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SAARI DREAM Produced bay TERRAEDELWEISS www.terraedelweiss.free.fr S’équiper
ADVENTURE - p.6 YOUR TURN - p.48 GEAR - p.50
Writer - Julien Ondedieu Pictures - Ludovic Drocourt & Julien Ondedieu Developement - Ludovic Drocourt Proofreader - Elodie Roy
T
he sun warms the wide glass frontage in the small airport of Tromso. Our buckle is locked up, Lu and me joined our starting point left one week earlier. I savour a Coke, fascinate by white mountains covered with snow all over on the horizon, behind the sea. We were here to ascent Halti mount by snowkite and ski tourring. Our challenge changed a kind of peacefull retreat, stuck four days around a small wooden hut on the banks of an lake surrounded by mountains. A place dreamed to get lost with a dear friend, to explore this huge Arctic plain by ski and in kite. It was a fabulous human adventure rich in meetings as unforgettable as unexpected. Let us resume everything since the beginning.
Adventure
We find skis kites and bags at Tromso, excited as kids, the whole compacted on the back we leave looking for the bus which connects Tromso with Kilpisjarvi. It works only from June till September. We are in April and adds us amazed. The only solution which limits damages is to join Skibotn by bus in two days then to go by hitch-hiking to the small village of Kilpisjarvi. With bags which the volume approaches two hundred liters and our skis. While waiting for we shall sleep in the airport and visit Tromso.
We leave the bus in Skibotn, it will not pass in our way back then we will do all the way by hitch-hiking. After half an hour of walking collapsing under the weight of our equipment we reach the fork with the road number eight which leaves towards Finland in the East. We raise inch and a man stops to pick us until Kilpisjarvi. He insists on offering us some bread, cheese and a beer which we taste with ludo as to celebrate our arrival, finally, in the small village. Having spent at night under a wood shelter lengthened on the snow we rush in the supermarket to buy a sled. For a small shop I was surprised by the number of models proposed during my two previous explorations these last two years, but this time are out of stock. We content ourselves with two sleds for children on whom we arrange our equipment and we leave.
Ludo is ski touring for his first time. He slides on his right leg sometimes. Ending ups in duck style, a singular way. When we notice that one of the skins is back to front I am hilarious. It slides instead of sticking in a direction and stop instead of helping in the other one. Ludo stay focus, happy. I am so glad to be with him, here.
After Cahkaljarvi the strong wind is regular, I slide by sail close to Ludo. Along the path the ground is rather flat. I move forward without any trouble pushed by the South-West wind. After four hours of walking we approach the small hut of Saarijarvi. There is nobody. As many huts in the park a part is free of access, the other one is to rent.
The hut of Saarijarvi is ideally placed for snowkite.Between two lakesthe thickness of the ice exceeds one meter in April. All around slopes rise smoothly as we go away from it, surrounded by mountains. This ground offers a solution to every direction of wind. Today blizzard blows from South-East. The clear sky offers us a magnificent light on Sanaa mountains, Jehkas and Sadgevarri. I go out to browse lake at top speed lake pulled by the six meter Pulse II kite, Ludo takes these pictures.
During more than an hour I slide under the golden rays which burst on the horizon. Tired, joyfull and freeze we go back to the small hut. Inside we discover our new companions. A young man explains us that he is here to go fishing on the ice. We shall share a fish if he bring a beautiful taking. He discovered this place fourteen years ago. He is friendly towards us. Another man and his wife arrived late in the evening. His white eyebrows are coverd by gold colored by the fire light. He does not speak English but he try speak with us in Finnish.
The next day everything is white. The powerful wind takes snow crystals in a grave whistling. Inside the hut the fire crackles in the small wood stove while we lunch.
We stay in the area today by fear of getting lost with this thick blizzard. The small sail flight, he wind blows in gusts, Ludo hangs on to the bar.
its small size is enough to pull both of us, hotheads like child hung on a small rope.
We take off Through the huge snowy plateau.
The next day the wind fell. The stove is filled with wood to warm the hut, we are ready for an wild improvised shower.
When the breath of the wind is felt again the biggest sail pulls me toward the top of Salmivaara. I rise peacefully.
Ludo monte jusqu’au sommet à l’aide de ses peau remontés à l’endroit avec un rivet et deux visses que j’avais dans ma petite trousse de répa-
ration. Ce soir il y a du monde dans la cabane alors nous dormirons dans notre petite tente, bien au chaud dans nos duvets cumulus.
Since Saarijarvi towards South-East we arrive at Termisjarvi hut. Tomorrow if the weather allows it our friend, the fisherman, will go there to investigate the lake of Diempesjarvi. Over there the refuge can welcome eight persons and as in every hut in the park there is some wood for the stove all year round. Kuonjarjoki open wilderness hut is in the Northeast of Saarijarvi. The hut is on the track which drives to the Halti mount, it can welcome up to ten persons. We can reach it by raising smoothly up to the pass between Guonjarvaari and Jollanoaivi. Some people prefer to by-pass by the Northwest Guonjarvaari and to come down again in the facing west basin which passes under Kalkkinippa. I had imagined to reach Meekonjarvi the previous day if the wind had been enough to sweep the thick fog which blocked the horizon. Today its breath is too light to go away. At the evening hikers arrive, we shall sleep under our small tent, quiet and warm in our Cumulus sleeping bags.
En ouvrant les yeux le matin le soleil colore déjà le ciel d’un bleu lumineux. L’immense troupeau de rennes est redescendu dans la plaine à quelques centaines de mètres de la cabane. Nous l’observons par les minces vitres pleines de givre de notre petit abri. Pas de signe du vent. Nous sommes si bien. Nous restons silencieux, allongés. Je prends quelques photos, Alex lit. Puis le vent se lève et nous repartons, excités par ce qui nous attend.
The wind did not blow this night and this morning sun is everywhere, it is warm. We leave westward to reach Kilpisjarvi. Let our two sleds at the gas station, pile up all our equipment in the small boot of the vehicle which stop.
Our driver goes back home in Norway, he tells us that winter long polar night is not easy to live. To Skibotn we thank him and we leave in search of a bivouac along the magnificent delta of the river Hivgojhoka. It is late when we settle down, the night falls.
In the bank dry wood trunks are everywhere, the fire never misses fuel and to find any drinking water there is only a small quiet water arm to cross. We are so good. We discover the surroundings without ever growing tired of the Nature show, fascinated by small icebergs put down here and there by the tide. We wash our linen and I try even a shower improvised with a tight dry bag filled with warm water hung on to a tree. The water does not have time to touch the ground that it is already frozen, I run to the fire to warm myself.
Le vent nous monte aux sommets. Cap au sud-ouest aujourd’hui, alors nous tirons des bords entre les crêtes et le lac en contrebas. La vue est particulièrement belle. Les sommets au loin déchirent l’horizon.
Les nuages tentent un assaut, engloutissant une partie du massif. Nous nous sommes sous le soleil. Toujours. Seuls au milieu de ces pentes magnifiques, vierges.
The next two days pass peacefully. On Fridays we leave our camp under snow flakes early in the morning. Our backs support hardly the weight of skis, camp, food, clothes and kites. We move forward slowly. In the small gas station we raise the inch that already a small van stopped. Polish workers offer us the huge space of their boot truck for our stuffs, we go back to Tromso in good company. We occupy the next two days with discovering the town and its streets, I think of my little boy who misses me so much. He too here a day maybe.
Your Turn How to go: Kilpisjarvi is the starting point of our hike. This small village is served all year long by a bus which makes the connection every day since Rovaniemi and Kaajani where you can land all year round. The schedules of bus are proposed on the matkahuolto.fi site. No need of visa for Europeans. At Kilpisjarvi there is a small supermarket and a sports store where you can by food and fuel for your stove. To plan your hike the retkikartta.fi site is a gold mine.
About the weather: We left at the beginning of April. At night the temperature was around fifteen Celsius below zero but it might be much more cold, as it was last years. The day the temperature raised around zero. The yr.no website offers detailed weather forecasts and the senorge.no website gives precious information onto the snow-covered.
How much: 398€ withouht burgers Our flight tickets cost 309€ with extra fees of 60€ to take our two pairs of ski. The bus for skibotn cost 14€ in the local money. The dry food could be bought in advances during a special offer (40€ each for a week) and the gas for stove (5€).
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