Sunday 11/3 – Tuesday 27/3

Sunday 11/3

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After I had unpacked I went to the sauna and found Petter and Richard there, plus a guy who had worked at the station before. The dinner consisted of tacos, and I ate copious amounts – and then there were several splendid desserts, so I was full indeed afterwards. Since I was a bit drowsy from everything, I went to bed early with a magazine.

Monday 12/3

Another day of work, strong westerly wind and snow, but the former was of the easy variety. I had, however, developed a worrying ache on my left foot, which seemed to have spread from a light chafe on the back of my heel; the pain had now wandered towards the medial malleolus. I had also been feeling some sharp pangs in my right knee since the day before, but it felt fine in the evening. Another early act of going to bed followed.

Tuesday 13/3

The sky and a good part of the valley were entirely white in the morning, but it gradually cleared later on, and things felt springlike. My foot felt a little bit better, and after finishing in the restaurant I went out on the small roof section above the Skarta entrance, which staffers use as a sun catcher, and read for a while, soon being joined by Lars. However, the sky which had been perfectly clear before was getting more and more white, starting in the west, and as the coming veil slid in front of the sun the temperature dropped and I returned inside.

The station seen from Mastberget

Sun over Savubákti

Darfáloalgi and the valley to the east

Mini-panorama over Siŋŋičohkka, Duolbagorni and Vierranvárri

The rest of the day saw changing weather, with a general tendency towards cloudiness. I worked in the restaurant during dinner, and although there was a non-trifling amount of people things went rather well; I was really starting to feel at home in my role. Afterwards I joined a dart game in Skarta which lasted till midnight.

Wednesday 14/3

I got to sleep in due to a late start, which felt really good. However, I soon discovered that there was a station-wide power failure, probably brought on by the hard wind that was blowing and the heavy snow that was falling; things were so thick that I could hardly make out the valley floor. The power returned a bit later, but it was not long before it disappeared again, and this time it stayed off. It was quite a struggle just getting to the main building, but at least there is an LPG backup system for the kitchen, so not getting food was not an issue. Pretty much everyone who was not on duty – which felt like literally half the staff – spent the forenoon by the fireplace in the old section of the station (Gammelstugan), reading, knitting or just relaxing.

I had the afternoon/evening shift in the restaurant, and not surprisingly I didn't have much to do, and thankfully the power came back shortly after lunch. We had a school class that evening, which did give us something to do, but we could handle it well. Outside the gales reached official storm strength, although visibility was steadily improving. There also arrived three guys rather late, who had skied all the way from Nikkaluokta in the roaring wind, but they ate their own food. When I left my shift the wind was "only" keen, and there was nothing to block the starlight.

Thursday 15/3

Early morning shift in the restaurant for me, in foggy conditions. The youngsters had me and my colleague occupied throughout the morning, but it wasn't that bad, and the rest of the shift was easy enough. Just before lunch we had another short power failure, but it was resolved in time for a total of ten lunch guests who expressed admiration regarding the quality of the food and service. It had cleared partially outside and the temperature was well above freezing, so thawing had started. I slept for quite some time before dinner, and in the evening I borrowed Magnus's computer to watch the first two episodes of Twin Peaks – he and Petter had started a TP craze, but I had managed to miss every showing thus far, so now I made an attempt to catch up.

Friday 16/3

There were very strong winds during the night, which had decreased somewhat when morning broke. My foot was still a bit swollen and tender to the touch (very strange, that), but it felt almost normal otherwise. It was pretty slippery outside, and the weather shifted back and forth. I spent the time up to lunch in Videovagge watching Twin Peaks, and in the afternoon I continued with a 4-episode marathon, which put me on par with the rest. There was more wind and snow, and visibility decreased; there was much drift but the sky could be seen overhead. The evening was finished off with even more watching, this time of a film together with the rest of the interested people.

Saturday 17/3

I awoke at dawn, and after ascertaining that the sky was light and that there was full visibility again I went back to bed. The second time I got up it was rather fair, with still air and a warming sun. Being on leave I discussed possible day tours with Tosse and Petter, but it all ended up with our going our separate ways. Some high clouds were coming in, of a thicker variety to the west and south, but the former passed overhead into the northeast. I bided my time, considering several options (among which Tarfala was one), but eventually decided upon the usual: Personalbacken. I made a small pack and went off sometime around 11, by which time the sun had become veiled.

It was still windless and quite warm as I ascended, mostly following snowshoe tracks made by Anna A and her boyfriend Peter, who had left for the peak of Giebmečohkka earlier in the morning. The snow in the right groove, which I had chosen, was hard but my skins had no trouble finding a grip, and further up things were somewhat better. I paused for a while at Storsten, and then crossed the groove to the rocky section on its eastern side. There the snow felt nice at first, but it quickly degenerated into something very close to actual ice; continuing upwards on skis was simply not an option. Instead I came to another large rock, by which I sat down to have lunch. The sky had then grown completely overcast and the sun was a mere brightening of the southern cloud strata, but it was absolutely calm and quiet; I sat there for quite some time inspecting various features with my binoculars.

Duolbagorni and Vierranvárri appearing behind Kaipak

East

East-er

West

East-est

Gleam in the valley

Panorama from my lunch site, spanning Láddjuvággi

Going back I crossed the width of both grooves above Storsten, and during the latter passage the snow was very loose. As there was no point in trying to ascend further there either, I stopped on a steep stony patch where I performed a lofty and somewhat daring removal of the skins and prepared for downhill motion. The first portion was tricky, as expected, but after Storsten it was pretty good. In the lower part I broke off towards Kaipak, and from there I went straight down to the station.

Free shot of Duolbagorni

Snow structure on Kaipak

An STF-led group of skiers was just arriving, and as I sat in the sauna later in the afternoon I encountered Sören, who is a warden in the care of whom I had thitherto placed myself on two separate occasions. This time he was one of two leaders of the aforementioned group, and we talked for a while; after completing this tour he was going to Alesjaure where he would be stationed for the remainder of the season, and he suggested that I come visit should I get the chance. Later that evening an updated schedule was posted, and it actually included a free period which would allow for such a journey...

Sunday 18/3

There were thick clouds in the sky, but they were being ripped apart, giving some light snow in the process. It was not long before it was clear, with a bit of a haze to the east, and there was no wind. Since I had a late start in the restaurant I of course wanted to take advantage of the nice weather, so without further ado I put on my skis to go on an unplanned tour. Linnéa had apparently had the same idea, and we made it a joint operation.

 

Skarta – personnel building

 

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It continued to be very fair, even though the fax forecasts (which were a constant source of amusement) continued to assert that it was snowing heavily. After showering I spent some time out in the sun along the southern wall of Skarta, together with a whole bunch of other members of the staff. In the restaurant – or anywhere else, for that matter – the accounting/booking system was not working due to a couple of short power failures earlier in the day, and we had to start the dinner without technological aid. It was pretty calm, though, so we had no trouble, and eventually everything could be brought back online – even the credit card scanner at long last.

Monday 19/3

Clouds and snow and wind, all day. After working at breakfast I performed some extensive reading in Gammelstugan, during which a new staffer arrived: Johanna L. In the afternoon a whole bunch of school kids from Kiruna came on skis and snowmobiles, and this created some trouble for us at dinner time – the restaurant was filled to the brim, and we even had to ask some guests to wait until we could clear a table (or, rather, seats). We managed to sort things out in the end, though, and after signing off I went straight to bed.

Tuesday 20/3

This day was fairly fair, and as I wasn't slated to start until after lunch I sat outside reading. Upon going to work I learnt that the breakfast had been tough, and there were still a number of things to take care of. A group of Americans also arrived by helicopter, and we served them lunch in Gammelstugan where they were then given a lecture about the Tarfala research station. The evening was hectic but went fine, and I got to put my more or less dormant French skills to use in dealing with the Alpine Club of Grenoble. Towards the end the three caretakers assigned to the northern cottages – two of which were at the February course – came in and got some special treatment.

Wednesday 21/3

After a restless night I was greeted by a splendid morning indeed, with a warm and welcoming light. This prepared me for the early breakfast shift, which involved feeding the school kids, and even though the workload was high things moved along nicely. The rest of the shift was mostly uneventful, so I took the opportunity to clean the restaurant, and handed out coffee and cinnamon rolls to the caretakers who were about to leave. It was pretty boring being locked up inside, with the weather as good as it was, but since I had the afternoon off I could spend some time outside with the other free personnel. After a brief visit inside I went out again, climbing Kaipak in increasingly windy and cloudy conditions; the sun was about to be obscured by approaching western clouds. After looking things over I went down on the northwestern side and rounded the cliff.

Going up Kaipak

The flat top

Darfálčorru to the northeast

Láddjuvággi to the east

Peaks to the west

Glow to the southwest

Back inside there was Twin Peaks to be had, and at dinner Tosse was congratulated, birthday-wise, with both cake and a custom-made song courtesy of Linnéa. Sofia also approached me with a suggestion to switch cleaning shifts, and after pondering this for a while I agreed. Most of the stars could be seen and it was pretty cold, so the long premier episode of the second season of Twin Peaks in the cosy confines of Videovagge seemed like a good idea.

Thursday 22/3

I (originally Sofia) was scheduled alone for cleaning, but our two interns got to help me out. It was rather light, but things quickly turned overcast with a moderately high base. Closer to lunchtime the western clouds descended to conceal the peaks, and later on it started to snow lightly. I handled the afternoon tasks myself, and as I was finishing Tosse and Linda returned from their attempt to ski down Duolbagorni; they had reached its top, but not gone down in the crater due to low visibility, and they said that conditions on Giebmegáisi had seemed worse.

As it had started blowing rather strongly, coupled with a steady snowfall, this infused us with a bit of worry for the group that had left for the South Peak in the morning; they had telephoned from the Top cabin at 14:30, but had not been heard from since. The weather deteriorated quickly during the evening, and by the time darkness fell things were in a very bad state, with peak wind strengths noted at just below 30 m/s. Now we were worried, but finally, at 21:30, the missing quartet came back under their own power, and we could all go to sleep without regrets.

Friday 23/3

The wind kept on roaring during the early night, but it was much subdued in the morning, and the majority of the clouds had passed on. Another free day had me contemplating what tour to make this time, and I settled upon Savuvággi.

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I remained outside, sitting by the sun wall, and more people kept dropping in – or out. The wind was changing, and when it grew again I went to the sauna instead. In the evening there was TV and TP, and I was apparently very tired when I got back to my room, for I awoke fully clothed lying on my bed at 02:45...

Saturday 24/3

Another beautiful day, and another cleaning shift to make sure that I lose it. It was almost calm in the morning, but before lunch the wind had grown back to familiar strengths. It was very warm, however, and rather springlike, with failing snow cover in many places.

Nina and Anna A were planning to make an attempt at the South Peak the following day, and since I would be free then as well thanks to the switch I expressed an interest to join them. Johanna L also decided to enter the team, and after deliberating for some time we decided to go the western trail on touring skis. Since we intended to start early – really early – to make the most of the light hours we prepared most of our respective packs in the evening. As a final measure we also adjusted our clocks for daylight-saving time, as the coming night was the official switch point; this also meant that we would lose one hour of an already short sleeping period, so we hit the sack quite early.

Sunday 25/3

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A barbecue was set to start at 16:00, and since it had been somewhat delayed we got back in time for it. The meal consisted of hamburgers, which were prepared and eaten under fairly cold and windy conditions, and I didn't spend too much time outside. After a tranquil evening I felt that the day's exertion had taken its toll, so I didn't stay up for very long.

Monday 26/3

I slept soundly through the night, awaking to a fairly windy and cloudy world. I had a mild ache in my triceps from extensive use of the poles yesterday, but otherwise I felt fine, apart from a continued sore in my throat. Seeing as how another longer free period was coming up I started thinking about another tour, and the forecasts were also favorable. Specifically, I wanted to go to the Tjäktja cottage, as one of the participants in the warden course – Göran – had been given an assignment there on short notice; since I was "in the neighborhood" I wanted to pay him a visit.

The afternoon shift in the restaurant was calm and easy, and dinner proceedings were also of a facile nature. All the time it had been clearing outside, but when I was done for the day the it was blowing strongly from the west and the path between the buildings was very slippery. I packed the rucksack for a full tour and then went to bed.

Tuesday 27/3

The night came with hard wind indeed, and the morning saw no particular improvement in that department, but at least it was clear and fair. The early shift in the restaurant progressed without incident, and without too many tasks, and the minute I got off I complemented my provisions and finished the pack, feeling ready to depart about an hour later.

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