I usually write in Finnish but there is a reason to turn it in English as I want you my foreign friends also to be able to read my story a bit easier way this time.
I've always wondered can you really say if its been a good or bad year? Well 2015… it definitely wasn't the easiest one. I had a big dream that getting back to the mountains for Christmas after an exhausting autumn would help and light up my life again. What I had learned from the past summer was to leave all the expectations beside and take the coming adventure as it goes.
Someone who don´t really know me told me to rest during the coming holiday but some one who does know me pretty well gave me a cardboard sign with a slogan ”Live your dream”. A couple of weeks before Christmas I also saw a sponsored post in Facebook that was advertising hoodie with the text ”I don´t need therapy - I just need to go to the mountains!”. It was pretty close that I would have ordered one. I was so sure that this recipe would bring me alive again and yeah, that might also happen without wearing any slogan shirt.
 |
| Live your dream. Instead of ordering a hoodie I decided to invest the money for new ski goggles with a flat light lens. |
We started driving towards Norway and Lyngen Alps on the afternoon day before Christmas eve. The first feeling after closing the office door was pretty unreal. I was looking the weather forecast every five minutes while sitting in the car but then I remembered what I had promised to myself - no expectations. But for sure the information about quite promising snow conditions tickled my mind and toes. A friend joined our trip in Oulu and we continued driving through the night in a crispy winter weather.
The next morning started like a perfect chapter in a fairy tale. It was still quite dark when we arrived to Kilpisjärvi but you were able to just see the silhouette of Saana. I was feeling a bit sleepy still but there was no questions if I could close my eyes anymore as I was too exited to open my long waited Christmas present - scenery of the Lyngen alps. I felt a warm wave in my heart. I had´t been wrong about my own feelings. Just seeing the mountains made it easier to breathe again. Suddenly the once and a while bothering distressing even quite painful feeling was gone.
 |
| The best sleep and wake up in the car for the last days of year 2015. |
We parked the car in front of the Magic Mountain Lodge some hours earlier than we had informed for our arrival time to be. We were suprised how that was possible but quite fast we realized that usually it had been a bit bigger group of us travelling including a breakfast and shopping break in Kilpisjärvi but this time everything was closed there.
 |
| Quite huge Santa Claus was hanging out in Lyngseidet. |
The owner of the lodge, Henrika, welcomed us more than warmly in. Her husband, Patrik, had already gone up to the mountains to check how the snow conditions were. I got the next and nice warm wave in my heart when I stepped inside the lodge. I felt like I would have arrived to an other home for us. After having some breakfast we all three or actually four, as our dear hairy family member, Mara, was traveling with us, thought that it would be better to have at least a small hike outside. And it always takes the first hike to set up all your gear on place so we decided to take our skis out too.
 |
| Hiking up towards Rorneshytta in Lyngseidet. |
The daylight period is really short this time of the year or actually the sun doesn't come up at all. None of us had been hiking up or skiing down in a headlamp light before but we decided to give a try. We choose a route towards Rornestinden that we knew pretty well from the previous trip last spring. Mara was running happy and free but just above the tree line the wind started to blow heavily and he acted like it was too cold for him to continue. I guess he also got a bit too excited of a totally new world. And yes, it was also exciting for us too to come down just having the headlamps lightening our way. After a small skitour trip the warm sauna was waiting for us at the lodge. Relaxed Christmas eve with no pressure was more than welcome present. I couldn't ask for more. Simplicity was the key for happiness this time.
 |
| Skiing down in a moonlight on Christmas eve. |
Christmas day looked like it would start most probably snowing. The wind blown mountains in Lyngseidet somehow didn't inspire us to explore this day. We remembered the nice mountain in Tamokdalen from last spring that we thought would be a worth of try in this conditions and the snow might be better there. At least there was pretty nice and sparse forest area to ski if the access to the peak wouldn't be possible.
 |
| Hiking up on Sjufjellet in light snow fall. |
 |
| On the way up we stopped to check how the snow layers were and it was looking alright. |
And oh yes, we were not disappointed. It was the softest and lightest snow for this winter for us already down there on the parking place. An other Christmas present was definitely waiting for us to be opened and it also started to snow a bit. That meant also more clouds coming in and the visibility was getting pour so we decided not to hurry too much and descent in the dark. Although more lumens in the headlamp would have made the skiing down maybe a bit more easier we had so much fun. And the snow was so good. It was definitely a Merry and White Christmas day!
 |
| On the top of the Sjufjellet (1086 moh). |
 |
| Powder and more powder coming down. |
On the second Christmas day, Tapaninpäivä as we call it in Finnish, there was about 20 cm fresh snow on the ground when we went for a morning walk with the dog and it was snowing more. For sure that makes you think where would be the best but safest place to play. Thanks to the nice owner of the lodge and a Swedish guy working for them, we got the best tips. We just jumped on our skis on the front door of the lodge and went to play into the forest near by. Mara joined us this time again as we knew that we wouldn't be hiking more than about 400 to 500 vertical meters.
 |
| On the way to a forest spot. |
Well it was deep powder day for us but super deep for that small Jack Russel. And me, I'm not the strongest skier in a forest but this was the first time I really enjoyed it a lot. I guess the whole atmosphere of the trip so far allowed me to take it all not too seriously. On the way up I saw one small bowl under a pretty perfect skiing line and I was laughing in my mind that I so can see what happens if you ski straight down in there and guess what happened on the way down....
 |
| Me just trying to get back on skis after a small jump in to the snow. |
 |
| Just wondering the amount of snow... |
If you were born on 27th of December what would be your dream birthday present? I think my dear husband got his. Almost 400 meters fresh powder in front of him where no one had not been coming down yet. It came to an other ski day under the tree line as it had still been snowing some 20 cm more during the night. We made two rounds in a small but so unbelievable nice playground again only some minutes driving from the lodge. After skiing we talked in the car that it would be nice to have some snack before having dinner and guess what, there were fresh waffles with whipped cream and strawberry jam waiting for us at the lodge. Not anything or anyone could take this happy feeling in my heart away from me. I was purely amazed and in love with my life.
 |
| Hiking up the magical powder forest. |
 |
| Happy Birthday and powder day to Roope! |
As you have had so many good and fun skiing days it feels hard to make a stop. The couple days had for sure been a bit lighter with both snow and vertical meters so we decided to have one more toptur day before taking a rest. We had already last spring been looking for one peak called Giillávárri (1082 moh). And no its not the mountain on the Kåfjord side. This Giillávárri belongs to Lyngen Alps and is located near Rássevarri but the starting point is more closer to village called Oteren than Nordskjosbotn. After exploring the way to get going up and getting through the forest part I don't wonder why this is not so popular comparing to some other mountains around. But it was definitely worth of it after all. The clear sky and a lovely valley after the tree line really made our day. After coming back down to the car we all felt more or less that we had given it all. Especially the last cross over the pretty narrow but deep looking river should have been filmed but I guess it's pretty well saved in our memories who were on place.
 |
A rest day... Well who would sleep long. We had a pleasure to meet a Finnish man who was living in Tromsø and came to visit his friends over one night to the lodge. He told us about the whales in Kvaløya, so how could you miss those tips. We started our rest day by driving towards the place to be. It was again clear weather and I have to say that it was probably the first time having a rest day on a good weather but why not.
 |
| View from the Svensby harbour in the morning moonlight. |
Mountains were again showing up so fabulous in the morning light. There were some others too looking for a good spot to see the magnificent nature creatures in the spectacular landscape.
 |
| Beach day on Kvaløya. |
We had almost given up when suddenly one of us, who was dreaming to get more lumens in his headlamp, saw a fin of a killer whale. After some minutes we spotted more killer whales and also some humpback whales blowing the water in the air. Well we didn't see a whole whale jumping or a whale splashing its tale but what we saw was still super cool and just from the beach without disturbing any of the animals with going there by a tourist boat.
 |
| Spot a whale! I need some more practice and bigger extension tube;) |
The rest day ended up with enjoying a delicious pizza in Tromsø and then a long long drive in the dark back to our home lodge. The next day it was about to be a skiing day again. And the plan was to go to THE Giilavarri with on L on it's name too;) But I will make the last two skiing days an other story as a Kind of magic - part 2.
 |
| Looking forward to New Year and new adventures! |
Pictures: Pauliina Sjölund, Robert Sjölund & Timo Laine
