Tours › 2007 › Kebnekaise: Day Tours › 23/3

Friday 23/3

Savugorsa

Horizontal distance:	17 km
Vertical distance:	-200 m, +40 m, -40 m, +200 m
Time:	5 h 15 min
Lunch break:	45 min
Dinner:	–
Night accommodation:	–
Stage classification:	Easy/Medium

I started after 09:30, in a wind which was not so bad at first, and after a short while of skiing/gliding down the Nikkaluokta trail I caught up with Petter, who was leading a group of STFers to Tarfala. Not long thereafter I came upon a whole bunch of military men, whose clothing and heavy packs looked pretty uncomfortable in the warm weather. The snow on the trail was very hard, having been packed by numerous snowmobiles and polished by the wind, so reaching high speeds on the way down was not difficult. Out of the shelter of Kaipak, the wind was much more noticeable again, and once I had reached the bottom of the slope it had grown back to considerable. I followed the snowmobile track for some kilometers, keeping mainly to the south of Láddjujohka at first, crossing it again later on. The wind changed back and forth as I passed through different types of terrain, and the sky had cleared.

Hard snow

Cloudy peaks

The South Peak revealing itself

Looking back along the trail

The prominent Skárttaklacken

The Nikkaluokta trail going beneath Guodekvárri

Gármasbákti

More of Skárttaklacken

When the track reached a large open space I turned off towards the south, heading into the forest. There I found the snow crust to be devious; it could carry with no sign of breaking for long periods, and then suddenly collapse altogether, dropping me several decimeters. It was tolerable, though, and after a short while I found a small brook that ran in the appropriate direction, and the snow on its brink was much better. As I progressed southwards the brook started winding, which complicated going somewhat, but before long I reached the much wider Láddjujohka...

...only to find that it was open; crossing was out of the question at that spot. I therefore picked my way through the trees, breaking weak crusts all the time and seeing lots of animal tracks, always keeping an eye on the stream to see if the ice closed anywhere. That it did in several places, but every time there was so much open water just beside the passages that I judged the risk too great – the stream is not particularly deep, so a breakthrough would not be dangerous per se, but very, very uncomfortable.

I crossed another tributary brook, this one a bit larger, and a bit further east where Láddjujohka makes a sharp turn to the north I finally found what I was looking for – unbroken ice with a good deal of snow on it, so I skied over in quick fashion. The other side consisted of hill after hill, all the way up to Savuvággi. Since the passage of the forest had been a bit tiresome – and time-consuming – I had already scrapped the plan of making a full ascent, and instead I scaled only a few of those hills (during which a solid tumble took place in a tricky slope) to get a good vantage point.

Warm

The cleft of Savugorsa

A good view of Giebmegáisi

Steep Savubákti

Crossing Láddjujohka

On the summit of a flattened one of these hills I stopped, and went around the edge taking photos. I then sat down with my back to a birch, propping up the rucksack as protection against the wind, which in that area could be felt quite strongly from time to time – and it was now coming from the south rather than the west. Some veils had drifted in to dim the sun somewhat, but as I had my lunch they passed to the northwest. I stayed there for a good while, enjoying the unobstructed view of Láddjuvággi dominated by Giebmegáisi. I was, however, feeling the onset of a throat ache, but it was not yet bad enough to warrant worry.

Panorama over Láddjuvággi: Skárttoaivi, Siŋŋičohkka, Duolbagorni, Vierranvárri, and Giebmegáisi,
with Giebmečohkka and Darfáloalgi below

Closer to Gármasbákti

Even closer to the South Peak

Seated lunch site view

Clearing again

When I got moving again the wind shrank back to nothing, and I stood still for a while savoring the feeling. The descent took place in a northeastward direction, traversing several mires, which was a welcome change from the forest. Very quickly I came upon some old ski tracks, and shortly thereafter some snowmobile tracks of comparable age. These led out on a large mire, where a fresh set of ski tracks broke off to the north, and after following these for a short bit I ended up back on the main Nikkaluokta track.

This I followed, going north of Láddjujohka – crossing was very easy there – and as I was approaching Darfáloalgi I met Jouni who was driving his snowmobile in the other direction. When I was passing beneath the rocky outcropping, where a couple of skiers with a dog were having a break, a group of kewl youngsters came driving from behind, going much faster than consideration would dictate. A few minutes later another saboteur-of-peace overtook me, blatantly exploiting the discovery that a sudden hard engine thrust generated a booming echo from the cliff face just above.

Once all of these elements had disappeared out of sight and hearing, things returned to their typical tranquil state, and it was warm to the point that the snow was getting all mushy underneath my skis. I took off my cap and changed gloves, and the light wind that soon picked up felt like a blessing. Before the trail markers begin at Darfáljohka I turned off the track, more or less following the stream upwards on the western side. Since there is only heathland there the snow was good for skiing, and it was not long before I caught sight of the bridge. I then changed my heading again, taking a high route aiming for Kaipak, passing through the bushes-'n'-trees that surround the station and drawing in at Skarta at around 14:45.