Friday 1/1

I slept very well and lay still as the others went up in the morning, since I had no timetable to keep to. When I finally arose around 09:30 it was still windy, and the general impression was "white" (save for the ground...). I had a calm breakfast as most of the other guests prepared to leave for Vålådalen, and visibility was slowly improving. I prepared for a day tour aiming for Stor-Stensdalen to start with, and set out before 11:30, starting behind the main cottage.

The first bit entailed zigzagging through the thickets close to Stensån, and for some portions I ended up skiing on the ice of the stream itself. I managed to find snow all the way, even though it was quite scant at times, and after climbing past a rocky slope I came out on flat terrain where the stream presented the best track. After a large meander when it was all bare or icy mires ahead I turned up the slope on my left, ascending the lower reaches of Tobbege, finding snowfields and partly covered heath to ski on zigzag fashion. The wind was weak for the most part and conditions were slowly improving up the valley in the direction of Ö Bunnerskalet, but the clouds wouldn't let go entirely – this time either.

Going into...

...Stor-Stensdalen

Lill-Stensdalsfjället rising

Rocky Stensån

That cliff again

On the ice

Starting to climb Tobbege

Ö Bunnerskalet over there

I went over the rise and once on the southern slope I navigated around a large snowdrift, and as I did so I noticed a group of three making their way up from the east. Myself, I thought it was time for lunch as it was already 12:45, so I found myself a large slab of rock to sit down against with a good view over Lill-Stensdalsfjället and Lill-Stensdalen below.

The valley below lacking in the snow department

"View" over the basin

Heading over Tobbege

Lill-Stensdalen

From there I followed a snow-filled hollow down to the Gåsen trail, managing to get a few telemark turns out of it, and found that the reports of nice conditions on this trail were not exaggerated – this was, apparently, where the snow was. I skied around mostly in the sparse forest, both to enjoy the skiing and to search for the old hut that was utilized for summer school for Sámi children in an earlier time when there was a whole encampment in the area. After some winding about I found it close to where my initial feeling had said it should be, and from there it was a simple matter getting back to the trail. I went around a bare crest at one point but then returned to the markers since the vegetation was less than amiable for skiing on the side, and eventually emerged at the bridge beside the sauna around 14:15.

Snow on the Gåsen trail...

...and in the sparse forest

An old sheld...

...at the old hut

Heading back

Stensdalen's sauna

Last bit of snow at the warden's cottage

I spent some quiet time inside, getting a bit of leftover pizza(!) from the warden pair, and then talked with a new set of roommates who had just come from Vålåvalen. They had found that stage quite good, but had run into huge trouble the day before from Lunndörren – apparently there was "no snow", and they had spent eight hours covering the distance. This wasn't really what I wanted to hear, but I decided that it would at least be worthwhile to go to Vålåvalen and reevaluate there. I read and rested a bit and then went to have dinner, after which I went straight to the sauna. It was noticeably hotter this time around, and I made sure to keep it that way since I was the only one there at the start. I spent the rest of the evening reading and resting while the wind mostly died down outside, and it felt good to go to bed at 22 this night.