Thursday 31/12

Arriving at the train station in Östersund I was met by the message that the train was (at least) one and a half hours late, and what's more the earlier train – which I had not been able to book – was just pulling out. In the end the departure was almost two and a half hours behind schedule – valuable time this time of year, when the days are short. There were more people getting off at Undersåker who were going to Vålådalen, and several taxi cars were waiting for us. The clouds were fairly low but there was no wind, and temperatures were also on the mild side – much unlike the previous weeks. I wasted no time upon arriving in Vålådalen, and at 11:15 I could finally start the first stage.

The snow was good but not present in too large quantities after all, even though it was more than enough. I crossed Vålån on the ice, after which I had gotten as warm as I needed. Just before the first slope I met an STF snowmobile, and then I conquered said slope with almost surprising ease. Behind me Ottfjället was emerging in its entirety, and when I reached the crest of the long slope I took a short break, and before continuing I removed the cap. A series of mires followed which I could ski across, and here there was a comfortable draft, and I maintained a fairly high tempo. Before long wisps started caressing the sides of Ottfjället again and further ahead I could see low drifting clouds. Shortly after passing the midway mark I came out onto a mire around the edge of which the trail turns, and at the far end I skied over to a small snow-covered rock to have lunch before 12:45.

Thataway (or is it?)

All white

Ottfjället behind me

In the forest

There had been a few flakes in the air more or less from the start, but now they were increasing in size and frequency, and every now and then a gust of air showed up as well. Other than that it was dead quiet, although towards the end of my immobility I heard some distant snowmobile sounds. As I had never bothered with any extra cover I was quickly getting cold, and so packed up and left, finding another campsite immediately. After some powerful movement to get warm I slowed down again, and then met a couple of people out on the next mire. At first the trees at the other side were dimmed by a light haze, but as I progressed towards them it lifted. Later I followed some side tracks up onto a little hill to get an outlook, but since the clouds were still low I didn't see much and proceeded out onto the following mere. The subsequent slope I covered calmly, during which the snowfall increased, and then suddenly I found myself at the cottages after 14:15.

Light snowfall

Compare with this

Crossing the mere

Last slope up...

...to my goal

The warden's cottage

There were some people outside the warden's cottage, and according to them the place was expected to be filled well beyond capacity that night (22 more people were allegedly en route), so they were to tent outside instead. I then went inside the main cottage and said hello to Lars the warden, who recognized me immediately; he had also been there two years ago. He laid out the situation for me, confirming the statements of the tenters, and I also learnt that the Utsidan group had moved on to Vålåvalen so as not to worsen things further. Myself I got a bed in a four-bed room already containing five people, but since there were two couples among these the distribution came naturally.

I then went into the kitchen to help myself to the complimentary glögg, relaxing from the (light) strain of my swifter-than-planned journey. Feeling somewhat refreshed I went back to Lars, who had now found out that ten of the 22 would not be coming after all, so no floor beds would be necessary. Outside visibility was a bit better but it was still snowing, and there was a bit of wind. I spoke briefly with my fifth roommate whom I concluded to be Frida, who had also been among those discussing the trip on Utsidan but not been able to join the larger group either. Then I went down to the sauna, which had been fired up earlier than usual to accommodate all the guests.

I started out by fetching some more water, and then went in to find three other people (roommates, in fact) there. It was not very hot, but before trying to do something about that I made a successful attempt to turn on the gas light in the washing compartment, as it would be dark rather soon. Just before it was, however, I observed a single person passing by with a sled, coming from the east. After the others had left I turned to the heater, finding it difficult to get it blazing properly, and I continued this endeavor as a couple with a child joined in. I finally achieved a satisfactory result, and this I enjoyed until the allotted time was at an end, but before leaving I also lit the gas light out in the changing room, which was a bit trickier.

Back up in the cottage the final 12 people had arrived at last – having had to cover the last few kilometers in darkness, since their train had also been delayed – and since as a consequence the kitchen was rather full at the moment I decided to take it easy for a while before starting dinner. When I took out the food bag I discovered that the package containing the reindeer meat I was to eat had sprung a leak, so now everything else in there was sticky. Luckily this stuff was all wrapped in either plastic, paper or both, but I still got a fair bit of cleaning to do. Having completed this extra task I prepared my dessert and put it out in the vestibule to cool off – as did everyone else, as it turned out – and then proceeded with the actual dinner.

To the sauna

From the sauna

After the dessert all my roommates were resting in the room, which by then had become rather warm, and I did the same. The temperature was only just bearable, though, so after reading some I went out to cool off. When two of the others went to the kitchen later I joined them for some talk and reading of SFK/STF yearbooks, and soon we were joined by the rest. Outside the clouds had become thin enough to let through a fair bit of diffuse moonlight, so no artificial light was required, but the moon itself could not yet be detected. Two of the others had brought a large bottle of champagne which the six of us shared in our room, getting a head start on things, and I chipped in with my usual load of cheese and crackers.

At the end of this the moon had come out at last, and full visibility was in effect despite the late hour, so some nightly photography was appropriate. All air movement had also ceased, and it was getting colder. The two couples went to bed, but Frida and I remained up in the kitchen waiting for the stroke of midnight, reading some more as we did so. As the hour did strike there were some fireworks and we made an inside toast before going out to join everyone else, but neither of us was too keen of extending it all for too long, so off to bed it was.

Almost midnight...

...but not dark