When the rain comes, look for the light
Midnight sun on the Stor-Kjølen
Yes, I was tired Saturday evening after travelling back from Obbola to Tromsø. But the weather was so nice and I already had started thinking about going up the mountain Stor-Kjølen for experiencing the midnight sun up there. Finally I made a decision. Let’s go. I packed water, a camping mat, a sleeping back, but most of all my camera equipment and went off. It is only a twenty minute drive to the lake Finnvikvatnet on the island Kvaløya where I parked my car. From there it is round 5½ km to the top and a good 500 metres of elevation gain.
When I start my tour at around 10 o’clock the sun is low. The sun is low, but it won’t set tonight – and not for the next twenty days either. The landscape glows in warm colours. The ground is dry, but soon I cross the first tiny snowfield.
The path winds its way through grassy terrain scattered with stones and rocks. Stray snowfields lie on both sides of the path and the radar station on top of Stor-Kjølen has come into view.
The first lake flanks the trail. Slowly, the terrain is becoming rockier.
I look back and already now the hiking tour was a success. Lakes, hills – some grassy, some rocky – and at the horizon a mountain range. So beautiful in the warm light of the low sun.
For a while, grassy patches and rocky ground alternate …
… then the altitude takes command. Only snow and rocks are present and the vegetation is reduced mostly to mosses and lichens. I have to cross a large snow field but the ground is not slippery.
But then I arrive on the stone-covered plateau of Stor-Kjølen, where I can see a small cairn in front of me, a tall cairn marking the summit and the radar station. And if you look closely you can see a small cabin in front of the station. It’s a shelter for hikers. I’m alone, so I can use it for the night.
I want to take photos of the midnight sun, so I start experimenting with some sun-facing shots. These photos are much darker than reality. While the light is warm, it is still bright daylight.
The mountains and the sea all glow in hazy orange hues when I look against the sun.
But I have a mission – taking a photo of the midnight sun. Here it is. Unfortunately there is a small, transparent cloud in front of the sun that makes it look like a white splotch instead of a circle. Bad luck!
Bad luck? Not really. We have summer time, so the lowest position of the sun is one hour later – or a bit more accurate 0:48 due to local solar time. So I had some spare time to take more photo from the stone-covered flat top.
Then it was time: The sun as its lowest position. Ok – I was three minutes late, but the solar path is so flat that it doesn’t matter when taking photos. The light is the same. And eventually the little cloud was vanished.
Just a selfie with my mobile phone, then it is time for bed, at last. (A down hoodie? Yes – it is windy and only +5 °C.)
I enter the shelter, roll out my sleeping mat on the floor and lie down, using my sleeping bag as a blanket. Cluck-cluck, cackle-cackle! What’s that? I peek out of the door and see that the hour of the ptarmigans has started. All around, these galliforms dart about, filling the air with their typical clucking. I am too tired to start another photo hunt so I just take some snapshots. (These photos are heavily cropped.)
But then it is finally time to sleep. The shelter is filled with light, the camping mats (I found another one in the shelter) are thin and the ground is hard. But then I doze off and …
… sleep. At least for a couple of hours.
End of April winter in Tromsø
When I woke up yesterday morning (28. April) and looked outside the window of my living room I was pretty surprised. I didn’t rain in the night, it had been snowing.
Round 15 cm of fresh snow had fallen within the last six hours and everything looked wintry again. In the centre of Tromsø however, 88 metres lower in elevation than my apartment only five cm of snow had fallen and the cars had smashed it to brown slush. What a difference!
Home again I watched a ptarmigan in the back yard. First it picked on a twig of a tree, then it dug itself into the snow and rested there for some hours. Couldn’t it see me behind the window pane or did it just ignore me? In the night it was gone.
Today I took my skis to work so that I could ski back home from the lake Prestvannet. This time the forecast was correct: we got a blue sky, the sun was shining at temperatures round +3 °C. At the harbour in the centre the view was quite spring-like.
Taking the bus from the center up to Prestvannet takes only 5 minutes, but there it is still winter season with snow depths round 90 cm. It’s astonishing what a difference in altitude of less than 100 metres can do.
Time to ski back, preferably not on the tracks but through the forests. After four kilometres on skis and 840 metres by foot I was home.
Two promenades on Tromsøya
Easter Monday – from Sydspissen to home
On Easter Monday we got surprisingly fine weather in Tromsø. The sun was shining and the sky was blue. I took the bus to Sydspissen – the southern tip of Tromsøya – because it has been ages since I’ve been there. A lot of snow has melted away and tussilago was blooming everywhere. I passed the beach at Telegrafbukta and the pier at Folkeparken came into view. I know the this area well, because I lived nearby for quite some time.
I went on, enjoying the sun and ignoring the chilly wind. Don’t let your eyes fool you, the max temperature was about +2 °C. I passed the old boat house Engenesnaustet, saw a lonely winter kayaker and passed the small lighthouse.
I was not alone. A lot of other people took the holiday to take a promenade, sit side by side or do some barbecuing. I took the liberty to remove some people from the photos.
I wondered if the old, abandoned boathouse was still open? It was. A bit away from the shore there was some leftover snow. The tussilago flowers didn’t care, they were blooming anyhow.
Now it was not far away to the boat houses of the two kayak clubs in Tromsø. TSI Trulle and Tromsø Havpadleklubb. Here I start all my kayak tours in Tromsø, because my own kayak is in Obbola in Swede, so I use to hire one here. Season has just started and I want to paddle a lot this year!
At the bus stop Giæverbukta I missed my bus. 28 minutes of waiting or two kilometres of walking? Easy decision: I walked.
It was fascinating that the coast was mostly free of snow, while MET, the meteorological institute inside the island measured a snow depth of about 80 cm that day. At an elevation of 100 metres. And so the walk became snowy in the end. But spring showed up here as well: some willows had started to bloom.
Intermezzo – more snow
Yesterday afternoon it started snowing. Some snow showers were pretty dense. And sometimes I got one of my favourite weathers: snow flurry and sun at the same time. So beautiful. I tried to take pictures but the result became quite ugly, because the snow against the camera looks dark.
This morning ten more centimetres of snow have fallen, even in the lowland areas. All Scilla flowers in the centre were covered in snow and for the photo I had to look to find some flowers not being completely buried.
Friday (today) – from Prestvannet to home
I use to walk home twice a week after work. Then I take the bus to the lake Prestvannet to skip the boring (and steep) parts. Today I do the same. Additional snow showers have increased the snow depth to 92 cm, but it has started clearing up, when I begin my way home at 15:00. The fresh snow gives the lake an untouched appearance and the first lifebuoy is snowed over almost completely. Could it be January? No, the light is different.
I follow the ski trail a bit then I follow the smaller paths. They have hardly been used today, mostly by a single skier or pedestrian.
But then I come to an area where the snowy paths are completely untouched. No one has used them today. Imagine that: You are on a island with 43000 inhabitants. Many of them are enthusiastic skiers and outdoor maniacs. It is Friday afternoon and the sun is shining. And I trudge through 15 cm of untouched fresh snow. This is absolutely brilliant; I’ve never experienced anything like this before!
Gutta på skauen
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.
A gorgeous cross-country ski tour in Saariselkä
This article is part of the series “2025-02: Finnmark”.
After days of car driving through the Norwegian Finnmark we crossed borders to Finland two days ago. Yesterday we arrived in Saariselkä in the northernmost Finnish region “Lapland”. Saariselkä is a popular tourist destination, especially for cross-country skiers. So we decided to make a cross-country ski tour today despite of the grey and dull weather that the weather forecast showed us for the region.
After breakfast we took our skies, walked to the tent-like starting point and started skiing. Oh my – after using the broader “fjellski” a lot the thin cross-country skis felt like skiing on matches! I had some difficulties and blamed myself but then realised, that beside of my stiffness one of the skins – permanently glued to the ski – started to peel off. We abandoned the tour in hope to find someone that can fix this. So the first ski tour was just 1.17 km – yay!
We were extremely lucky. We soon found a ski rental and got the problem fixed within a minute. The employee even refused getting paid. Kiitos paljon! So – back to the starting point.
Meanwhile the weather that had been ignoring the forecast as usual started clearing up. Temperatures were around -8 to -9 °C and it was calm. Perfect skiing conditions, if you ask me. This time I felt a bit more comfortable.
We unmounted our skis at a short but uncomfortably steep passage, where the trail crossed a stream in a small valley. Last night’s fog had added rime to the snowy trees.
After this short obstacle the trail got easier and was extremely pleasant to ski on. Plus, the trail was perfectly prepared and the sky cleared up more and more. But let the photos speak for themselves:
Was it as empty as on the photos? Almost. There were a few other skiers, but not many.
After about 7 km we reached the first cabin – Rumakuru Päivätupa. We took just a short break and decided to continue to the next cabin – Luulampi, taking a break there. We passed Rumakuru Vanhatupa and after 4 km we arrived at the large cabin Luulampi.
My dreams of eating cake in the cabin were destroyed. The café was closed. So we skied to the small hut nearby were we took a lunch break. Annika grilled sausages in the fire, while I ate two Karelian pirogs. Then we shared some biscuits.
And then? Taking the more advanced ski trail that climbs at least 150 other metres, leading to the road and then hoping for a bus or a lift? Or just taking the same way back? We chose the latter.
As usual I took much less photos on the way back. One of the reasons: it had become cloudy and the sun had vanished. Now the landscape was more monochrome, but still very beautiful.
We passed the other cabins again, and again we unmounted our skis at the steep descend and ascend. And then, after some more descends we were back in town. Here there are a lot of people, that do not ski and you have to remind them, that ski tracks are – well – ski tracks and not open for pedestrians, cyclists or snowshoers. Mostly it helps …
I tracked today’s tour. The second and real tour was 21.95 km, which adds up to a total of a bit more than 23 km on cross-country skis. I guess, Annika and I will feel our muscles tomorrow. I feel them already now.
This was one of the finest cross-country ski tours I’ve made in the last years. Thank you, Annika for the tour!
Advent season home in Obbola
It was four days ago that I arrived in my “home home”, Annika’s and my house in Obbola. And we got some winter weather. First we got twenty centimetres of snow. We took a Saturday promenade to our favourite beach Vitskärsudden which looked like this:
It continued snowing and blowing the whole Saturday but then it cleared up in the night and Sunday morning the sky was clear at temperatures round -12 °C. I waited until 9:20 to watch the sun rise over the sea.
Later that day Annika and I took the very same promenade to Vitskärsudden again but it looked so differently in the sun.
In the night it became stormy. We have experienced some storms here before, but this was the very first time that I couldn’t open the front door at all. It was completely blocked by snow. I had to climb out of the snow-plastered kitchen window and shovel away the compact snow drift that blocked the door.
And this is how our house looked like some hours ago. Now it is clear and calm weather and -14 °C.
The first Thursday paddling 2024
Yesterday on 18 April was the first organised Thursday paddling of the Tromsø Sea Kayakers Club this year. I was eager to join. I took a photo when I arrived at the boat houses:
What is special about this photo? I can show you. In comparison – these are photos I took on other first Thursday paddlings. One on 4 May 2023, one on 28 April 2022.
So this was my first time opening the kayak season in Tromsø where it didn’t snow! Instead the sky was blue, the sun was shining and the temperature round 1 °C. But it was so windy!
Me prepared our kayaks and made ourselves ready and then had a talk about where to go. The tour leaders make proposals and have the last word.
This timewe would go south – against the wind – and see if we make it to Telegrafbukta. OK, let’s go!
I didn’t take a lot of pictures because the wind punished each photo instantly by blowing me back. We took a rest seeking shelter in the lee of a breakwater where one of my fellow kayakers provided us with goodies.
Shall we continue? Yes, ok for all of us. So we left our shelter and continued further south.
The more south we came the stronger the wind got and the higher the waves. We weren’t alone. On the other side of the sound a commercial boat headed south. Nearer a sailing boat, driven my a part of its fore sail. I however had to fight to keep up with the others and I was glad, that Telegrafbukta is not far away.
There we took a break. A short one though because of the chilly wind.
On the way back it felt like a complete different tour. Now we could take it easy. Both wind and waves just pushed us ahead and we hadn’t to do much to keep momentum. Soon the colourful boat houses of the club were in view and a short time later we arrived. A pity, that I didn’t track this tour. I would have liked to know the difference of the speeds there and back.
Most of us kept ourselves near to the shore but some of us like wind and waves and were a bit further out. Here a b/w snapshot of B. in his self-built Greenland kayak. It’s too far away to reveal its beauty.
Spring winter kayaking through the ice.
After yesterday’s ugly and windy conditions the weather today looked quite promising. A good ooportunity to take another kayak tour. At eight o’clock I put on dry suit and life vest and dragged my kayak to the open water by the islet Lillskär.
I paddled slowly to give two pairs of swans time to retreat and then kayaked round the islet. Here a large field of ice floes awaited me.
There were open patches of water, but mostly I paddled through dense ice fields that were moved by long and smooth waves. The large floes were 30 cm thick, some of them even thicker.
How does paddling through the ice work? Most ice floes are small enough to be pushed aside. I tried to paddle around the larger ice floes. Sometimes I bumped into them. and sometimes I just paddled over them by purpose – “brute force”.
After a kilometre I reached open water and then another ice field with thinner and smaller ice floes. Here I could just paddle through and the transparent ice glittered in the sun.
I wanted to reach the “ice berg” south of the islands Obbolstenarna. Out there is a large shallow with some rocks. There the waves build a temporary island of ice and snow. This year it was two to three metres high. I didn’t dare to circumnavigate this icy island because in the shallows around the waves were high and breaking. I considered this being too risky to kayak there since I was alone.
I didn’t kayak around Obbolstenarna neither for the same reasons so I returned. I could see the Finnland ferry in the harbour some kilometres away. Soon I entered the ice field again.
As on the way there I paddled through the floes without any problems. I only landed in a dead end once and that was on purpose for the photo.
Since the weather was great it was so exceptionally beautiful out there I parked my kayak on a larger ice floe and took a short break.
Then it was time to return to the ice edge, walk back to our house and enter my office because this was my first day of a week of home office. Farewell ice floes. Thanks for good company.
