Wednesday 19/3

Since it was rather cold and also a bit of wind in the shadow I started out with the thicker gloves and cap, skiing in the tracks beside the ravine. At the first crest the sun shone, and I switched caps before pressing on. The other two Swedes in front of me had veered off slightly up the slope to the right, and I passed them by out on the lake. As I started the ascent of the steep Šielmmávággi slope some light clouds were gathering around the peak of Šielmmáčohkka, and I was left to wonder how the day would turn out for the four people headed for that peak. Where I could discern them I followed some old tracks which had probably been created by both me and the three girls a few days past, but in any event I took much the same route as last time I went up.

When I reached the stones above the steepest portion things were warm enough for me to also change the gloves, but around Šielmmáčohkka the clouds were now denser. I continued up the righthand slope as the haze spread out behind me, stopping at the pass threshold to remove the climbing skins. There I found another haze not too far ahead, but even as I watched it started to pull back, leaving a perfectly clear line of sight far to the northwest, and now the haze behind me was lifting as well. After the first few downhill slopes from the pass point I maintained most of my elevation, crossing the outrunner from Čeakčačohkka fairly early. The descent was a bit tricky due to rough and hardened snow, but I came down safely.

Leaving the cottage

Vaktposten

Čeakčačohkka

Šielmmávággi and 1773

Panorama over Šielmmáčohkka, Nállu, Reaiddáčohkka, Vaktposten and Čeakčahjälmen

Wall

Getting hazier

Passing one of the Čeakčačohkka summits

Passing peak 1773

The other side of the pass

Panorama over Luoktekriehppi, Ážik and Gárddečohkka, with the Tjäktja cottage showing to the left

The pass with Reaiddáčohkka behind it

Looking southwest from the ridge

Towards the Tjäktja Pass

Arrival

When I glided in between the guest cottage and the warden's cottage at 10:45 I was welcomed by Per-Erik – husband of Carina the warden. He I had not met before, but Carina was a fellow participant in the warden course, and at the moment she was busy cleaning the floors in the larger cottage. She was just finishing up, though, and we all went inside the other building for a bit of food and more than a bit of talking. One of the stories related was that when Carina arrived to open up, a window in the kitchen in the guest cottage had broken, resulting in a considerable amount of snow inside, so she and one of the caretakers had spent much of the first day shovelling indoors.

In present times a bank of clouds had appeared off to the south, but it soon receded; the weather was very fair and comfortable. Then Anders, one of the STF caretakers, came on his snowmobile, bringing much-needed dog food for the three resident canines – and he also brought a pack of ice cream, which we consumed in unison. Now another cloud front of a lower variety was approaching rapidly from the north, and I thought it best to start the return journey before it hit in full.

The time was 13:45 when I left, and immediately I ran into the couple I had passed in the morning. I went up the rise somewhat to the left of my own tracks, and once into Šielmmávággi I was greeted by whiteness. As I proceeded up to the pass it grew lighter, but instead visibility quickly deteriorated behind me. On the other side things were somewhat better, and the descent of the steep slope offered some nice turns. I had the wind in my back as I crossed the lake, being chased by snowfall, and then I went down The Slope, stopping outside the cottage at 15:30.

Cloudier

Even cloudier

Cloudier still

Somewhat less cloudy

Nállu in view again

Šielmmáčohkka as well

A wee bit of sun

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