Lapland in Winter
Tuiskukuru - Suomunruoktu

[back to the overview]

19^th of February 2002
Skiing tour, day 4: blizzard at the swamp plains

When we woke up in the morning, it was snowing and the sky was overcast. Today we had to cross again the highland, which we know already from our journey to this place. After a 45 Minute descent to the plateau, we had to notice, that all the tracks where already covered by the blowing snow of the blizzard. On some places we could see some small snow cornice in the diffuse light but most of the time we had to find the track with our sense of touch. We felt when we loose the track, when our skis were sinking some centimetres more into the snow. When this happened, we had to make a correction of the direction, until we felt again the pressed snow of our old track.

When we came again in forested regions, we found the track between the trees and we decided to make a rest and celebrate our sense of orientation.

After this short brake (because of the inhospitable weather) we went along a ridge again down to the Suomujoki valley, where we met two Austrians with alpine touring skis and an akja.

At the fresh track of the two Austrians we made now good progress and now we rally saw what big difference it makes, to have a already "groomed trail". At the way down to the valley we found again out, that these skis are not made for steeper downhill runs.

Arrived at the hut the usual procedure began: cleaning the skis, heating the hut, chopping wood, cooking and making a horrible mess in the hut.