T
o travel to theKebnekaiseMountain
Station fromKiruna is togo from
remote toremoter.As theroad leads
west, the tinyclustersofcabins in
dwarfbirch forestsbecomesparser.
TheSamivillagenamesremainequallyhard to
pronounce:Kaalasluspa,Pirttivuopioand,finally,
Nikkaluokta.This iswhere theroadends–where the
lakemeetsariver inawidealluvialvalley–andyou
have to travel thefinal 19kmbysnowmobile.
TheKebnekaiseMountainStation isa218-bed
lodge/hostel setbelowamassifof thesamename,
Sweden’shighestpeak, 150kmnorthof theArctic
Circle.ASami family– famous for theirweather
predictions,madeeachspringonnationalTV–
operates the transport. Inside, antique iceaxesadorn
wallshungwithportraitsofSamimatriarchs.A
portraituntoherself, theplace isrunbyasole, silver-
hairedwomanwhoshuttlesbetweenservingcoffee,
manning thecashregister, staffing thegiftshop, and
leaningoutof the frontdoor toshout instructions to
snowmobiledrivers.
On thesecondmorning, Iheadoutwitha largely
SwedishposseofmountainguideJimmyOdén,
photographerMattiasFredriksson, skiersHannaOvin
andOlleRegnér, andanotherAmerican,proskier
SvenBrunso.Sittingonwoodensledspulledbehind
thesnowmobiles,we followa trailas twistedas the
surrounding trees,overbogsandstreamsswelling
withmeltwater.The landscapescreamsPleistocene
–as if thecontinental icesheets thatcarved these
mountains intosharp-edgedplateaushadretreated
onlydaysbefore.
Thepeaksarestill largeenough forseriousskiing,
however,with1,500mclimbs from thevalleysand
Kebnekaise itself toppingoutatover2,000m.Even in
March,whenskiingherereallybegins, thecompeting
Arcticclimates–bothcontinentalandmaritime–
breedweather thatseems less toarrive thanslam into
therangeswithall the furyofaNorsegod.Later in
thespring,as lightbuildsquickly towardmidnight
sunandweathersystemschange,katabaticwinds
pourdown thevalleys.
Itwassuchawindstorm thatprevented
usreachingKeb thepreviousday,when the
snowmobileswere takingover twohours tomake
the45-minute trip inhighwinds.Whenwearriveon
thisday, thewind isonlyhalf-crazy–enough toblow
youoffyour feetonly ifyouaren’tpayingattention.
Asweunload thesleds inbrightsun in frontof
»
n
/045
