Sorjoshytta to Arasluokta. 42km 9hrs. An immaculate dawn over the Sulitjelma peaks gave me a boost on my way today. I have five good days before the weather turns against me with snow and strong winds forecast. So my plan is five big days out in the wilderness to Abisko. Each day between 40-50km. 😱 I start happily with good snow, making fast progress along the lake eastwards. Then I notice my feet are cold… colder than normal… and a few minutes later I stop in horror. I’ve left my overboots at the hut!! Now 4km back and 40minutes of skiing separate me from warm feet. Damn. I do a quick think, dump my rucksack and ski off hard back along my tracks. Damn Damn Damn. Ah well, my grandmother used to say… “What the head doesn’t carry, the feet must.” So I do the roundtrip of 8km to pick them up in an hour… but I’ve lost an hour and a ton of energy in the process. Still, the views are great… the skiing hasn’t got hard yet (it will) and these things happen. At least my feet are warm again. For the rest of the morning I mulled over what point would have been too far to turn around? Depending on how vital the piece of equipment is that you’ve left… discuss?
River skiing through Padjelanta National Park… on my way to Arasluokta I passed through a valley bereft of snow… there has been half as much snowfall as normal this year and much stronger winds so a lot has blown away! For 12km my only choice was to ski along the meandering frozen river. Flat and relatively fast, if a little precarious! Certainly only made possible by the dusting of snow three days ago… what luck… one way or the other!