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#skiing #hiking #camping
I joined a group of people and followed three amazing guides into Strömbäck Kont. We had our Nordic touring skiis to travel through the forest and on the sea.
We gathered at Strömbäck. Checked our gears. I put on my sled (pulk) straps, I took a group photo and we hit the road (or glid the road? 🤓).
I got to experience, observe, learn and feel so many different things during this journey.
Keeping yourself warm
➡️Thin layers for skiing, tick layers for resting. 🧤
➡️ Have a liner (thin wool gloves under the skiing gloves), otherwise you risk freezing your hands when you set up the tent, or reach out for snack, or take a photo… A nice surprise for me was that my wool liners worked on my phones screen. 🤳🏽
➡️ Have a buff to cover your neck and mouth when wind conditions change. 🧣
➡️ Skiing boots are not gonna warm your toes in base camp. Have very warm boots for toasty feet. Guides had boots from Polyver of Sweden and I got to test them. Worth investing🥾
➡️ When you stop feeling your toes, it’s time to ask for help. Putting toes under (someone’s) armpit is the best hack. 🙋
Food & Water
➡️ Bring looots of snacks 🧁. Cold + movement = Extra hunger.
➡️ Squeezable baby fruit puree pouches make a great and healthy snack (you need to defrost them under your armpit). Never thought I would use my armpits this much!
➡️ You need to allocate quite much time to melt snow water for food and drinking water (also depends on your outdoor stove size). ❄️🔥💦
➡️ In the morning you will for sure want to eat something warm. Dried breakfast or food bags are great way to start the day.
➡️ Have a coffee/tea mug that you will truly enjoy drinking from. I had a wooden camping cup. And I learned in a painful way that its called “kåsa” in Swedish.
Memory Unlocked: I dated a person from Finland before. So my first Swedish journey started with a Finnish-Swedish accent and some borrowed words from Finnish like kuksa (the word for wooden camping cup in Finland). How could I have known the same word would mean “male genitalia” in Swedish.
Putting up your tent
➡️ How you burry your tent pegs under the snow can be a matter of to-tent or not-to-tent. ⛏️
➡️ Thinner (liner) gloves are essential while setting up your tent (mentioned above) as you wont be able to use your tick skiing gloves.
➡️ Flattening the snow with your skis before putting up your tent is a good idea to ensure flat sleeping experience.
Asking for help
➡️ Dont be stubborn and ask for help.
➡️ One of the guide told be her insight about asking for help and I really like it. Think of those times you helped someone and when you saw their appreciation. It felt good right? So when possible, give that opportunity to other to get that warm feeling from helping you out. A bonus, it creates a community feeling.
