Friday 25/4

Since it was rather warm I chose to wear the thin mittens, and I also left the climbing skins behind as the wet snow would provide all the grip I needed. At first the clouds were fairly high off to the west, whereas in the east they were much lower, but when I was rounding 1333 also the former started sinking. Over Unna Reaiddávággi things still looked moderately good under the circumstances, but in all other directions it was getting whiter all the while.

As I was ascending into the valley the clouds behind me served me with some snowfall, and up on the watershed there was a bit of wind. I could also make out a low drifting cloud further ahead, and it was not too long before it enveloped me in complete whiteness. I held a course close to the northern side of the valley until I judged it was time to get out onto the lake before Unna Räita, upon which a prominent rock out in this lake emerged from the haze and I could adjust my heading with confidence. Moments later a dark shape ahead of me resolved into the cabin which was my goal, and I stopped beside the worn walls at 10:15.

I took a peek inside, noting that the store of cut firewood which had been substantial before was now down to a minimum, so I decided to rectify that; there were quite a few unprocessed logs lying both beside and under the tiny building. There were also no less than three saws in existence, but they were all positively lousy, so producing suitable lengths took quite some time and effort. During this effort the weather was perfectly still and warm, and for a short while the haze lifted in parts, but then it was back to whiteness and snowfall.

One of the thicker logs bore clear marks of an axe, so I too employed it as a base for the actual chopping; the wood itself in the pieces I swung upon was extremely dry, so splitting them required very little force – only a good aim. Having completed the first batch I set about sawing some more, and now the clouds were slowly dispersing from the lower reaches, starting in the east; the west was still a veil of grey-white. I then entered the cabin to sign the guestbook, after which I had lunch on the bench outside the door.

Following eating and relaxing I attacked the second wood pile, and the cumulative effect on the indoor supply was now to my liking. Something else which was to my liking was that the western part of the valley was also emerging from the mist, and off to the east things started looking close to fine. I walked up onto the rise just north of the cabin for a better view, and on its top I found a scary snowdrift overhanging the 150-m precipice on the edge of which Unna Räita lies, so I stayed where I could see firm ground. Now there were even a few glimpses of the sun here and there, and I remained immobile for a while in the absolute calm and absolute quiet. Coming down I went off a bit to the west, and once back at the cabin I sat down on the bench again for a cup of hot chocolate, enjoying the much improved weather conditions. I then sweeped the inside of the cabin thoroughly before setting off after 13:30.

Looking out

Vaktposten

Cabin and Knivkammen

Cabin in whiteness

Threshold

Cabin and Reaiddáčohkka

Reindeer on crest

Pyramiden

Cabin and Vaktposten

Cabin and Unna Reaiddávággi

Eastern Unna Reaiddávággi

The "Pyramid pass"

Panorama over western Unna Reaiddávággi

Cabin and Knivkammen, revisited

I started by gaining some height, and at once the increased temperature made itself known by the sucking quality of the snow; at times things were really bad, and unfortunately it seemed as though it was only getting worse. A weak sun had come out which increased the feeling of warmth further still, but to my relief the condition of the substratum improved noticeably when I reached a region of soft miniature crests. Opposite Reaiddáglaciären I returned to my previous tracks, and at that precise spot there was a very fresh wolverine track I did not remember seeing earlier, even taking the haze into account.

I studied this for a while, finding that it went up the slopes of Reaiddáčohkka in a northeastward direction, so its creator must have passed fairly close while I was in and around Unna Räita. I skied in the (ski) tracks to the watershed, enduring another period of impeding snow, after which I veered a bit towards the north. Just then I came upon another wolverine track – or, rather, another portion of the same one – and now there was no doubt about it: it had walked over the tracks I hade made myself earlier in the day, so I had only just missed it this time.

From there I continued northwestwards, in a light just barely strong enough to reveal the surface properties of the snow; the clouds were lighter and sparser to the south, but they still covered the sky in all directions. Suddenly I became aware of two people and a dog making their way up into Unna Reaiddávággi a few hundred meters below me, and I concluded that these were Anna, Pär and Nallo from Vistas. A largely unintelligible shouting exchange followed, and then we continued on our respective itineraries. I kept my altitude around 1333 to the usual place of descent, and as I was reaching said place I saw four people passing by on the track below, heading for Sälka. Going down was interesting, with soft, wet snow and very flat light, but it was also rather fun and went really well, even when the slope turned bumpy and challenging. The clouds lifted in the east while I followed the track back home, where I took off my skis around 14:45.

Čeakčačohkka

Reaiddáglaciären

Vaktpostglaciären

A bit of sun in the valley

Leaving Vaktposten

Stuor Reaiddávággi

Well-known view

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