Friday 11/4

As usual there was a light draught before the bend, after which it was calm. I skied in the tracks, noting that an animal had also used them during the night; the wolverine, probably, but it was hard to find a good print for positive identification. The snow was very good and I could stretch out as though I were in a prepared ski track, but later on the crust grew hard and eventually I broke off to find better grip. A haze hung around the southern horizon, but in the immediate area the weather was just great – and warm. When I was passing the peak of Vaktposten I met a single skier coming from the other direction; he was German-Danish and was out on a day tour from Sälka to Unna Räita.

After that the snow got better again, and I returned to the tracks. When it split up I followed the upper one, but soon I found myself finding my own way again, meeting a French couple with a gargantuan sled heading for Vistas. Going down I skirted the lefthand side of the ravine before making an arc towards the south, where the snow was hard and prone to breaking, coming at the cottages from the southeast – mainly to get a contrasting arrival photo compared to the previous visit. I saw one person with a dog going off northwards along Kungsleden before arriving myself, which happened shortly after 11.

Nallo and Nállu

Steep

Also steep

Flat

Passing Reaiddáčohkka

Panorama north from Reaiddájávri

Rounded Sealggá

Sun over Čeakčahjälmen

A look back

Knivkammen

The moraine ridges at Reaiddáglaciären

The French and their sled

More of Sealggá showing

Skirting the ravine

Mist in Čeakčavággi

The Sälka cottages

Reaiddánjunni

Mini-panorama of the cottage site

There were four Danes who were just preparing to go up into Stuor Reaiddávággi on a shorter trip, and Britt-Marie and Rolf (the new wardens) were just finishing up the cleaning of one of the guest cottages. When they were done we sat down together against the wall of the service building for lunch in the perfectly still and most fair day, while off to the south the mist was retreating slowly. After an extensive convo session my colleagues returned to work, and I went to check out the smallest of the three guest cottages which I so far had not looked inside of, after which I found an information folder to browse through. By then a new bank of high, thin clouds was closing in from the south, and I myself got going again before 14.

Hazy

Less hazy

I chose the other side of the ravine for the ascent into Stuor Reaiddávággi, which entailed hard and cumbersome snow, and I was thankful that the sun was veiled so that things did not get too warm. There were some old tracks here and there, and after a while the condition of the snow improved – and then the sun came out again, which did make things rather warm. A bit later I came upon the Danes, who were now returning to Sälka, and I skied in their tracks for a while. Looking back I saw that the cloud front seemed to be hanging still, and lowering my gaze I noticed something which did not quite belong in the landscape, and made an educated guess that a dogsled or a group of them was on the way. Eventually I ended up on the main track, upon which I soon met a group of four older men who had started in Vistas in the morning, and we stopped to talk. While we were still at it I was proved right when four dogsleds from Singi caught up with us, and they also stopped for a chat.

The men then went on their way to Sälka, and the canine group went on ahead – unlike most dogsled groups these actually planned on staying the night in Nallo. As for me, I soon broke off the track and started gaining some height on the eastern side of the valley at a shallow angle. When I was passing the mouth of Unna Reaiddávággi I came across a couple of Finns going up into that valley, and one of them had a pair of those über-long Finnish skis. The dogsleds had stopped further down the slope, so I passed them by at a distance, going straight out on the side of peak 1333 to the usual place, and then started another downhill run. The snow was really good and all that, but I felt that all the skiing during the day had drained my legs somewhat, so I was not quite up to my usual standard. Therefore nothing out of the ordinary took place during the remaining short distance back home, where I found myself before 16:15.

Leaving

Sealggá north

Čeakčavággi south

Sealggá proper

Lofty Šielmmáčohkka

Canine breather

Canine departure

Čeakčačohkka

Another view of Čeakčačohkka...

...and the northwest peaks

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