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  1. #1
    Senior Member turnerminator's Avatar
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    2 weeks in Arctic Sweden; Abisko, Jokkmokk and -6c to ~-40c

    Part 1;

    Last year, 2 friends from BushcraftUK Damian from Woodman Bushcraft and Wayland who is a member on here decided they would like to fulfill a lifelong ambition and visit the traditional Sami market in Sweden(Jokkmokks Marknad) and arrange a meet there. A thread was put up on BCUK and I decided to join in and visit them on my way up north to Abisko in the far north of Sweden to see the Northern lights at solar maximum.


    Hoping to see something like this from my hammock....


    ...From somewhere around here

    Amongst the group who signed up for Jokkmokk were 2 friends from the intensive Arctic Survival course I completed. We had a professional Bushcraft instructor
    and expedition leader
    a Mod from the forum with a few -50 dog sledding and snow shoeing trips under his belt in Alaska and Canada.
    Those with experience decided to camp out for the duration, those with cold but not arctic experience booked a nearby cabin in case they got into difficulty. We all had emergency accomodation in the cabins if needed.
    I was the only sensible enough to be hammocking
    All together, 8 of us were to be venturing out there, leaving me on my own for 9 days once I'd got acclimatised and was suitably confident in my abilities.
    Damian was to oversee everybody, not in a professional capacity but to make sure everyone was safe.

    The aim of the trip was to get some proper cold weather experience as all my previous trips over the years to the arctic have seen heatwaves. -16c had been the lowest arctic temperature I'd seen. I also wanted to do some hauling with heavy loads and push the cold hammocking boundaries.
    This time, the weather thankfully played ball for the first week and we saw a recorded -37 on the Kestrel Anemometer before the cold got to it and it cut out.

    Anyway, enough of the prologue. Here's the report;

    Day1. Feb 5th; 2c The easy day

    Travel 100 miles down to Heathrow to spend the night in a Travelodge for the 3am trip to the airport.

    Day 2. Feb 6th. Flying over
    Heathrow-Stockholm-Lulea on SAS. -25c

    The day started off well. SAS's automated check in had given me no option for oversize/overweight baggage and they charged me £25 only for a 32 kg oversize bag, a fully loaded behemoth 130l KarrimorSF sabre. The other bag was 23kg 120l army deployment holdall. All my valuables, gloves, hats, sunglasses and goggles etc added up to 10kg and this went in my pockets of my Rab Expedition down jacket with room to spare. Carry on was 8kg( may have been a few grams over that of food, a good portion of what I took.
    Going through airport security was very easy, my size 14 yelow Baffin boots wouldn't fit in the boxes for the X-ray machine which caused security much amusement and they waved me through with big smiles.

    I landed in Lulea on time at midday, repacked some kit and then caught an outrageously priced taxi 6 miles to the bus station in Lulea. I had 3 hours to spend in Lulea before my next bus. It was -17 in town.
    My kit wouldn't fit in the lockers, so the lovely Swedish lady in the station offered to put it in the Staff room for me. I bought her a box of chocolates in return and made a new friend-she held the bus for me and got the drivers to load my gear on. Petrol and fruit juice were bought in an excellent outdoor shop, water bottles filled. Panic ensued when 2 of my debit cards said I'd entered the incorrect pin trying to get Kroner! I hadn't. I still had 2 credit cards though and quite a bit of Sterling so I was OK.
    I spent the 3 hour bus journey from Lulea to Jokkmokk talking to a Sami girl that had moved back to Sweden from the states. She filled me in on weather conditions and we happily chatted about camping in the winter and what the States, England and Sweden were like.
    8pm local time, the bus got to Jokkmokk and the adventure started proper. I re-arranged all my kit under the bus station floodlights outside and packed it for hauling. 90 minutes, 2 coffees and a bag of chocolate raisins later, I was off with my now 80 kg load. The grit the Swedes use to grit the roads made hauling a little tricky and I dodged them as best I could. 10 minutes later, I'd picked up the stone free ski path and was heading 2 miles back east along the road I'd just been down to where the guys were camping.
    It felt cold and I had to keep stopping to check my nose and chin were still OK, Ice was forming all up my nostrils and my eye lashes were sticking together. 2 hours later, I reached the campsite. To my horror, my phone had now stopped working. All I got was a Swedish voice that I didn't understand. Right, time to find the guys in the cabin. Went to the cabin and no one was there. Oh crap I thought. Off to find the other guys that I didn't know which cabins they had been given. That drew a blank too. By this time, I needed a hot drink and some decent food. I was getting irritated and decided it time to switch to survival mode. I headed for the forest to where the other guys were camping, hoping to find them but if not I would set up camp. 5 mins hauling through the forest, I picked up a side trail and decided to walk up that. A glow of a fire in the distance lifted my spirits and Riam and Dave from the forum were half asleep but with a fire burning. A quick chat, brew and munch had me reaching for the Cold Avenger, hammock and tarp, and I got set up in quick time. An hour of boiling water on the Primus for a drink and hot water bottles and I was away to sleep at 2 am.

    Day 3. 7th feb. The Market


    Me on left, Dave and Riam walking to market( Andy's photo)

    Many more stunning pics of the market and the trip from a capable photographer here


    Set up at 01.30 at -25c odd

    Dave and Riams (left) camp
    Woke up to hear voices at 7am. Andy had got up and seen a hammock and tarp erected in the night behind his tarp which I think had him scratching his head a little. They informed me it was -25 the night before and felt colder this morning.

    Andy's 4.5m DD tarp

    Woohoo! PB hammock smashed and I'd set up in it in the early hours. The temps were due to plummet through the week and I knew there was a good chance of seeing the PB smashed every night. I lit the fire and had porridge, coffee and chocolate.
    We left an hour later to walk the 2 miles to the market, stopping by the cabins to find out exactly where they were staying.

    The Sami Market occupied the main street. Full of fur pelts, fur hats, dog sledding equipment, knives, axes, cutlery, leather and fur clothes and endless amounts of Reindeer meat. It was around -19c and felt cold standing around. Damian and Wayland spotted my yellow boots from a distance and we were all together.






    We wandered round the market, ogling kit that I thankfully dare not buy as I may have maxed out my now probably only existing payment methods. The stalls didn't take cards, another stroke of luck to my bank balance.
    Andy and I went to the supermarket and bought big bags of fresh Onions, potatoes, carrots, celeriac, leeks and various sausages. We also bought 3lbs of Reindeer meat for the nights stew.
    A few hours later and at around -28c, the stew was cooked in my big pot. Near the end of eating it came my first mistake-my little finger was feeling quite cold on my plastic spoon. I had liner gloves on but I persevered for another 30 seconds. Ouch! it was now near frostnip and had caused my body to shut down circuation to my extremeties-not good I ran for the hot water bottle stored in my sleeping bag and saved it.
    The guys all went to bed early, so I vacated the fire where they were bivvying and did all my water boiling and snow melting on the primus.
    For safety's sake, I'd decided to at no time to be without 2 l of hot flask water and a nalgene hot water bottle when in camp. One of my nalgenes had fallen out of my bag though and was frozen solid with orange juice and this took 20 mins to thaw out in hot water and empty.
    It was a near -30 by now, feet were starting to feel the cold standing around and I hit the hammock for another PB.

    1 nights frost


    Day 4. 8th feb-28- -30c Snowy pants and ice burnt bum cheeks.


    Comfortable constitutionals if you kick the tree first

    I'm no stranger to arctic pooing horrors. I was determined to get the first one of my return right. 2 days of no go and I was running for the poo tree.
    Trews and gruds off, bib straps over boots, steaming baby wipes at the ready this was going to be pleasant. Mistake 2 though, in my rush 'd forgotten to take my axe to knock the tree. Not wanting to kick the tree too hard and have an accident, there were still snow bombs above me. I lent back, hit the tree and a snow bomb hit me square in the gruds.
    I got most of it out but my gruds had melted the snow a little and an icy layer was now poised to insulate my derriere. They had warmed up by the time I got to my hammock, but the damage was done. Ice burn on my cheeks
    I spent the rest of the day chatting to the guys, collecting ever dwindling dead standing pine and enjoying my time in the woods. Another stew, loads of chocolate and it was hammock time. It would probably hit just under -30c that night I thought. I reached for the -50c thermometer but as I pulled the thermometer out my bag, the now rigid wire snapped clean off with the cold. It was saying -28.9 and stayed there for the rest of the trip. Dammit! All our thermometers had succumbed to the cold by now. The decision was made there and then never to to do another trip without an iButton setup. Lennarts alcohol thermometer was stuck at -27 full of ice and all the other battery thermo's were also showing no display. My -10c weather station was working but just said "COLD".
    This felt even colder to everyone, so I went to bed with 2 hot water bottles and slept like a swedish log once more.

    The setup as I woke up. Kit wrapped in the tarp, smock and reflector hung over the foot end


    Wiggy's Ultima Thule. Condensed ice build up with the cold avenger is limited


    A metre of snow

    Day 5 9th Feb. The Snowshoe trek.
    Today, Lennart my good Dutch friend ( a real Dutch, not the real Dutch) and Remko decided to venture down the frozen river on the skidoo trail and explore the 100's of square miles of surrounding forest.
    It had warmed up a little today in the sun. -18 or so according to Lennarts once again working thermometer. I slowshoed just in my base layer,top and trousers in the vain attempt not to sweat. My camera didn't work at all today as it was frozen under my single base layer.
    We found an epically beatiful campsite with masses of dead wood and I vowed to return in the next couple of days on my own.
    Trekking back, the temp plummeted and I stopped sweating. I could wear my Paramo jacket again, albeit fully unzipped.

    We spent the evening in the cabin. It was the last night for all the other guys. At around 11 pm we headed off for the huge river Jokk to sleep in its cold sink effect. The temps were really dropping tonight. It was -27c at 6pm.
    Damian passed the Spot GPS beacon to me for the rest of the trip.

    Getting to the lake, no trees were low enough down in the cold sink effect, so I dug a flat area out in the 4 or 5 feet of powder and went to bed in my hammock, using it as a bivi.
    3 hours spent watching the wispy Aurora, waiting for it to brighten was in vain. I went to sleep in my unzipped sleeping bag (boiling in my Rab jacket and 1 base layer)
    I woke in the morning to my eyes stuck together with ice, ice inside my cold avenger mask and solid ice in my down collar. This was undoubtedly the coldest night yet. The air felt cold to breath in through my mask. Ice was buiding up inside my nose. We got back to find the Kestrel was showing -37c at 0800 outside the cabin. Undoubtedly it lower where we were sleeping. New bivi PB and my Pertex 4 double layer Velcro closure hammock worked perfectly as a very roomy and breathable bivy.

    Day 6. 10th Feb. Alone in the arctic.



    Toboggan roughly packed for the 500m trek from the campsite to the woods camp

    Today, I was to be left alone. I spent the morning with Lennart and Remko, ate some warm food in the horribly warm cabin and said goodbye to them in the early afternoon.
    I went back to the woods and settled in. By now, firewood was hard to find. I was OK because I was surrounded by the best arctic firewood in the world-green birch but its against the Swedish outdoor code to cut it, so only to be used in times of emergency. I managed to find some mediocre standing dead that was a bit green a few hundred meters away.
    I also had 1 litre of alcohol and 6 litres of petrol the guys had left for me. On top of this, I'd got all their leftover food! 30kgs of food in my holdall now.
    I ate well, modified their tarp setup to make it less smoky and slept well once again. Quite happy in my solitude, I burnt the last of the firewood and had another huge stew.

    Day 7. 11th Feb. Birthday.

    Today, I was leaving the camp to head for the camp we'd found 2 days previously. It was 3 or 4 km away. On top of packing my now 100kgs of load, I had to dismantle camp (I'd happily offered to do it like an idiot)
    4 hours later and quite annoyed I was leaving so late, I set off down the now well frozen river and onto the Skidoo trail. Today was very cold and a Siberian breeze had got up. It was well under -20c, probably -25c to -30c Despite the temps, I was in one base layer and sweating. The 100kg load was hard to get over minor hills. Not sure if I was being sensible, I remembered my training. If unsure, stop and make a cup of tea. Then make a decision. A cigarette replaced the tea and I carried on.
    By now, my base layer was covered in 5mm of ice crystals. I was still having to stop every 100 meters to cool off though.
    In my haste to get to camp to get the fire on, I shot straight past the lake by a Km I ended up at a tiny access road for a new hydropower site being built. There was a nice clearing and some nice dead standing, with large trees. It felt like home, and so it was for the night.
    Hammock and tarp up, I'd decided to cold camp tonight to cut down on risk and unnecessary work.
    Plenty of digging later, I'd dug some low walls and put the toboggan on top of the wall.





    Tonight felt the coldest yet. I struggled to get the petrol to light. My usual method of priming the stove with a stick covered in old mans beard in the jet of petrol to soak up a little petrol was struggling. The petrol wasn't lighting. I tried three times and on the third after holding the lighter under the stick for 8 seconds, it went. I then had to hold the large flame under the stove for 10 seconds to get the priming pad to light.


    OmniliteTi
    The water wouldn't boil with just the windscreen. I had to use one of the CCF foam sleep mats rolled up as a secondary insulator.




    The svelte windscreen

    A local drove down the road, walking their husky without getting out of the car With a huge hamburger and chorizo stew in my belly, I went to sleep to probably do another PB. My family who were checking the weather said it had been shown at -40c that night.

    Day 8. 12th Feb. Hunker down.



    A very good night in the hammock. I had managed to get the useless valve on my Exped mat open the night before to let some air out. I'd also shortened the SRL a little and it payed off. Today, I'd decided to stay and eat some more food from my epic store, collect firewood and hunker down. The weather station was showing dropping pressure and this tied in with the long range charts from the previous week for today or tomorrow. I dug a windbreak for the fire and put the 7x5 m tarp over a seperate ridgeline. I wasn't expecting lots of wind, but snowbombs were a risk too, so a little extra protection and cover from the snow was deemed wise. I built the snow walls in a shape to focus the fires warmth into the open end of my tarp. Digging down, I hit a load of rubbish-plastic bags and garden waste. Typical for me to find it.








    I found several small dead pines that had been killed by the building of the road. Cut down with the folding saw, I carried these back to camp. Plenty for the night and next day. There was a dead 40 footer behind me but I dare not fell it as it was close to camp and snow was resting on the side I didn't want it to fall. As I'd found a rubbish dump under the snow, I decided to cut corners and use 2 plastic bottles to start the fire on top of the dry paper bag I'd dug up, using some alcohol to get it going. Cutting corners never works and the fire wouldn't start. after an hour of blowing and 3 more Vaseline soaked cotton wool balls, I dismantled it and went back to basics of split pine and birch bark. The wood here was difficult to use. The pine was still damp and a layer of quite thick ice covered every surface. Old mans beard held on to the ice and snow, and stopped it being knocked it off.
    The fire was established now and another epic stew was prepared.
    By now the temps were rising and snow was falling. Clothes had to be taken off. The bottle of 40% rum was now liquid again and the thermometer showed -12c. This is no challenge, I decided there and then to go north tomorrow.


    Not a good dinner to see being recycled

    Day 9. 13th Feb. Scarring a local.

    Today, I was off to Jokkmokk to head north from there. It was -6.5c.
    I had only seen the dog walker and 5 construction worker vans in the 3 days, so made no effort to hide my toilet trip this morning. Sat down and movement facing the road, a Swedish lady came running up the road with her dog and looked straight at me doing the do. I can still feel her mental pain

    'Boggan loaded for walking to Jokkmokk

    It took 2 hours to break camp and tidy up. As snow had fallen and temps had risen, the river crossing was unappealling so I opted to haul down the road to Jokkmokk. Flag donned for visibilty, I was off. I kept tucked right in to the ice on the side and stopped hauling every time a car came into view, moving off the road and standing in the snow. After a few cars waving at me and smiling, I knew I was OK and carried on. 10 cars later, one was driving straight at me. All the others had changed lanes 200 or 300 meters earlier, giving me wide space in return for me stopping. I dived for the verge. The lady driving swerved with 30 yds to spare! I'd like to say this was the only time but it wasn't. 30 cars passed me, all the men moved early and slowly, 6 more women made me run for the verge. Only a male lorry driver mad me dive.
    I'll reserve comment

    Nice hauling surface



    I made it to Jokkmokk town at 16.30 and booked a room at the excellent and very fairly priced Asgard hostel in town. I'd missed the last bus and took the opportunity to get a shower and wash my vapour barrier socks.




    Villa Asgard, recommended.

    Train and bus times were checked in tourist information and I was to be off at 1200 the next day for Gallivare, Kiruna, then Abisko.
    Another epic stew was cooked in the kitchen, a few bottles of Staropramen lager were downed and I was set for tomorrow.


    Day 10. 14th Feb. Public transport fail.


    'Boggan in the bus

    The day started well. A nice lie in, look round the shops and I was on the bus. The driver let me put my toboggan in the wheelchair space til it was needed which made life easier.



    An hour later, I was in Gallivare.


    Gallivare bus and train station

    I went into the bus station to triple check the bus and train departures from Kiruna. She told me there was no connecting train tonight and the bus was leaving later than expected from Gallivare Completely at odds with my research and Tourist information had said. Ah well, a night in Kiruna it was. The bus journey to Kiruna from Gallivare was stunning. Heavy snow made the view through the bus windscreen mesmerising and the snow here was deep.

    60mph in the bus



    The road skirted the epically beautiful Sarek national park and I thought of getting off there to explore for a few days. The trees were all bent double with snow and it had an air of extreme remoteness. This area shall be visited one day.
    The bus got into Kiruna at 1800 and I loaded the toboggan. Kiruna is a bit hilly and I made my way to the train station as the bus depot office was now closed. A Swedish lady passenger at the bus station informed me that I could sleep there if needed as Kiruna was very expensive. A steep downhill with 90 odd kg of gear was easy and I rode the toboggan for a short stretch . Getting to the train station, the lack of a connecting train was confirmed on the automated ticket machine. Peed right off, I settled in for the night. 2 poles looking for work in Sweden kept me company and 2 English lads came in to check train times too. They were ice climbers and geologists and gave me loads of good advice. One of them, Joe, I was to see again at the airport. Despite being in obvious rough end of town, I felt quite safe. Its amazing how much comfort sleeping with a big axe and knife gives in a strange town. I wasn't being mugged without taking limbs. An uncomfortable night on the bench with 2 bags of peanuts, sweets and luke warm coffee had to do for tonight. My train left for Abisko at 06.25 and a hotel and taxi just weren't worth it. The temp was around -8c but a stiff wind was up and blowing straight down the station tracks with heavy snow. Not having eaten well, and with no hammock option, I decided to stay inside. The doors were locked at 2300 by security and I was alone once again, left to sleep securely in a very, very warm station.


    Kiruna train station and my bed for the night. Tomorrow, I was off to the Abisko and the mountains

    To be continued;
    Last edited by turnerminator; 02-28-2013 at 16:02. Reason: Added celcius and a squiggly line for -40. -37c was recorded but round about -40c was felt to be the lowest.

  2. #2
    Senior Member turnerminator's Avatar
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    Part 2;

    Day 11. 15th Feb. Why didn't I come here earlier?



    Lapporten (Lapp gate) on the right, I was to camp in line with it in the distance. An ancient and religous Sami campground

    The train pulled onto the wrong platform at Kiruna which had me do 3 trips to collect my kit. It was all in seperate bags for the train again and the boggan was rolled up.
    After 30 mins, the Tornetrask valley came slowly into view in the lengthy and pink hued arctic sunrise. This was more like it! The mountains were bleak and bare of all but snow. Gnarled Scots pines, Spruce and tall Birch scattered the valleys. I spent the journey dribbling down the window at the scenery with 2 German ladies doing the same. They had spent the week there and filled me in on things to do and told me the previous night aurora was rubbish.
    Getting off the train on my own at Abisko was surreal. Sled dogs howling in the deep pink sky and perfect views all around. This place felt like the Cairngorms in Scotland but colder. It was a perfect -15c and felt incredibly dry. Its actually one of the driest parts of Sweden. Loading the bags into the tiny lift, I piled them up. The bloody doors opened the other way and my bags fell out with a crack. I could now smell whiskey. My litre bottle of Laphroiag had cracked inside my side pouch and I rescued it sharpish, pouring it into an empty Nalgene. Oh well, now I would have to drink it.
    Loading the 'boggan once again, I headed for the supermarket. It didn't open til 10 am I found when I got there. I parked up the boggan and went for a wander.





    50 metres from the supermarket doors, a Moose was eating Birch twigs. I've only ever seen dead Moose, so a live one was impressive. Knowing they can be dangerous, I followed it This one was obviously tame and just pood at me and walked off.





    I went back to the boggan to get some food whilst waiting for the shop.







    Fried Hamburgers cooking on the Primus bought a local Swede over for a chat. He melted some wax onto his skis over my Primus, whilst I picked his brains about the area. He suggested I travel to the ancient Sami campground beneath the famous Lapporten and camp there. I'd penciled this place for a potential camp at home and having a local suggest it was the deciding vote.

    10kg of Charcoal to reduce wood use

    Heading off up the hill to Lapporten was humbling.


    On my own and in the mountains, traveling along the famous kings trail to Lapporten (Kuungsleden) sent shivers down my spine. I've been in many mountainous places but this had a different feel about it I can't quite fathom.


    Skidoo trails are easy to haul along

    I stopped a Km down the track hearing dogs approaching fast. Good move. A group of novice sledders came past me at 30 mph, bouncing off the trees and spraying turd. The guide followed on his snowmobile and stopped to ask me where I was going. " I'm going hammocking beneath Lapporten"
    "Good choice" he responded, looking at my kit and obviously seeing I was carrying all I would ever need. I asked him where to find the bigger trees and he told me to keep going for a km and I would find some there "See you on Monday!" he said and I was alone once again.




    Ice flowers


    This place is very special. I could see why this was an ancient campground. The view is unique, the air incredibly dry. The topography makes it almost perfectly sheltered and the firewood and amount of tinder hanging off the trees must have made life very easy for Sami's herding their Reindeer.Low snow levels make Reindeer moss easy to scratch for.



    The trees were mostly sparse scrub birch, but bigger specimen grew in between and I came across bigger birches now and then. Another Km up the hill and near the top, the views opened up. Larger Birches resided here.
    I decided this was the place to find the perfect trees, so I donned snowshoes, had a coffee and headed off the Skidoo trail. No wanting to get lost coming back in a blizzard, I breadcrumbed my trail every 10m with blue biodegradable marker tape tied to the trees.


    I can drive, honest!

    It was hard to find suitably sized trees with decent spacing but I could see tempters in the distance further up the hill. Near the top of the small rise, 2 came into perfect view.


    Marker tape

    They were just right. 4-6" across and swathed in the driest birch paper almost falling off the trunk. Probably well over a 100 years old, incredibly strong and stiff. Plenty of dead fall birch too. This stuff was different to lowland dead birch-it was tinder dry. Jackpot!


    The tinder tree

    Pitching was a dream. I only needed one ground anchor, all the rest could be tied to branches. Even porch mode didn't need cord, the mini crabs clipped to branches too. This was too easy.




    Comfy.

    The fireplace was dug out, birch bark laid over birch wood and a kg of the highest quality charcoal I'd got from the supermarket in Abisko placed on top. The local I'd spoke to earlier suggested I get a load as availability of dead standing was varied. It would reduce work,save the natural resources improve cooking and cut down on the smoke too.



    Cheating

    A magic evening was had looking at the mountains in the moonlight and filtering whiskey through a paper coffee filter. Another fish stew was cooked. No wind forecast, -15c temps, huskys howling in the valley and as dry as I have ever experienced. Absolute perfection. Disappointing aurora though. I slept like a log once more.




    I'm not sure Dutch intended his tarp Flyz for use on cookpot chains

    Day 12. 16th Feb. Cloud and snow.





    I woke to another red sunrise. Today I was to photograph the area. All didn't go to plan. It clouded over and went dull. The blue hole of Abisko was just hanging on, but losing the battle with the vast amounts of cloud. Not wanting to risk anything, I didn't venture far from camp and wandered around on snowshoes, collecting odd bits of firewood from distant trees, so as not to remove lots from one area. Tracks were everywhere- Moose, Fox, Hare and Reindeer. The snow started and didn't stop. It wasn't heavy but the light was flat. I was getting irritated with the weather, the blue hole was almost gone. It got worse, I could see it in myself. Time for the hammock I decided, so went to bed at 1800 and slept through til 0100. The temps had dropped to around -18c or so as the sky had cleared. I watched the aurora with some whiskey in some coffee but again it was a disappointing show and I went to sleep after another 2 hours.










    Arctic snowflakes

    Day 14. Feb 17th. Last full day in the mountains.



    I woke to more snow and dull grey conditions. It was warmer this morning at -10c and the humidity had risen. The mountains had disappeared.
    Fried Sausage on Maize wraps for breakfast.




    Sometimes, a man has to blow his own sausage

    I was getting bored of being in one spot, so went for a few wanders. I stoked the fire with wetter wood so it smoked to provide a point of reference in the distance. Hoping the clouds would clear, I shoed to the top of the hill. On the way, I found Hammock nirvana in a small valley-lots of bigger birch in a very enclosed setting.
    I stood at the top, disappointed to no be able to see any views. Reindeer and Moose had been sleeping here with beds scratched out and bare reindeer moss. Today had a curious weather phenomenon. It was -9c and hailing. The hail was wet and it wet out my cotton outer layer. 20 mins later, it had turned to snow again and my cotton outer was frozen stiff as a board. I headed back to camp but by the time I'd got back the cotton was half dry. Every day is a school day out here.
    It was obvious the snow wouldn't clear tonight-the pressure was dropping slowly and I settled in after a few more short walks, double checking my route back. Stew for dinner, a bit of whiskey to wash it down with at the now barmy -10c constant temps. It was a struggle to stay cool tonight and I slept with no sleeping bag for a few hours with the last of my firewood burning. The fire was big tonight, I had burnt my toilet waste in the high flames and lots of char provided warmth into the tarp. No aurora tonight.

    Day 15. Feb 18th. The non existent train.





    I woke up early and started packing for my 13.59 train back to Kiruna. I was getting good at packing my boggan by now and an hour later, I'd broken camp, eaten, packed and tidied up. Today, the skies had cleared. The 'boggan was easy to tow-I'd used 10kg of charcoal, 4kgs of petrol, 10kg of food and various other bits. Removing the marker tape took an hour and stopped me over heating as I'd stop every 10 m to untie it. The walk down was quick when i got to the Skidoo trail. 2 miles in well under an hour.. I managed to ride the 'boggan several times on steeper downhills, sitting on my sabre full of clothes. Riding the Dyneema horse is fun but a bit unstable and it steers badly. One foot stuck out is the best way to steer it, like a railed ride on sled. Down at the bottom, the weather slowly started improving.
    I wan't one of those!
    I'd planned on burying the kit in the snow for a few hours before I got the train, checking out lake Tornetrask and getting some photos. I got to the train station to check the train times. My train wasn't listed!


    Riding the ghost train

    Thew only one back that day was 2 hours early at 1200. I didn't now have enough time to get down to the lake. Swedish transport was now looking distinctly unreliable.

    Chuntering to myself, I got on train and headed to Kiruna. Quizzing the ticket lady, she said it was "Probably a computer malfunction". Her reaction made me think this is less than uncommon and she apolagised on behalf of the train company, SJ. Arriving at Kiruna, I headed for tourist info to get a room for the night in the hostel, in order to pack properly for the next days flight home. Hours of trying to roll the toboggan tight enough to get it in the holdall, and finishing the now vinegar tasting whiskey and I was set. I went to sleep watching CSI Miami on a Swedish channel.

    Flushing the stove

    Day 13. Feb 19th. SASmaggeddon.

    It started so well. I gave the rest of the unused petrol to the excellent camping shop in Kiruna, packed the last of my kit and got the taxi to the airport early to check my bags in. I'd planned on going for a walk from the airport. I tried to check in but the attendant said they had problems and I needed to wait. This went on for 6 hours!

    Trolleys don't work well in the tundra

    Kiruna Airport-Haul from the doors

    Candlestick made from ice
    It was now 15 minutes before the flight and we still couldn't check in. Apologetic, they eventually took my bags and waived the baggage charges for keeping me waiting for 6 hours. We got through security, I watched my bags being loaded onto the plane and then we were told the plane had broken down with a hydraulic leak. An hour later, they told us we would have to wait 4 hours for replacement plane. I'd been waiting for 10 hours now and getting a little tired of it. We would also miss our connecting flight to Heathrow from Stockholm and need accommodation.
    The plane arrived-an older plane that stunk of aviation fuel. The fumes in the back were almost choking! I'd been breathing firesmoke in for 2 weeks and the plane was worse. Something was wrong, we were flying just above the clouds for the whole journey.
    Getting into Stockholm at 11pm, 6 hours late, no flights were available and they put us up in the Hotel in the airport. They provided adequate meal vouchers and breakfast vouchers.
    I hammered the mini-bar, wandered the airport and had a little party in my room.

    4 star hotels are 5 star with 850 fill down quilts


    This is how a hotel table should look! Baffins, cheap Champagne and a VB sock drying over a Nalgene

    Day 14 Feb 20th. Home and squashed kit.

    The flight back was uneventful. It left at 1100 and security once again fell about laughing at my huge Baffins. Wearing massive boots really is the way to get through Airport security
    In Heathrow at 1400, I drove back home.
    Unpacking my kit, It was clear it had been squashed. My MSR snowshoes had been crushed sideways in the middle where they had been inside the almost bombproof toboggan and twisted, my axe damaged with the leather sheath cut through, my 2 thermos flasks badly dented, my Voile snow shovel bent out of shape and both my Primus fuel pumps had the fuel take ups twisted. How they managed this I don't know. The squashed kit had been packed inside my rolled up toboggan. Rolled up, this is 25mm thick solid Dyneema. It will not even deflect if I jump up and down on it. The toboggan was packed with heavy polypropylene tarp material around it, with protective foam at either end! The axe, shovel and handle was used to further stiffen the bag. Not chuffed. Poor care to my baggage. Its soured the trip a little and I think SAS have some apologies to make if I'm honest.


    Sweden was stunning again, the people very friendly and welcoming. I didn't meet one Swede who couldn't speak excellent English. The Tornetrask valley and the area around Kiruna are ideal for hauling and extreme cold winter camping. The camping shops are well stocked and kit can be bought with ease. A return is certain, probably not with SAS or on public transport though . I'm awaiting resolution from SAS on the Snowshoes.

    A definite -37c and a very likely -40c are going to be hard to beat in Europe though.



    Kit;

    I took lots of kit. Hammocking is great fun and where my heart lies, and this meant more kit than usual. I took a goretex bivi too and made sure I would be able to cover a potential -50c with wind chill on top, so no matter where I was or what conditions I encountered, I would be able to survive. I didn't have to use all my insulation at any point, I still had a 3" loft down top quilt and CCF mats to go, plus my Rab Expedition down jacket to go. Being on my own, I needed to be self sufficient in every way.

    The hammock setup;

    DIY 3.3m x 1.6m double layer Pertex 4 hammock with Velcro closure-I could make a snowproof coccoon when lying inside. Full length doubled SRL whoopie to hang another tarp off.
    DIY 6 ft Amsteel whoopies with Nacrabiners and big loop polyester tree straps
    Wiggys Ultima Thule sleeping bag. Faultless, huge.
    Exped Downmat 9LW inside the layers, kept in the bivi bag for quick deployment. The mat is very warm, the valves useless at -15 and under.
    DIY 2/3rds 3 season down under quilt 2" of loft
    DIY Full length down winter underquilt with cinch cords, adjustablity and hooks on all channels.
    DD 3x3 tarp with sewn on DIY doors.
    Stein 2.2mm ridgeline with DIY ridgeline hook and Dutch Tarp Flyz
    DIY Schnozzle pumpbag clone for pumping the airmat up.

    Backup for -50c- 2 x CCf mats
    DIY 3" loft down top quilt.
    2 X Nalgenes with hot water
    Rab Expedition Down Jacket- Stupidly warm, It was hard not sweating at -35c with one base layer on.
    Reflective polyester VB suit.

    Clothing;
    My clothing system was a real performer, very happy with it and I wouldn't change much.

    Klattermusen Gere Climbing trousers. There must be something that these trews can't handle but I haven't found it yet. -40 to + 25c. Snow, shower, wind proof. Base, mid, top layer.
    Aldi Angorra and wool base layers x 2. Who needs Woolpower?
    Mountain Equipment Grid fleece over the base layer
    2 x Cashmere sweaters
    Aquascutum Lambswool zipped sweater, knitted into stretchy square cells.
    Swedish Army Cotton Snow Smock, modified with a Coyote fur ruff, velcro sleeves and toggles instead of buttons. Very highly rated.
    RBH Vapour barrier socks x 2. If you want warm feet and dry liners, get these.
    Baffin Doug Stoup polar boots.
    Marks and Spencer 65% cotton ski salopettes.
    MEC Hut booties- good down to -30 standing around, snowproof and warm in bed.
    Rain gear; Keela Munro salopettes
    Paramo Quito .Used as a mid layer too.
    4 x Karrimor polyester liner gloves- cheap,quick drying and as hardwearing as needed
    US N48 Sheepskin backed leather palmed flying gloves with spare liners. Faultless. If gloves come better, I don't need them. They negated a snow brush many times.
    Cold Avenger face mask and balaclava with cheap polyester liner. It made cold air breathed in feel warm and vastly reduced ice build up on my bag.
    Synthetic fur bomber hat from the market with silicon and Nikwax combed through the hair. Treated, the fur sheds ice as well as Coyote.
    Spare wool terry socks for bed to let my feet breathe after wearing VB socks all day.
    Aldi Merino dress socks as liners for the RBH socks. Wearing them lined and unlined, I prefer the feel of some liner socks and my feet were less irritated.

    Kit;
    Hultafors Bruks Swedish chopping Axe 800g head, 60cm shaft. Excellent.
    Voile Telepro snow shovel.
    KarrimorSF Sabre 80-130 pack with side pockets. 156l. Carry 50 kg and more if needed.
    Primus Omnilite Ti with spare pumps and 2 bottles and plywood base. A little underpowered at -30 with my pots.
    FAK with spare shoe and toboggan fixings.
    DIY 3m Roll up PE1000 5mm Toboggan and rope haul, Amsteel lines with Nylon tumpline.
    2 x 5x4m polyprop tarps. The king of tarp material for the arctic, perfect size for a 3m toboggan.
    Various cordgage for lashing everything.
    Mora Triflex knife.
    DIY Telescopic blow poker-indespensible.
    Spot GPS beacon-indespensible.
    Garmin GPS Etrex nav aid-unused.
    DIY carbon fibre ice spikes-un-needed thankfully.
    MSR Lightning Ascent snow shoes-Brilliant, just able to cope with the huge Baffins too.
    2 x 1l thermos flasks.
    2 x 1l Nalgene hot water bottles.
    6l Ceramic coated and lined stainless cookpot-made life very easy melting snow and cooking stew. Washing up wasn't needed for 2 weeks.
    Zebralight H51 with modified external power supply.
    Silva compass.
    Aldi weather station.
    Imco petrol lighter in DIY leather holder.
    Antique Fox trench petrol lighter as a lifesaver lighter.
    Gas lighters with gaffer tape wrap stashed all over my kit.
    Aldi non-stick pans-excellent.
    Supermarket plastic cook spoons-stays flexible at -30 and below.
    Addis washing up brush. Stays flexible.
    Lomo lightweight Drybags. Exploded at -20, waste of weight.
    Gossamer gear Mariposa plus- the cabin bag and carried my Rab Exped jacket.
    Brit army deployment bag-a great toboggan and flight bag.
    Brit army ECWS mitts as spares.
    2 x MX scott goggles for blizzards.
    Aldi sunglasses with replaceable lenses-cheap and comfy.
    Nivea lip sunscreen-kept my lips from cracking.
    Norwegian formula hand moisturizer-kept my hands in good shape.



    I'm gutted all the thermometers broke and to add insult to this, the SD card started shutting down in the cold. I must have lost 50 or so pics, including an ice Rainbow over Lapporten.

    Early stage planning for the next one has already started.

    Thanks for looking.

    Pete.

  3. #3
    Member draugen's Avatar
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    NICE! Very good reading, thank you for shearing

  4. #4
    Senior Member Ewker's Avatar
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    wow, what awesome scenery and a great trip report..thanks for sharing
    'Classic.' A book which people praise and don't read.” ― Mark Twain

    Who cares about showers, gourmet food, using flush toilets. Just keep on walking and being away from it all.

    There are times that the only way you can do something is to do it alone.

  5. #5
    Senior Member
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    Thumbs up

    Thanks for your detailed report. Informative and well written. Looks like a wonderful adventure! Thanks for sharing.

  6. #6
    Senior Member turnerminator's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by draugen View Post
    NICE! Very good reading, thank you for shearing
    Just down the road line from you. You live in a lovely part of the world.
    Quote Originally Posted by Ewker View Post
    wow, what awesome scenery and a great trip report..thanks for sharing
    Cheers Ewker

    Quote Originally Posted by Hiker Philly View Post
    Thanks for your detailed report. Informative and well written. Looks like a wonderful adventure! Thanks for sharing.
    Thanks Hiker. I can't wait to get back to the freezer

  7. #7
    Member Mick's Avatar
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    Excellent trip report......a great adventure, thanks for taking us along.
    Love the pics too!

    Mick
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/micklynx/

    “You cannot depend on your eyes if your imagination is out of focus”

    Mark Twain

  8. #8
    Senior Member Shewie's Avatar
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    I said it on BCUK but I'll say it again here, epic trip

    Great write up too mate

  9. #9
    Member draugen's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by turnerminator View Post
    Just down the road line from you. You live in a lovely part of the world.
    Still, I don't consider myself so experienced in deep winter sub zero night hammocking/sleeping that i'd risk limbs by going to Tornetrask this time n the year.

    I can only hope I get to go on a trip like that some day

  10. #10
    Senior Member Mountnman's Avatar
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    Great report and fantastic pics, thanks for sharing!
    "I love not man the less, but Nature more."
    Byron

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