Sunday 1/3 – Saturday 7/3

Sunday 1/3

I was awoken by the sound of the telephone shutting itself off in the middle of the night; apparently it had somehow managed to deplete its battery way ahead of time. I had huge trouble getting back to sleep, and I just slumbered a bit towards the end. It seemed to be another fair day, but clouds were approaching from the west, and before I knew it things were mostly white and it started to snow. I fixed some things in the upper cottage and then continued with my sawing project, during which it became perfectly clear that it was getting warmer quickly. I then relaxed inside with some fjället while outside the clouds started to lift somewhat, but there was still snow in the air.

After lunch I launched into the baking of an improvised cake, meant to try out the oven-on-the-hob that had been delivered, since there is no actual oven in Aktse. It turned out alright, albeit not exactly as expected, and I learnt some lessons from it; when it was done I sampled it with afternoon tea and fruit. During the preparation there had been a soft light outside, but it was gone now, and in its place there was only falling snow. I read some more fjället and fiddled with some papers, and then it was time to start dinner. There was no change in the weather, and I spent a tranquil evening inside. When bedtime drew near the clouds had lifted somewhat, allowing me to discern Tjahkkelij in the gloom, and a much veiled moon was visible as well.

Monday 2/3

In the morning it was all white, and a fluffy snowfall was in progress. After breakfast I went to check the water container left by the dogsledders, and since it had now started to freeze I brought it down to the shop to thaw, and then went out to saw some more. I had now produced enough shorter lengths that a new pile was necessary, and I dug out a space for it; the ground on my chosen spot was, however, rather uneven, so I had to pad the bottom to get the base layer level. I then took things easy inside, listening to the radio, while outside the snow worsened again.

Having had lunch I set about sorting through the quite large on-site collection of Utemagasinet, and started reading from the oldest end. I also shifted some goods in the shop for better space, and then focused on repairing one of my ski boots, a seem of which had come undone; this turned out to be fairly difficult due to the toughness of the leather-like material, but the result was certainly not worse than the starting conditions.

I spent the rest of the afternoon with the radio, a book, a few maps and some tea, and the snowfall only held up for a moment or two. For dinner I prepared the other fish I had gotten from Läntha, and it was once again a fine meal. In the evening the weather slowly improved, eventually revealing both the moon and some stars. I also got a call from Lars in Sitojaure, who mostly wanted to try out the connection; save for two employees from Saltoluokta he had still not had any overnight guests. As I was going to bed at 22 all precipitation had ceased and visibility would have been good had it not been for the occurrence of night.

Tuesday 3/3

Blue light on the lake

Closeup of isle

I had to go out in the early morning, at which time there was a low blanket across the sky, and when I got up for real to the weather forecast this blanket had descended even further. Later on a nice bluish diffuse light came into being over the lake, and it was rather nice being outside in the still air. I decided to go for a day tour despite the lack of view, looking over the map for a suitable target, and started down the slope around 09:45.

Go to day tour report »

When I left in the morning I put out a letter containing the guest stats for February with a note asking passers-by to take it with them, and it was still present when I got back. This was surprising, since the door had obviously been opened, and inside I found some things and a note left behind by Sture, so why on Tellus hadn't he taken the letter too? Oh well. As for the note, it told that he had taken a number of items from the shop that Ulla in Pårte had ordered, as she needed to stay longer than planned, and that payment for this was to be handled at a later time, so I made a note of my own in the meantime.

I went to fetch water at once, this time doing it with skis on to see how that went – and decided not to do so again. I then had a substantial afternoon snack with fruit, after which I put my mind to going over the prices in the shop, comparing with the updated list I had just been sent. This involved a good deal of relabelling, and I just made it before the light failed. After a very filling dinner+dessert combo I did nothing but read, while the moon bathed the land in its light as the clouds slowly parted.

Wednesday 4/3

Gábllá just showing

Tjahkkelij just showing

Lower

Cottages with frosty background

I arose to an incredible dawn, which took place between a dense fog down on the lake and a clear sky above it. This fog crept upwards as I was preparing my breakfast, and then it took to undulating up and down. This state of affairs remained in effect through the morning, but it seemed as though the fog was sinking in over the delta. All the trees were prettily frosty and I simply had no choice but to go on a day tour, so I prepared for such and then went out after 9.

Go to day tour report »

I immediately went in to see the owners of the sleds parked outside, finding these to be three Frenchmen being busy not being busy, and after initial greetings and suchlike I went to fetch the water container I had in keeping. The sky had now cleared anew and it was a fair evening. While I was washing up after dinner two Swedes came in the very last light, having had a tough stage from Pårte, and they took the other room in the upper cottage. While they settled in I rested in my bed, aided by fjället and the radio; I was feeling quite worn and drowsy after the day's exercises.

Then I went up to the Frenchmen, going through the motions with payment and all – and I managed quite well to do it in French, which was satisfying as I get very little practice in that tongue nowadays. Having completed all transactions I went over to the Swedes, who by then had succeeded to get the room comfortably warm. We talked for quite some time, and they would, if the weather was favorable, stay for another day. As I was now rather tired I wasted no time in having my snack and going to bed, and outside the clouds had pulled shut once more.

Thursday 5/3

After a good night's sleep I discovered both a very low ceiling outside and that it was dripping considerably from the ceiling inside, by the firewood heater. After a sturdy breakfast I went up to the guests for a morning report; the Frenchmen were pressing on to Sitojaure, and the Swedes had decided to stay. While the former prepared to leave I talked some with them, giving tips and hints about their continued route; one of them would "only" go to Abisko, whereas the other two were to continue into Norway after that.

During my following work procedures visibility decreased further and a mist started to form, so the Swedes remained indoors for the time being. I then embarked upon a project of entering suitable numbers into suitable places in the phone's speed dial register, and to make a separate list of them, which took some time. Now the clouds were lifting somewhat, and the ridge of Tjahkkelij started making appearances. At lunchtime most of the lake could be seen, as could the lower parts of the slopes all around, but above that there was still a blanket.

I then called Birger at the STF office to go over a few inconsistencies in the new price list. Outside it was now getting clearer for real, with a bit of sun here and there, which caused the other two people to set out for a shorter tour, and after a while I went out as well, but without skis. I went down onto the field to photograph – it was rather pretty with the sun pattern on Nammásj et al – and then I went over to Läntha's. Being alerted to my arrival by the volume of the eager dogs, Anne-Sophie came out and let me in, and we had a long conversation over some tea and sandwiches.

When it was finally getting close to dinnertime I excused myself and returned up, finding no one there. It was now cloudy again, and just as I was working with my dinner the two Swedes returned. Later in the evening I went up to them for a long talk mostly concerning fjelds, STF and wardenship. Back down in my cottage I read some in a binder collecting material about Aktse, and I also found another binder with letters from previous wardens, which I started reading as I had my evening snack and prepared for bed. The clouds made a clean cut across the highest reaches of Tjahkkelij, and a few flakes had started falling again.

Cloudy but light

Sun on Nammásj and Ridok

Skierffe in the frame

Friday 6/3

When the night had passed the clouds seemed not to have moved at all, and while visibility was good for the most part it was also snowing off to the south. Just as I was finishing up breakfast two snowmobiles came to the lower cottage, and I went down to see what was up. It turned out to be a couple of locals who intended to stay for a couple of nights and fish out on the lake, and as they settled in (having chosen the lower place themselves to be "out of the way" of the skiers) the southern snowfall arrived. They soon departed for the first round of fishing, and myself I prepared to bake some more bread. The other two Swedes then left, and I went on with my baking, doing some crosswords while the dough rose. I used the stove-oven this time, and the results were quite to my liking, even though things were not as efficient when it came to time as when I use a pan.

In the afternoon temperatures had risen enough to cause some dripping from the eaves, but visibility was largely unchanged. When I went to fetch some more water I met a lone fellow with a sled coming up the slope, and I later learnt that he was a German who had gone through Sarek from Ritsem to Sitojaure, taking the long way around Sitoälvsbron from there to get a flat route without that much deep snow to Aktse. I read some more fjället while it grew lighter without getting any clearer, and then had afternoon tea and fruit. The rest of the time up until dinner was spent in a similar fashion, and now the light took on a warm color that had me exiting for a closer look. Not much transpired during the evening either, and apparently this was also the case in the other buildings for all three guests put out their lights early, so I was the only one who noticed that it had started to snow lightly.

Saturday 7/3

I had to go out around 6, and when I did so I found that all the others were already up. I lay back down until the weather forecast, and then continued to take things easy. When the German was about to depart I went out to say goodbye, and then went through the upper cottage. Now a pretty light had appeared upon Gábllá, and there was also a light patch above the western part of Tjahkkelij, but that was about it for now. After a late breakfast a wind picked up, but there was also a bit of sun on and around Nammásj. Somehow the air "felt light", and I therefore felt like going telemarking at 10:15.

A wee bit...

...of light

Ice formations...

...in the water hole

My previous tracks had held well through the recent snowfalls, but beside them it was very deep and soft, and up among the birches they had mostly been swept away by the wind. All the time while I was ascending there was sunlight out on Lájtávrre, and once I cleared the trees there was also a fair bit of wind. The snow seemed to be very good for downhill activities, and I continued up to a large rock to gain some more altitude for the run. Turning my eyes back I caught sight of a couple of skiers with sleds coming down the trail, and right on their heels were two snowmobiles. I went past the large cloven rock, and now I was nearing the ceiling so it was no use going much further; the snow was getting hard anyway, and the wind more keen. The first bit down was not too excellent, but after the pronounced crest above the uppermost trees I hit a great loose snowfield. I continued in among the trees, making long shallow turns, ending up at a perfect "snow seat" against a rock just at the first spruces where I paused for lunch at 11:30.

Light on Lájtávrre

Light behind the hills

Even more light

Lake and settlement field

From there I could see the trail across the lake, and I observed five snowmobiles approaching that way, later coming to the cottages, but they soon left again. As I sat there the amount of sunlight and blue sky increased, and as I started up the slope again the former reached my position; it seemed to be getting clearer in a wide band extending SW-NE. This time I stopped at the crest and then went straight down, again finding the initial portion great. In the forest proper things were more tricky, but I still went quite far down before stopping. During the next ascent I found some older tracks of mine to utilize, and once again I headed for the crest. Now Skierffe was gradually emerging in its entirety, but a large southern cloud was casting its shadow across Lájtávrre.

I went down beside my previous tracks, and this was the best run yet; I ended up at about the same place as last time, and changing to climbing mode was not too easy due to the deep snow. The next round was to be the last, and in honor of this I went further up to the west and then down on a larger snowfield directly above the cottages – and again conditions were just perfect. Until I started falling, that is, but when I really concentrated on proper technique things picked up, and I even managed to safely navigate one of the devious rock fields. The last bit I followed the summer trail straight down, landing at the cottages at 14:00.

More of Tjahkkelij

Looking into Rapadalen

That's where I came

As expected there were two sleds lined up against the upper cottage, and I went inside to find two men attempting to repair their respective ski boots, the metal rod of which that holds the boot in the binding had broken. They were clearly speaking German, but from the sound of it I guessed that they were in fact Austrian, which was later confirmed. The weather was steadily improving visibility-wise, but the sun was now covered by veils.

After the Austrians had completed some extensive shopping I tended to both my pair of skis, after which a single woman with a sled arrived, and while she waited for her partner to catch up she went in to the other two. Said partner came eventually, and another round of large-scale shopping followed during which Lennart Läntha's cousin Kjell, who also has a cottage on the site, came in for a more small-scale purchase. Now it was all cloudy again, but the peaks of Bårdde were jutting out from behind a large cloud pouring over Vájggántjåhkkå. Later in the evening Sito-Lars called to check in, and then it started to snow lightly. I had some popcorn listening to the radio as the snowfall intensified, and then went straight to bed.