed on the water surface. It is thin and fragile but so soft, that the smooth waves do not break it. An even closer photo (heavily edited):

Through this smooth though icy water I paddle back until I reach the ice edge again. I choose another place, take a run-up and paddle onto the ice. I’m lucky. This ice is more stable and I do not break through. I slide back to the shore. Meanwhile the sun is already low. I was slower than planned, because it took some time to take all these photos.

 

Kayak – 2nd try

Just one day later the situation has changed on the Baltic Sea with a lot of more open water than ice. So the kayak season was continued today.

No Kayaking, the ice is too thick

Three days ago I opened the kayak season in the open Baltic Sea. Since then the weather has become colder and the Baltic Sea has started to freeze over. I was in doubt, if I could find open water to paddle kayak or at least thin ice today, but at least I wanted to try.

I drag the kayak to the edge between old and new ice and then along the shore.

The ice between mainland and the islet Lillskär looks solid.

I push the kayak onto the ice and enter it. The ice holds.

I use ice spikes to push myself forward. Soon the ice is thinner and my kayak breaks into the ice. The paddle however is not made for chopping 2 cm of ice so I continue with the spikes.

A small patch of open water, then ice again. It is exhausting to push myself forward, especially when the ice breaks and there is nothing to push against. However there is another type of ice ahead, perhaps it is thinner.

No, it is not. For today I give up and return. Backwards, because in the small groove that I had cut into the ice with my kayak it is next to impossible to turn.

After some backing I reach the small open patch of water again. Now I can turn. It takes some momentum to “jump” onto the stable ice. After some more sliding on the stable ice I arrive home. On the weekend it probably gets warmer and, more important, windier. Maybe the wind will break the ice. Until that the paddle season is paused.

 

Back in Obbola – opening the kayak season

Friday

Two days ago Annika and I returned from our Finnmark and Finland journey. Just north of Umeå there was a low layer of strange clouds. Any of you who knows what kind of clouds this is?

Saturday

We are back home in Obbola in Sweden. The sky is clear and blue. In wintertime this often means that it can be pretty cold outside. Instead we had up to +8 or +9 °C. What a strange winter.

The wind is strong. The waves have already crushed the ice floes. In the afternoon the floating ice has been blown away into the open sea.

There is still some snow around but parts of the ground is free of snow. That‘s early for the season. And so is the arrival of the first whooper swans.

Sunday

The wind has calmed down and so have the waves. Time to fetch the kayak from the garage and open the kayak season. While there was not much of ice left at the shores of Obbola and the island Bredskär there was another highlight today: A 360°C halo round the sun.

Next week?

It looks like we expect colder temperatures, sun and calm weather. I hope, I have more opportunities to do some kayaking.