It’s summer Jun 11 2017

When you look out of your window and see long green grass in the urgent need of being cut, where 4 weeks ago a snow shower covered the whole garden with white …

When you go along the river Skellefteälven and finally other flowers started to bloom than only tussilago …

When nights are no dark nights any longer and it will take many weeks until you can see the first stars again …

When you paddle on the river Skellefteälven, barefoot, just with t-shirt and shorts, not with a drysuit as three weeks ago and you even enjoy becoming wet by some breaking waves, because it’s so refreshing …

… then it’s summer in Northern Sweden.

And summer is more than welcome after the long winter. By the way, summer solstice is just 10 days away.

Opening the “no-ice” kayak season May 22 2017

A short tour round the peninsula Kallholmen, just to open the kayak season.

… at least the “no-ice” kayak season. It’s not my first tour this year, but the first one was a winter tour four months ago and completely different.

Abroad north – climbing the mountain Roßkopf May 7 2017

I’m at Arlanda Airport, waiting for my flight to Skellefteå. I’m longing home to Skelleftehamn but my thoughts are still in Germany, where I visited C. and O. – two fantastic friends who live in Munich – yesterday.

Since the weather promised to be good, we decided to make a tour near Spitzingsee in the German Alps. We soon realised that all lifts and cable cars were closed and so we decided to climb the mountain Roßkopf (1580 m). It won’t be so hard, it’s just 500 meters up and then down the other side to the Albert-Link-Hütte, which is famous for its Kaiserschmarrn!

There was not much snow round the lake Spitzingsee (1084 m) but you could see, that some slopes and mountain tops were still quite white. Anyway I thought that it wouldn’t be so much. The Roßkopf is hardly 100 meter higher than the Feldberg were I’d been the Sunday before.

I had to smile about the man that went down the grass covered ski slope with huge ski boots, shouldering a pair of skis. Did he find any snow to glide down more than ten metres, I wondered. Well, I might have been wrong …

We started going up the grassy slope, partly following the way, partly just going up. There were some leftover snow fields to cross, but mostly we went on bare ground, looking at the countless flowers. When we went up the first slope we turned left and soon the way was completely covered with snow.

We carefully avoided the places round the little brooks and stream to avoid getting wet feet. Anyway I guessed that the snow was round 50 cm deep – more than expected.

Some skiers approached, effortlessly gliding downhills. We went up until we came to a place with another ski lift. It was closed too. Shall we take the longer but flatter snowy way through the forest or just go uphills? We decided for the latter knowing that we could take as many rests as we wanted. We saw some skiers, but no one on foot as we ourselves.

Two worlds in the mountains. C and O ascending the slope in the backgtround

Well, we managed the slope, but it was hard work and we rested more than once, before we continued plodding through at least knee deep snow. But it was worth it. When we stood on the mountain saddle that leads to the Roßkopf we had a gorgeous view onto the much higher mountain tops in the South.

We went to the Roßkopf were we met some other hikers without skis or snowshoes. We learned that there would be no really easy way down but we soon made up our minds about our way down.

Skiing – the superior type of locomotion

The first steps went well, then we landed in a large patch of much deeper snow. My legs disappeared completely in the wet snow several times. It was easier however to glide down there than on the lower parts of the slope, that were partly snowy, partly grassy and partly covered with slippery clay. None of us managed to go down the whole way without slipping.

I didn’t expect that so much snow would have been left even on the less high mountains in the beginning of May. So I took a picture of me myself being stuck in the snow. It might be a bit overexaggerated perhaps …:

Soon we arrived less steep terrain where we just could plod through the snow again. After another fifteen minutes we were in the land of Spring again.

But when we looked up we could see the land of Winter. That very land that we touch just half an hour before.

So – much snow left in the German mountains. But how about home? Will I still have snow in my backyard in Skelleftehamn? I don’t know. I’ll see it in some hours.

Valborgsmässoafton abroad Apr 30 2017

Valborgsmässoafton, the day before the Walpurgis Night is a quite important feast in Sweden and uses to be celebrated with a big bonfire.

Personally I connect the 30 April and the 1 May to last seasons snowfalls. It snowed on 1 May 2014, it snowed on 30 April 2015, so it didn’t surprised my that quite a lot of snow fell in Skelleftehamn today – round 5 – 10 cm.

But something was different this year.

I’m not in Skelleftehamn. Nor am I in Sweden. I’m about 2000 km south-southwest in Freiburg near the Black Forest.

I love mountains because you can look far and I love snow. After hesitating a bit – I can be quite lazy! – I picked myself up, packed some clothes, equipment and food, walked to the main station and took the train to High Black Forest to “climb” the Feldberg, Germany’s highest mountain outside of the Alps. The Feldberg has been already free of snow this spring, but the cold weather with high precipitation brought a lot of new snow to the mountain tops this week.

But today it promised to be warm and sunny.

Already from the train you could see some of these snow-covered tops and patches of snow everywhere, but the trees were green and many flowers were blooming. The same in Feldberg-Bärental, where I left the train and started my hike. The path itself was bare of snow, but the slopes beside the path were covered with wet snow.

Soon I arrived at the Feldsee, a lake formed by the last Ice Age. Here I made a short stop, drank some water, took some photos and continued up through the forests, where the path not only got much smaller, but much snowier as well.

I went up the snowy and slippery path through the forest and came first to a Hotel with a parking place. That’s exactly those things I don’t want to see, when I’m outdoors to enjoy nature. Anyway it was just a short interruption, now another way climbed uphills. I wasn’t alone at all and so many people had used the same way before me, that it was almost completely snowless.

Soon (but a bit out of puff; we don’t have mountains in Skelleftehamn) I approached the first top. Not the Feldberg but the Seebugg (1448 m). I guessed that the very top of the Feldberg itself would be quite crowded and took a rest between these two tops.

You see the rubber boots? Quite good for snow but too warm when not cooled by the snow. I put them off while resting right after having taken this photo.

But the Feldberg (1493 m) was near and I continued my tour on the broad snow-ploughed street-like way.

From the top I had several views.

First of all I saw many other people. Then the snow covered slopes other white mountains nearby. Behind them the green springlike lowlands.

And far away in the south I could recognise the faint snow covered mountains of Switzerland, some of them are almost three times as high as the Feldberg!

Many people had sneakers on or flat shoes, but down jackets that I considered much too warm. Since I had left the forest I only had a t-shirt on because I found it really warm, even on the top. On the other side I was probably the only one with rubber boots on today. They belong to my usual baggage, while mountain boots don’t. Anyway the rubber boots have one advantage when combined with a waterproof camera. You can make pictures like these:

Feldsee – snow covered mountains and swimming fish

You might have guessed it. This photo was taken at/in the Feldsee not on the Feldberg.

The descent was quite unspectacular and much shorter, since I took another way. A bus brought me back to the very same train station were I’d started the tour four hours ago.

The last days of ice fishing Apr 8 2017

An ice fisher looking for prey, the halo encircled sun above

Early April weather (a short log book) Apr 5 2017

Friday, 31 Mars: I rehearsed for next days jazz concert with AÅO Trio and Hans Åkesson and it was sunny in Skellefteå.

Saturday, 1 April: I played that concert at the very same place and it snowed. April weather!

Sunday, 2 April: It continued snowing and a new layer of 5 cm of snow covered Skelleftehamn. What a nice birthday present for a winter lover like me!

Still Sunday: While the ice fishing season in Skelleftehamn is finally over, the ice fishers on the big lake Burträsket beside the town Burträsk took advantage of the last days of save ice. And it was many of them!

Monday, 3 April: We had a great late winter day with blue sky above our heads and fresh, white snow under our feet, when we took a promenade along the river Skellefteälven. We – that’s not only Annika and me but also my mother who visited me for some days. It was the first time that she came outside of the summer months and I’m really glad that she got some nice winter impressions.

Yesterday, 4. April: Yesterday it was almost 13 °C in town.

Today, 5. April: it was colder and partly cloudy, but we got a fantastic sundown. What a colourful contrast to the dull weather the ice fishers had experienced.

And the weather next weekend? Well, I don’t know and the weather institute neither. That’s two weekend forecasts of the SMHI – the 1st from Monday afternoon, the 2nd from Tuesday morning:

Forecast for the weekend as shown on 3 April, 16:03

Forecast for the weekend as shown on 4 April, 06:42

Ice fishing in Skelleftehamn Mar 25 2017

When it’s as warm and sunny as today many ice fishers enjoy sitting on their little folding stools on the ice, that still covers a small part of the bay Kallholmsfjärden in Skelleftehamn. I guess it’s both the glorious springlike weather as well as the knowledge that there may not be many opportunities left to set foot on the ice and do “pimpelfiske” this season. The open water in the background is quite near.

Some hours earlier: I stand at the very edge of the peninsula Näsgrundet and look at the Baltic Sea, which is partly ice covered and partly open. As it looks, I could both walk and paddle to the island Gåsören. I do neither nor. I don’t dare walking since the ice may be weak and I’m just too lazy to take the kayak today.

Visiting the “Vindelälvsdraget” Mar 20 2017

Yesterday Annika and I went to Vännäsby , 25 km away from Umeå, to view the 30th Vindelälvsdraget which is the world biggest draught dog relay according to the organisers. It started in Ammarnäs in the Swedish mountains on Thursday and ended just in Vännasby on Sunday. That’s a distance of 381 km in three and a half days.

Some of the competitors used a sledge pulled by four to six dogs, but most of them skated on skis and had one or two dogs dragging (more or less). They came along on the frozen river Vindelälven, turned into the river Umeåälven, which they had to leave right after the bridge. Some of the teams managed it perfectly while others had to shout höger! (right) to the dogs several times until they obeyed. The river bank is quite steep and was a real challenge for the discipline of the dogs. One of them just rolled in the snow while the skier tried not to slip and fall, while some others were shortly distracted by the smell of the grilled sausage by the trail. However all teams managed to come up where there were only some 100 metres left to the finishing line.

The speaker at the finishing line was great. His talk was so “adagio”, laid back and completely free of any stress. I really enjoyed his almost zen-like moderation which was the total opposite of the normal sport presenters stressful reporting attitude. My kudos!

Some photos:

Links: Website / Information pdf (both in Swedish)

Three times outdoor barbecue Mar 12 2017

This week vårvintern – “the spring winter” – really has been here. Some degrees above zero during the day, some degrees below at night and still a lot of ice and snow around.

On Tuesday Hans, a friend of mine, and I looked around Bureå’s surroundings. There are many places that are historically interesting or just beautiful and cozy. Some of the historical places however were either snowed in or hard to approach in winter time.

The river Bureälven in the middle of the city

A fire had already been lit of two snowmobilers in the barbecue hut at Burehällorna, a natural reserve at the coast. How good Hans had everything for hamburger grilling with him!

Hans also showed me Bureå camping, his new camping ground right next to the E4. We considered to use the wonderful sauna next to the river Bureälven but postponed it to another day. Even if Hans is going to realise only a third of his plans, this will be a great place to be!

Yesterday I met my friends Annica and Martin and we went to their hut in Bygdeträsk. Anyway we didn’t heat the hut, we stayed outside. After shovelling away the snow to have a place to sit, Martin lit an outdoor fire directly on the icy ground and we grilled sausages. And warmed up apple pie! Sausages have never been my favourite meal of mine, but I really like them when they have been grilled above open fire – even if partly cold, partly burnt. Those who love outdoor grilling over open fire will know what I mean.

Believe it or not – I didn’t make a single photo!

Today Hans, his friend Stefan and I met at Kågehamn and we took a sauna jaunt. Kågehamn is situated at the bay Kågefjärden which has round a dozen islands. We skied over the snow covered sea ice to the island Bastuholmen were Hans has two cabins and a sauna on rafts. While Hans and Stefan started to saw a hole into the ice I fired the sauna oven.

Hans and Stefan opening up a hole in the ice

While we waited for the sauna getting hot we grilled. After all the hamburgers and sausages of the week I preferred burgers with halloumi cheese today.

Then we went into the sauna that had been heated up to 60 °C and went into the ice hole several times. I cut my leg, because the ice at the edge is quite sharp. After two rounds of sauna we packed our stuff and skied back again.

If it comes to taking pictures I definitely prefer the cold winter in January, but if it comes to meeting friends and having fun outdoors, vårvintern is just great!

Skiing from Skelleftehamn to Skellefteå Mar 6 2017

In summer 2015 I tested the Kraftleden, which connects Skelleftehamn, where I live, with the town of Skellefteå. I’d found it not worth to go, since it was both a bit boring and in bad shape (thickets, boggy ground …).

Anyway Kraftleden was originally a cross-country ski trail, not a hiking trail and when I read that the trail is well-prepared for the Kraftloppet – a cross-country ski competition that takes place next weekend – I thought about giving it a second chance, this time on skis.

I started at the very same starting point as 20 months before. Temperature was round -13 °C, perfect for skiing.

After I followed the scooter trails some hundred metres I reached the electrical power line, name giver of the Kraftleden and starting point of the well-prepared ski trail.

(Power line in Swedish is “kraftledning”, which sounds quite similar to “Kraftleden”, meaning “the power trail”.)

And that’s what the first part of the Kraftleden looked like: A straight on ski trail under a power line. As in summer I found it a bit boring but the fantastic prepared ski trail compensated the slightly dull surrounding. I cursed a bit, because my own cross-country skis are really old and sooo sloooow. So I decided to ignore the fact, that I was slow and moved like a troll and to enjoy the great weather instead. And weather was just great!

Winter forest I (do you see the snowmobile?)

Perhaps two hours later I could see the first houses of Morö backe, a district of Skellefteå, but it took me almost another hour (including finding the right way), until I finished my tour at Vitberget, Skellefteås ski centrum.

The ski slope of Vitberget in Skellefteå

Now I unmounted my skis and took a promenade into the center, where I visited a friend, had a lunch and then took the bus back to Skelleftehamn.

Conclusion: The Kraftleden is nice to ski in winter, when prepared. Today I went it the first time, but definitely the last time with my ancient skis. I have to buy new ones.