Tours › 2008 › Nallo: Day Tours (April) › 19/4

Saturday 19/4

Vistas

Horizontal distance:	20.5 km
Vertical distance:	-320 m, +120 m, -120 m, +320 m
Time:	6 h 45 min
Lunch break:	2 h 45 min
Dinner:	–
Night accommodation:	–
Stage classification:	Easy
Map point:	Vistas

The wind died down almost at once, and when I was passing through the bend beneath Nállu it was time to remove the cap. I made good progress on the low-friction snow cover, and when I reached the stream from Nállojávrrit the wind grew back, so the cap went on again. I started ascending earlier than previously, and maintained a somewhat higher route than most people had taken until I came to the crest of the last steep slope, below which I took to following the main track. The heath/mire before Visttasjohka was bare in many a place, but it was not yet any trouble getting ahead, and the stream itself showed no immediate signs of opening up. Upon arriving at the cottages before 11:45 I first spotted two dogsleds including human management, and then Anna and Pär – and Nallo – who were sitting outside the main building.

Spire

Glacier

Siehtagas

Nállu looking sharp

Nállu still looking sharp

Stuor Reaiddávággi

Exiting said vággi...

...and entering Visttasvággi

More of Siehtagas

Down Visttasvággi

Panorama over Stuor Reaiddávággi and Unna Visttasvággi

Vistas

I joined them for a genial talk which developed into food intake, and I bestowed a couple of my cinnamon buns upon my pleasantly surprised fellows. Upon looking round the corner of the cottage I realized that the sky was growing rather cloudy in the northwest, and that a haze seemed to be approaching through Unna Visttasvággi; there was also a bit of wind again. While we were still stationary a couple of lightly equipped skiers came from the north, having started in Abisko (!) at 06:00, and would now take a short break before continuing on to their goal in Nikkaluokta – a neat little day trip most people take a week to complete. Some time later Marie and her father arrived, having descended out of Stuor Reaiddávággi on the southern side of the stream, which is rather unusual. We talked for a bit while the wind picked up some more, and when the clouds started pulling back again I went off on a walk.

I went up through the forest on the southern side of the little brook that passes by the cottages, and thankfully the crust held most of the time. In the slope directly southeast of Vistas there is a rocky outrunner, and it was for the summit of this I aimed. I paused at an intermediate crest and then covered the remaining distance on a crust that did not hold most of the time, and up there at the highest point the wind was quite keen. The views through both Visttasvággi and Stuor Reaiddávággi were, however, grand, and from my elevated position I could see both a single skier with a dog approaching from the south on the ice of Visttasjohka, and the dogsleds as they departed for Nallo and beyond. Something else that I saw was a pair of birds of prey that obviously had their nest(s) in the cliff, and my presence had probably agitated them for they now flapped all around. Going back I went a bit higher up at first, which landed me on a well-utilized snowmobile-and-ski track, which I followed past the brook, and then I veered off and eventually came upon my own footprints.

Vistas and Stuor Reaiddávággi from the first crest

Looking up the valley...

...and down the valley

Galadhremmin ennorath

Mini-panorama of Stuor Reaiddávággi and Visttasvággi

Kugghjulskammen up close

Winding Visttasjohka below

Bird of prey

Birds of prey

The ridge of Nállu

Back at Vistas I found the others to be in conversation with the newly arrived dog-man – he was on a day tour from Nikkaluokta, aided by his canine companion, and set out on the return journey shortly. Since Marie had a time to meet the next day she had decided to take a crack at Nikkaluokta herself, and she left before 14. The weather was now very fair and the wind had gone through a significant decrease. Also in Vistas I had up until then had no reason to check out the smaller cottage, so I did that before starting departure preparations. This departure was drawn out by more chatting with Anna and Pär, and the time was almost 14:30 before I started gliding down to Visttasjohka.

Čeakčabákti on its way out

Visttasjohka bridge

The smaller cottage

Siehtagas flanked by Nállu and Bossosčohkka

I went up the same way as I had come down, but after that I held an intermediate course. The warmth of the day had softened the hard patches, and progress was easy; the sky was mostly clear and a nice, cool wind was blowing. Once into the valley I held an even higher course than before, and I held it much longer, finally turning downwards when both the quality and the quantity of the snow cover sank below tolerance limits. I continued slightly above the central stream until I was directly beneath the spire of Nállu, and it was not before the middle of the bend that I reestablished contact with the track. The wind had increased again and the shadow through which I was passing held a distinct chill, so I kept a good pace, returning to Nallo at 16:15.