Break at work IV – skiing through the forest Dec 16 2022

It’s Friday, the last day before weekend and the last opportunity this week to take a break at work.

In the morning I participated a workshop via video conference from my home office in Obbola. I just love the view through the window, where I can see the sun rising over the Baltic Sea and the snow covered backyard.

The workshop ended at 12:20. Right after that I took my old backcountry skis and dressed for a ski tour through the forests. Sunny, calm, -12°C. I wanted to go “Spåret”, a local forest trail. I followed the gravel road, crossed a ditch and followed the trail. Some hundred metres I was lost. When the snow is fresh everything looks quite alike. So I just made my own path. The fluffy snow was as deep as on the trail.

Later I found Spåret again and followed it. I walked through the shadows because the sun didn’t rise more than 3.3° above the horizon today. But at the part north of the treeless swamp the sun had a chance to peek into the forest edge.

At the road I decided to walk straight ahead instead of turning right to avoid the asphaltwith my skis. This was when I lost Spåret for good. Mostly I followed animal tracks because optical orientation is hard when it looks like this:

But it was fun because there was always something to see, even in a forest covered with 40 cm of snow. A frozen puddle at the rim of a swamp – a small pine covered with rime – thick animal tracks – the temporary (and abandoned) snow cave of a black grouse.

Sometimes I could see a roof of the house or hear a car. It’s Obbola, no wilderness. And so I came to the road that we use to take to town. I didn’t follow it but took a side road today. Less asphalt, more snow!

I arrived home at 13:55, some minutes after sunset. Again the horizon was coloured orange – and again I had a video meeting.

Break at work III – running to Vitskärsudden Dec 15 2022

It’s sunny again and significantly warmer than yesterday, but still -12 °C. I do not have time to take a longer break, so today’s plan is just running to Vitskärsudden. I’m a bit faster on the streets that have been cleared of snow and much slower on the snowy parts. I took a short photo break at the beach of Vitskärsudden, but no winter bath. Would have been a challenge between the ice floes. This break took round 30 minutes, including the photo break.

Break at work II – ice paddling Dec 14 2022

Today has been another clear and calm day. It was colder than the day before with temperatures round -19 °C. Today’s plan was paddling, at least round Lillskär, the small skerry nearby.

Step 1 – fetching the kayak

I knew exactly where our kayaks are. They lay in the garden – hidden under a layer of powder snow. So the first part of my paddle tour was digging out my kayak.

Step 2 – dressing and get equipment

Survival suit · thick mittens · ice claws · smartphone · camera · waterproof bag for the camera · paddle. Just the basics, I won’t go far.

Step 3 – crossing the ice

After some frosty days the ice on the shallow bay seemed to be thick enough to support my weight. I walked over the ice dragging the kayak behind. At the edge of the bay there was an ice range that I had to cross. I entered the kayak and mostly I used my ice claws to drag myself forward. Sometimes the ice supported the weight of me in the kayak, sometimes we broke through. Although the ice range to cross was only 100 metres wide I had to take several breaks. Some to take photos, some to catch my breath.

Step 3 – paddling

Then I reached open water. Almost. The water was covered with a thin layer of transparent ice needles that made the water look crystallised. It slowed down the waves and I could hear the high-pitched clinking while I was paddling through. Very fascinating!

In addition to that the sea was smoking. When it is as cold as today, the surface water evaporates and quickly resublimes to tiny ice grains that build this moving fog that colours the sea in a pale white.

Step 4 – visiting an ice exhibition

When I passed Lillskär I bent right to the mainland. There were some ice-coated rocks and thicker ice floes there – an extremely beautiful view in the low sunlight. I just went straight ahead. The first ice floes were split by my kayak, on the thicker once I had to use my ice claws again to move forward.

Step 5 – back to land

I realised, that my tour has taken much longer than planned, although the distance was tiny. I was clad in my survival suit, the kayak was on the ice and in 20 minutes my video meeting would begin. I had to hurry up!

The ice near the mainland was too thick to paddle through, but too thin to walk on. So, ice claws again. Not easy, when you lack trained arm and abdominal muscles. When I approached another shallow, I just left the kayak, splashed a bit trough soft ice and knee deep water until I reached the bay again.

From there I could walk on the ice and drag my kayak behind until I reached our property. I went to the house and transformed from paddle guy to IT guy as fast as possible. I informed my boss and colleagues that I would by 5 minutes late. That gave my the chance to take a hot shower, because I was freezing.

Did I miss anything of the meeting? No, the others had to fix audio and that took longer than my shower.

After the meeting, round 12:15 I walked out again to make a photo of the cloud bank and the sea smoke in the low winter sun.

Tomorrow shall be another cold and sunny day. Let’s see how I’ll spend my work break …

Break at work I – island hopping Dec 13 2022

The Baltic Sea at Obbola has hardly a tidal range. When we get high water or low water it’s mostly due to the wind. Today we had gusty wind from north that let the air temperature of -12 °C feel much colder and to a sea water level of 70 cm below normal, that’s really rare.

Today I took a break at work to enjoy my beloved winter weather. Today’s plan: island hopping to Lillskär, a skerry less than 250 metres away.

Along the small bay I walked to the sea. A lot of rocks that normally are underwater were visible now, some of them wore rings of ice.

The skerry was even nearer than usual when I took this photo because I already stood on the ice. You see parts of the skerry in the right.

I had a decision to make: Shall I try to cross the ice or just wade through the icy water? I decided to wade, because you can get bruises when you go through the ice, even in my thick neoprene survival overall.

So I waded through the water which was less than hip deep. On the islet I had to wade through some thigh deep snow drifts, then I arrived at the outer shore of the islet.

Oh, I love winter when it’s a bit rough and I enjoyed being out. But not for long. Soon I went more or less the same way back …

… and home. After I had changed clothes I had five more minutes until the 10 o’clock meeting. Good timing.

And suddenly it’s winter Dec 12 2022

Last Tuesday it got sunny and I paddled kayak. On Wednesday it got cold and the small sound between island Lillskär and mainland was covered with ice.

Wednesday morning in Obbola: ice onthe sea

Although it’s mid-December and despite temperatures between -10 °C and -14 °C there were still whooper swans around. Don’t they migrate south? In the morning they managed to paddle through last night’s fresh and thin sea ice. In the afternoon the swans had left. Perhaps they finally decided to fly south.

On Thursday it snowed. In the afternoon 10 cm of fresh snow had fallen and everything was white and bright, even in the night.

On Friday Annika and I had a day off and visited friends in for a long weekend. They live in Kusfors in the inland, round 180 km north. On the way there and there we found more winter. It was not very cold but it snowed quite a lot. I took some images from the car while Annika was driving.

Yesterday on Sunday we came back to our house in Obbola round 20:00. Our property was covered with 45 of fresh snow. Since it had been sub-zero all the days the snow was pretty fluffy. We had to do quite a bit of snow shovelling – but after taking a photo.

Today it’s Monday and a new working week has begun. I had a lot of meetings today and therefore no time to paddle kayak. Oh yes, the kayaks … where are they? I know they lie beside the wooden terrace. Here they are, well hidden under a thick blanket of snow, right beside the window of the winter garden.

But there are other things to do as well. For example opening the afterwork ski season in Olles Spår near Umeå together with Annika. The snow is still soft and the cross-country skiing trail still slow but the first time of skiing is always special and we are happy and grateful that we live in a place where winter is around us.

Now it’s half past nine in the evening and I’m blogging. Snow is falling and the thermometer shows -9.5 °C, the same temperature as the last hours.

And you? What kind of winter do you like? Or do you prefer other seasons?

Finally it’s sunny again home in Sweden! Dec 7 2022

After a period of dull and cloudy weather that felt like ages the sun finally came out yesterday. Since I was flexible with working hours in the morning I could make a small kayak tour.

The first part was easy. Since our house in Obbola is on the coast I only had to change my clothes and drag the kayak from the house to the bay. The bay was covered with ice. As usual I just sat in my kayak and started pushing myself ahead using ice claws. This works surprisingly well until you have a lot of water on the ice as I had yesterday. Although I wore neoprene gloves I got cold fingers. As usual this took some time but finally I reached open water.

It was then that I realised that I had forgot my paddle. Fortunately the bay is shallow and I could leave the kayak, step on the ice and carefully walk back to land to fetch the paddle. Some minutes later I sat in my kayak again ready to circle the island Bredskär. I watched the hooting whooper swans and even four flying goldeneyes, a species of ducks. At the northwestern tip of the island there was a small, slushy ice field, the rest was open water. The big freezing hadn’t started yet. When I reached the eastern side of the island I could watch the sunrise some minutes after 9 o’clock.

The last part of the otherwise calm tour was surprisingly wavy. When one breaking wave came out of nothing and of course directly from the side I was afraid that I could capsize but the wave just lifted me gently up half a metre and down again. I was lucky. Sometimes it’s nice to own a less agile but super stable boat.

Even it was only some degrees minus the kayak was covered with a layer of frost that glittered in the warm light of the sun. I just had to take another photo when I was back on land.

And then? After taking a hot shower I made it to the 10 o’clock meeting. In time!

A late winter ski tour May 1 2022

It has snowed the whole week and yesterday I finally took the opportunity to do a ski tour in the mountains. Since I’m not a downhill skier I chose the Fløyfjellet area on the mainland. There it is hilly, but not steep and you can take the cable car Fjellheisen to Storsteinen (421 m). The four-minute ride is expensive but worth it.

I’ve been there several times but never with skis.

I put on the skins and go outside. What are these funny snowed in thingies? The left one could be a slide. I remember the playground here. And behind that? Is it not a fence but a swing!? So much snow?

Note: Yes, it’s a slide and a swing. I found an older photo of mid-October 2020 for comparison.

I start my tour at Fjellstua, the mountain station of the cable car. It has stopped snowing and the sun comes out. I pass Steinbøhytta. It looks quite snowed in, but this cabin is built into the mountain.

Navigation to Fløya is easy when it’s clear because of the huge waymark with the wind vane. The summit itself is marked with the typical stone heap.

It’s just 12 o’clock when I reach Fløya and I continue skiing south. I am completely alone and beside of snow and some small, isolated rocks there is not much to see.

It starts snowing and gradually the snow fall intensifies until the visibility is between 50 and 100 metres. Not much in a snowy landscape. I see a small single rock, but nothing more.

Where is Bønntuva (or Romssavákkivárri), the next summit? I use compass and the Varsom app for navigation but I zigzag a bit anyhow. I realise that I go uphills. A good sign, when you want on a mountain. I’m almost at the top when I see the waymark. It’s a large but shallow pile of stones, almost completely snowed in. Time for a “summit selfie” and a break.

And then – all of the sudden – the clouds disappear and the sun comes out and instead of 50 m visibility it’s 15 kilometres and more.

After a short break I ski further south. Here I meet the first other people, two touring skiers. I enjoy the sun, the calmness, the view, the colours while skiing a long circle back.

Panoramic selfie in the wintry mountains

And soon the next snow appears. As fast as the sky cleared up visibility is very poor again and I have some difficulties navigating again.

I head west and then north again. The snow depth is 50-60 cm in average and my skis sink 15–20 cm into the snow with every step. Visibility has become much better again but everything looks dull in the grey, snowy weather. I’m exhausted. Time to take a break.

Still an hour to go, but at least it goes mostly downhills. Step. Step. Step. Looking up. Step. Step. Step.

Not far from the station I meet three women. They sit on huge camping mats in the snow and are cooking something. Their skis stuck in the snow and serve as a backrest. This looks cosy! We exchange a few words, then I continue. When I arrive at the mountain station I take a souvenir photo of Tromsøya. Ten minutes later I stand in the cable car on my way down. Five minutes later I stand by my car and stop the parking because this is expensive as well.

In the center of Tromsø it is thaw and a mixture of wet snow, soft ice and brown slush covers ways and roads. I’m glad that I had this wonderful day in the mountains though photo motives were a bit rare due to the poor visibility. Now I think it would be a good time for spring!

A hike to the Sørtinden between the seasons Apr 24 2022

After a springlike Easter week in southern Sweden I travelled back to my “work town” Tromsø on Easter Monday. Yesterday I was outdoors in the fjell. –the first time since the end of January.

What kind of tour will I go for? Is it skis or rubber boots? Let’s pack both, take the car to the parking place by the road 863 on the island Kvaløya and have a look.

OK. Let’s take boots! I lock the car and start crossing the bogs. Some parts are still frozen, others bounce like a wet sponge when being crossed. The terrain rises and soon my boots trudge through snow. Snow is still deep but so compact that I hardly sink more than 5–20 cm.

I slowly ascent the mountain landscape and leave the trees behind. Soon I reach the top of the hill Skavlikollen.

I continue north. I put off my jacket because I am sweating in the warm sun. I realise that I forgot a sun blocker and take my buff for protection. (It worked – no sunburn the next day!) While the higher mountains are still covered with snow I walk also on rocks and heather. The hilly and mountainous landscape looks beautiful in the sunny weather.

After round about 6 km I reach the top of Sørtinden (471 m). I’ve been there twice (1), (2), but only in autumn.

Here I take a rest and enjoy the view of mountains and fjords. I start to freeze and I’m glad about my down hoodie that fits into the camera backpack. The sun provides warmth but the air temperature is hardly above zero.

I choose another way back but get a bit “photo-lazy”. For the birch at the slope however I’ll take my camera out of the backpack.

Partly it is easy to walk down the snowy hills because you can glide, but parts of the snow has softened by the sun and more than once I break into knee deep snow. After 11.5 km of walking and snow trudging I arrive at the car. From there it’s only 20 minutes by car home.

That’s a good start for #onceaweek– my plan to make a new tour every week. Let’s see what I’ll do next weekend. When I look at next week’s weather forecast it might be a ski tour.

Two small winter paddling tours Mar 31 2022

Two small morning kayak tours I did this week. One two days ago, one today. Weather was just too great to sit inside the whole day: sunny with temperatures between -10 and -6 °C and a calm wind.

Here is a photo of each tour start:

As you can see it had snowed a bit between these two tours.

The day before yesterday I just wanted to circumnavigate the small islet Lillskär, but there was too much ice to cross and crossing ice with a kayak takes time. And since I work full time, time is limited. So I just paddled around a bit and then back.

Due to the frosty temperatures the ice was thicker today though hardly more extended. I started at the same place but then continued to the island Bredskär. From there I wanted to circumnavigate the island Bredskärssten, but the same story as two days before: At the northern shore of the island there was an ice field. Crossing it would have taken too much time so I changed my plans and made a smaller tour. Nice to be outdoors anyhow!

How do you cross ice with a kayak? If the ice is safe, just walk. You wear a drysuit and have your safety equipment with you, don’t you!? If the ice is very thin, just paddle through (use your cheapest paddle). But if the ice is between 1–2 cm, the ice may not bear you and you cannot use the blades of the paddle neither.

Then you can use isdubbar – part of the ice safety equipment. With these ice claws it is possible to pull yourself forward while sitting in the kayak.

Using ice claws to pull the kayak over the ice

If you are lucky the ice is thick enough to let the kayak glide over it quite fast. If you are less lucky the kayak will constantly break though and then it can be pretty exhausting, especially when the ice claws break the ice as well. Then it is sometimes simpler to pull yourself forward by grabbing the ice with your hands. Waterproof gloves or mittens strongly recommended!

White swans in Obbola Mar 29 2022

After two weeks in Tromsø i travelled home to Obbola last weekend, where I will work from home for two weeks.

When Annika and I looked out of the window yesterday we could see 3 swans swimming in the water between the small islet Lillskär and us. Oh, another 3 nearby, that’s 6 swans. And another one, and two more.

After some snowfall it had cleared up yesterday and it got colder in the night. This morning the temperature was below -12 °C. When I walked to the coast the water before Lillskär was covered with ice. The swans lay on the ice sleeping. They discovered and watched me but since I was slow and did not come too near they soon tucked their beaks under their feathers again and continued dozing.