Friday 15/2 – Friday 22/2

Friday 15/2

I slept well despite the chill, and in the morning the room was somewhat warmer. It was a glorious morning, clear and windless, with a wee bit of fresh powder on everything. The Germans left in short fashion, going back down the slope to head west towards Hukejaure. I did the last things I needed to do before declaring the place officially open – and then did just that. Before 11 everything was in order, and I took advantage of the weather with a shorter day tour.

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As expected the caretakers had come by, taking with them a note and a sleep mat belonging to Anita in Kaitumjaure. I fetched some more water, this time trying out the other side of the ravine for the return trip, but as this involved having to go down further before I could get back across it turned out to be even more taxing than last time. Back inside I called the police on the assistance phone to make sure it worked, and to announce my presence, and then just relaxed. The mist'n'clouds were, after a period of thickening, dissipating again, and it was rather nice outside.

I had a substantial dinner+dessert, right after which I observed snowmobiles going down into the valley in the dark – Jesper and Kristian returning home. I spent the rest of the evening resting, reading and radioing, and then went to bed in a tired state at 22.

Saturday 16/2

Another cold and pretty dawn gave way to clouds from the southwest, and I spent the forenoon fiddling with this and that around the place. As there was very little in the way of firewood inside the main cottage I set about producing some – this is normally up to the guests themselves, but I think it's fair to at least give them something to start with, especially during the coldest part of winter.

A sequence of shots...

...showing the arrival of clouds...

...from the other side...

...of the pass

After a lunch omelette the clouds were descending, having already hidden Giron from sight, and also off to the south things looked denser. As I was correcting some papers and the like there were solar breakthroughs, however, so there was no clear direction in the weather. Later in the afternoon I reacted to sounds outside, and found a German with a 16-legged dogsled. He had come from Abisko and elected to stay in the room next door, so that he would not have to warm up the main building. Just as I was starting dinner a Swedish guy with two dogs arrived from Kebnekaise, and after a while decided to stay with the German; the previous four dogs were to sleep outside, and the two new ones could reside in the vestibule (which prompted me to move the box with some fresh stuff best kept cold I had placed there into a locked area).

Cloudy

Canines

After dinner I went over and talked for quite some time with my guests, which included a good deal of dog-patting. The German man had had quite a scare on his way to Abisko – he had lost control of his car on a slippery winter road and actually made a full flip with it, but both he and the dogs were ok, and after being restored to the proper orientation by a helpful truck he could continue with little more than a broken mirror to show for it. After saying goodnight I retired to read, and did so until it was time to sleep.

Sunday 17/2

The morning held low clouds and a bit of snow in the air, but not much had fallen on the ground. This was good news to the German, whose dogs were not used to breaking trail, and so required a clear track to run as they should. After both guests had left the clouds started breaking apart, and it was getting lighter.

White morning

Rested

Departing Tjäktja

Sky

Right after lunch I set about baking some fresh bread, immediately followed by a cake; the gas-powered oven seemed to work OK. When it was all done I sat down for afternoon tea with a bit of fresh cake – mmm – and then did some other warden-related stuff. No guests arrived, so after dinner/dessert I read in my book while it started to snow appreciably outside, which it was still doing when I turned in around 22.

Monday 18/2

There was still snow in the air when I awoke, but the sky was clear to the north. Visibility improved throughout the morning, but strong gales from the east obscured things every once in a while. This caused a fair bit of drift, and when the wind suddenly stopped I went out to clear the paths. I saw some people approaching from the north, so I went inside the main building and lit a fire in the kitchen, as it was rather cold there at the moment. The people in question consisted of two German pairs and one Basque who spoke virtually no English. After they had all settled in, having the whole place to themselves, I went back up for a chat, and received a report from one of them who had been to the water hole (twice) that it was in good condition despite the recent snow and wind.

Dusk was very nice (and cold), and now only a few higher clouds remained parked around the peaks. Right before dinner a single German woman (who spoke Swedish well) came from the north in the last blue light of the day, having tented between Abiskojaure and Alesjaure, and she took the remaining room in the main building. The weak, cold light was just incredible, so I went for a photo round before returning inside to have dinner. Later I conducted some transactions and conversations with my guests, and after a sudden burst of aurora it was time for bed.

Tuesday 19/2

The morning was clear and cold, with a certain southerly wind blowing. After breakfast I went up to my guests, who were all going south, with a morning report. After they had all left and I was satisfied with the state of the place, I departed southwards myself at 10.

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I noted a pile of full-length logs outside the woodshed, so obviously there had been another caretaker visit in my absence. The three people present were Germans from Alesjaure, of whom one was very familiar with the area. Dusk came with another round of awfully pretty lights, which I observed as much as possible before turning to the crafting of a pizza.

What a sky!

The obligatory pizza shot

Said pizza was very filling, so I postponed dessert for later and instead went up to talk to the Germans, who would be staying two nights before going back down to Alesjaure. A late dessert and some moongazing later I read in my bed until it was time to do something else there.

Wednesday 20/2

After a good night's sleep I awoke to a howling wind, some clouds and appreciably milder temperatures. The Germans were having a day of rest, and I contemplated doing the same; based on earlier forecasts I had originally planned for another outing, but the wind gave me pause – and the white plume standing out from Čeakčačohkka lowered that peak's attraction as a target for the moment. Bummer! Instead I started working my way through the newly delivered log pile – a task allocated to winter wardens – and went to fetch water; this time I used the bridge, but it was still hard work. The Germans were going out on a little tour in the area to have something to do, and then it was time for lunch.

The wind now came in strong gusts, with a fair amount of drift, but the sun shone through the clouds quite often. Three people were making their way up the valley on the other side of the stream, not stopping by the cottage, while a single sled-pulling Spaniard did just that. After a brief debate with himself he decided to spend the night, bringing my guest count up to a mighty four. The wind was increasing, both in general and in the gusts, which continued into the evening.

After dinner I went up to collect payment, launching the Spaniard into a frantic but ultimately successful search for his wallet, and when I walked back down to my place the wind had all but died down, but it had started snowing instead. As I was lying in bed reading the light suddenly went out, and when I checked the other electrical equipment it turned out that I had no power at all, even though the battery indicator was well in the green. I switched to the gas light and opened up the charging regulator for troubleshooting. It had three fuses, and from what I could tell – it was less than clear – one of them had burnt out. I turned the place upside down looking for a spare but found none, and shifting the fuses around (only two of the circuits were in use) had no effect. Not good. Since it was late I elected to look at the problem afresh in the morning, and went to bed while the strong wind returned outside coupled with the continued snowfall.

Thursday 21/2

The gales continued through the night, as did the snow, and both were still in full force in the morning. With the growing light the battery started to charge as usual, but I still couldn't get any power out of it, so I wrote letters to both Alesjaure and Sälka asking if they had any spare fuses to send. I had a couple of other letters as well intended for the national mail system, and I left them all with the departing guests, who for obvious reasons received no fresh weather report.

The snowfall and wind went on, so after lunch I went out to clear the paths, during which a single Englishman came from the north. Back inside I tried switching the regulator off and then on again, which didn't help, but when I then flipped the switch labeled "reset" everything suddenly worked again! Huh. I was still wary about the stability of the system and so did not push it, but the radio showed no signs of wavering. There was still no break in the snow, and the wind was shifting.

In the evening I went up to the Englishman, who was the sole guest, and stayed for a long talk. He was a student working at the Abisko Scientific Research Station, and was out exploring the area in wintertime. It was still snowing when I went to bed around 22, but the wind had petered out.

Friday 22/2

The next day started out mostly cloudy, but things appeared to be getting lighter. Weather conditions were in a state of flux, but there was no snow, and after the Brit had left I decided to go for a day tour in the direction least affected by the distribution of cloud, which I did just after 10.

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The snowmobiles soon arrived, and off them climbed Jesper and Marie, the cottage administrator from Abisko who had tagged along for some hands-on visits. They also brought a spare fuse from Alesjaure, which I gratefully accepted even though the immediate problem had already been sorted. After a quick tour of the site for Marie's benefit they headed back down towards Abisko, and since no one else came I had a calm dinner with dessert by myself. The evening was a quiet one, save for the sound of the wind outside, which was once again bringing snow.

Jesper and Marie leaving

Pretty clouds

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