This week has been a good workout week. With 9 workouts within seven days is rally good. Four workouts at the gym, and five trail running. One of them 70s x 20s  x 8 intervals. So still going strong:-).

One of my favorite spot will be Sonfjället. readily available, somewhat unknown and with a fantastic view over Jämtland and Härjedals mountains. This area and mountains are something that you usually just pass by. But it is so well worth a visit. It is one of the most bear-rich areas in Sweden. You can easily reach the ”Högfjället” from three direction, but I will suggest two of them. The first the blue one. You start from Nysätern, hike trough the Sododalen, you can stay at the wind shelter and continue in south direction until you reach a small pond. From here you start the ascend in north east direction, you will pass two peaks before you reach Högfjället 1277m. My other suggestion will be to start from Dalsvallen, and you heading fo the same pond, and the same way up towards Högfjällets peak. The way back will be trough Sododalen , with a possibility to stay one of the two wind shelter for lunch etc. If you are lucky you might see a golden eagle here as well…

This week and next week I will test the Helikon-tex Pilgrim Anorak jacket. This is a ”tactical” jacket. Wind proof, and with lot of pockets. It can be waterproofed with wax, and the weight of the jacket is 1kg. With a zipper in the middle as usual at a anorak, it has good ventilation possibilities, it also got zippers for ventilation under the arms. So what is my first judgement of this garment? I like the anorak model, even if its a bit ”old fashion”. Since it not waterproof, you still need a shell with you (that is a minus from my point of view) This looks like a real nice bush craft jacket.  But still more to come after checking it…

This week I will start a  series of articles on hidden or forgotten mountain cabins. We start this week with the Sårjåsjaure cabin. This is unmanned, and open all year around. With its 10 beds and the glacier lake it is worth a visit, it is situated in ”no where” but if you approaching the Nordkalott-trail you will find it on your way…

Coffee makes the world go around. Tired of the instant coffee at you tours, now you got an alternative. The No normal coffee is a tube coffee – yes you read it right coffee on a tube. This has a taste of nuts, chocolate and caramel.  Squeeze it in the cup, pure some water and you there…and the cost? 170:- for 20 cups…

Paolo Nutini – Candy (Official Video) (youtube.com)

See ya soon…

(Renhornet resort in winter ”clothing” I can hardly recommend a stay here)

I think we can introduce the fall now. After a nice summer the calendar starts to get filled in. Last week the Swedish Mountain Safety council held its fall meeting. The place for this year’s autumn meeting was Ljungdalen, more specifically the postvallen and the renhornet resort. As usually it was a lot of topics at the agenda. The first day was just checking the agenda, and formality. Monday I started the day with a morning run.  A nice start of the day by running in the Kesudalen to Kesusjön. Then we went for a hike towards Stortuvan and Vargtjärnsstöten. During the hike we stopped for a couple of times listening to different lectures. I was (The author holding a lecture for the Mountain Safety Council/Photo Carl Lundberg)  also holding a lecture about status within the Mountain leader council. The afternoon we got some ”free” time and I went for a second run. The evening we spend at Helags tavern in Ljungdalen with a lecture from the Sami in the area. Tuesday started as usual with a run and than a continuing with the agenda and presentations. Summarizing The meeting was good with a lot of important topics and well spend time. 

As you probably know, there has been a couple of incidents in the mountains last time. One of the was the pair that been late after a hike in Sarek area. Without having the whole picture and so on, I still got some findings here. It is important to have a good communication with relatives so it not starting a rescue action without reason. A PLB is a good investment or why don’t you rent one, then you can have a good communication with the world around…

So what’s coming up now? Well I will train the Campus Are students about the IML process in a Introduction. I will also probably go th the annual meeting with UIMLA in Macedonia in November and a weekend ”training the trainers” new IML instructor’s in Jämtland in November as well.  Who says I am resting ”off seasons”:-)

See ya soon…

Nattali Rize – One People [Official Video 2017] – YouTube

Todays topic is one of my favorite, and I will never stop talking about it. It is because it is so important and you can always find something new to learn about the area. So here we go again with Mountain Safety.

First of all the planning. It is always interesting and funny to plan the trip. Checking the map, and start the planning. So when you looking at the map start figure out what hazard that can includes the route choice/activity you planning. Next step check the weather forecast, does it fit with your planning? How can the present weather affect you (don’t forget that it can be cold weather even in the summer). Are you physically prepared and fit for the activity/route you planning?! Do you have the skills due to navigation, first aid etc. For the plan?. Luck favors the well prepared…Leave details of your plan/route and expected return time to relatives or friend. Make sure you got the right equipment,(there are lots of website’s you can use) Carry a mobile phone and also a power bank. Bring a first aid kit. Check it so you know what’s in it and how to use (don’t forget to bring aspirin) communication system, what do you do if you got trouble with the phone (PLB’s such as SPOT or InReach) Think before calling out help, and plan for as far as possible for not need external rescue. Always have defined evacuation route for bad weather, injuries or white out. That its all for today…

Plavi Orkestar Ljubi Se Istok i Zapad (youtube.com)

See ya soon…

Last week I took a tour towards Funäsdalen. On Friday I started with a peak tour with the husky up to Funäsdalsberget with a fantastic morning view over the area. After breakfast we went to the Anderssjöåfallet and a tour to Storvålen. The next day we went to the area of Storskarven, and got a real nice mountain day which ended up in Ramundberget with hike close to Ljungan.

I also got some time for trail running..

One of the morning I went to the local coffee shop as I often do. We are a couple of regular customers who sit together and talk about anything and everything. When I sat down with my coffee and join the conversation, a new acquaintance was in place and in just a couple of seconds I realized I really didn’t like the person. After just a couple of seconds he have pushed my ”shrink” button. This made me think about the situation, and I realized that I have learned something about this meeting. One thing is that how important communication is and also that is you and just you who chose your feelings. So lets start with the communication part. Think about how important it is how and what you communicate. what kind of feeling are you conveying? This is very important to start with. To whom are you communicating? What are the essence, what do you want – stop ”hide” your message, be clear (but kind of course).  Make sure to get an acknowledgment of your message, this by dialogue. The other thing is to understand why I got the feeling I got in the situation. In this particular situation it was because he used ruler technique within his communication. But still it is my choice to choose feelings…So there I got my lesson.

The Dead South – People Are Strange [Official Music Video] – YouTube

Dubravka Jusic – Harakiri (youtube.com)

See ya soon…

Sometimes I think we make our life a bit harder and more complex than it should be. Hm. This is probably a sign that I am getting old, this by me reasoning about it😊. We always strive for something better, but think if we are living in the paradise at the moment…That this is the paradise we will experience. With that as a starting point and perspective, it will be quite interesting. Now we can start talking about doing the right things or doing things right?! All of a sudden we probably will get the right feeling of what to do. So, ok don’t get me wrong. I really like the thought of karma, but think if we are living our paradise at the moment, it will not get better than this. All things that matters will be important, and the other “stuff” will not be so prioritized or? Who am I, that is a good question to ask. Use a couple of minutes in silence to reflect of this.  What identifies you with and that resonates with you and that you like and care about. So what will you do with your paradise?

(The author in the Sylarna massif in 1994 and still active in the service of the Swedish army…)

It’s the small thing that matters, we always talk and write about stuff such as tent, sleeping bags and etc. But the small things that I always bring is not so common to talk about. So today I will do that.

Tent pegs. It is important to have good tent pegs. I use Sydvang titanium peg, this ones have good tensile strength and is light. It’s good to invest in a good pegs.

Power bank, this I have write a lot about. But choose a good one for the use that you need. For a long tour you might need a one with 20000mAh. Pot grabber, is a nice thing to have. With this you can grip any pot, without burning you fingers. spoon. I always bring a long spoon in my inner pocket of the jacket. Then it is always ready for use. The Spice missile, from GSI is a must. With this all food will be tasty, and you can bring your favorite spice. Body wash, hygiene is important in the field and you need to take care of yourself. With Sea to summit pocket body wash you got 50 soap leaves for cleaning yourself. Extra headlamp and torch, I always carry a extra headlamp and a torch, this because I want to be sure of having light if necessary. Toothpaste tabs, still in the hygiene area. It can be difficult to brush your teeth in the adventures but this will be helping you with that.  Bivvy bag, it is always good to bring a bivvy bag. With this you got a emergency sleep bag and you can easy make a emergency “wrap” if needed. Water purification, This is important to bring for being sure that the water is clean. Just bring a couple of tablets for that reason.  A pot grip, is a perfect universal tool to use for all pots. And at last today will be a thermometer (with altimeter as well) This is very good to have control over the temperature and also the level of height. I think that will be all for today…

Vi kommer aldrig att dö (2009 Version) (youtube.com)

Iggy Pop and David Bowie – The Passenger (Rare Metalized Version) (youtube.com)

See ya soon…

1980 in July I was standing outside the Enafors train station. It was the first time in the mountains, since that day it has been a couple of year and times and adventures in the mountains. So after over four decades what are my experience? First of all, the mountain environment make my inner clock to stop, I will be in the presence. Even if I change, or get older – The mountains still stand there with almost no changes (glaciers not included). I have learned much about myself, and about my abilities’. To trust in myself and the knowledge and skills that I have earned. While spending time in the mountain environment makes a person to grow in many ways. So even when I have experienced hard times and resistance I have never ever regret a mountain tour. But the challenge is to continuously challenge yourself to try new paths in life and the mountains…

I have written a lot about mountain safety, and from the Swedish Mountain Safety council the information will be the main part for mountain safety. So if you end up in a “tricky” situation start with S.T.O.P S-Sit, sit down and get the big picture. Breath and use your whole capacity. T-Think, start to get an overview over the situation, analyze the situation.(building a shelter etc.). O-Observe, am I in danger?, how much light do I have left, what is my option for shelter? How can I keep the heat? P-plan, establish a plan for what to do for the next step.

It is also a good thing to use the 10 essential of mountain safety; 1. Navigation (map and compass) 2. Sun protection (sun-glasses and sun-screen) 3. Insulation (extra clothing) 4. Illumination (headlamp/flashlight) 5. First aid supply. 6. Fire (fire steel/water proof matches) 7. Repair kit and tools (multiplier and a repair pack) 8. Nutrition (extra food/emergency food) 9. Hydration (extra water and fluid replacement) 10. Emergency shelter (wind sack, bivvy bag) all of this parts can be developed into absurdity so be careful and choose wisely of what you bring.

It is also always interesting to discover a new brand in the outdoor area. The Italian brand Garsport is a new acquaintance for me. This is a brand who develops boots for both mountain sports as well for professional use for the mountain area. Here you get a link to botanize. Footwear factory Garsport, trekking boots shoes and safety shoes

Evil Ebenezer – Sunshine (youtube.com)

See ya soon..

Today’s blog will be about the visitor’s behavior,  becoming old fashion and about a tent.

First of all we can see a pattern related to how the mountain tourism business seems to be. The trend is that the visitors  in the mountains tend to in firsthand do day tours. these visitors are new and unaccustomed, the business says that this is the area that has and will increase the upcoming five years. It is really positive that new visiting groups find its way out to the mountain environment. At the moment there is high peak of season in the Swedish mountains. Week 29-31 the Swedish mountains will be visited by 70 000 individual visitors. It will be the most common areas, with mountain stations that will be the primer target for the tourism. This year it will be interesting to se the trend in Western Jämtlands mountains, due to the new restrictions in the area. The two most mistakes the beginners will do is to underestimate the weather condition and the coverage of the mobile network.

So I running fast to become 60, soon there. And ok I will confess, I am old fashion. I rather use compass instead of GPS. I rather read a book in my hands than on a tablet. I rather bring a paper ticket for the flight (and in the phone of course:-). But I don’t see that as a weakness. Our generation is in between, in between the old and the data driven society. The thins is to not become laid back (fat and happy is another description of it). So you must constantly challenge yourself. Plan and implement all the time. Because as I said before, if you stop developing you stop to be good…

This week I will test the tent Bergans Romsdal 3P. This is a tunnel tent built for 3- seasons (-10). With a weight of 3320g it is perfect to bring for a comfortable mountain adventure. The vestibule has two pockets and attachment point for clothes line. High center pole provides extra head height where it’s most needed. Light weight, Packs easily and becomes small and got good ventilation and has a high working height…

(here you can see how small the tent will be, a pen at the left makes you understand the size. And the poles are very short when foldable)

Commodores – Nightshift (Official Music Video) (youtube.com)

See ya soon…

Today it will be all about emergency shelter. First of all, we must understand why we need to build an emergency shelter. The reason can be many, such as; bad weather, someone get injured or we might be lost for example. There is also big difference of the season and where we are located. Being in the pre-mountain area, will be much easier than to being in the mountains. Winter can be more demanding, but at the same time we got the snow to use as building materials. What is important here is to bear in mind that your clothing will be the base protection for you safety, so keep it dry-always.

So then we go to the next step How do we build a emergency shelter under tough conditions such as mountain environments? First of all, this is the reason you always should have an planned escape route. This for the reason that Is less complicated to build a shelter in low areas than in the mountains, and also the wind speed will be much more decreased there as well. In your pack you should have a emergency shelter or a tent, where you can use the outer tent as shelter. Your poles is also good equipment you might can use. Since it is more difficult to build a emergency shelter in high mountain terrain you need to have more fantasy and more experience to do it. Wind, chill and precipitation will be the three area you need to protect from. All of these three will be a challenge due to the fact that low ground will keep you from the wind, but will risk to expose you to both chill and to wet. So you must chose the place with feeling and reason. This is why it is much easier to be in lower environmental conditions. But try to find a stone block which will be (This is how the environment often looks like, but here you can se some stones you might can use for a shelter…)  in a direction to protect you from the wind. Now you can start building your shelter. (before be sure to check so no water will be pouring into the place). If you don’t find any block to use, you might look for some stone/stones to use for the purpose.  Depending on how long you will be staying, start to make as comfortable as possible. Use the basic of building an emergency “wrap”. This is very important if someone is injured.

So what will be the take away points from here.

1. Be prepared for building a emergency shelter in high altitude or high mountain environment.
2. Secure you got a emergency route for evacuation in bad weather or if anyone get injured.
3. Always bring a wind sack or a emergency tent of any kind with you.
4. Use the terrain in the best of ways when building an emergency shelter.

This week I have been reviewed the Mammut Sapuen High Gore-Tex boot. This boot is marked for the Mammut Flextron technology. This meaning that the boot moves like the foot and will reduce the loss of energy etc. With a weight of 530g it is a light boot. Normally I prefer a higher boot, a model like this is good for Via Ferrata. But I think it is rally good, and on hard surface you can feel that the boot “moves” in a effective way. So for being a mid-high boot I will give it (NNNNN)

YouNotUs x Laurell – All In (Lyric Video) (youtube.com)

See ya soon

Today’s topic will be abut dedication. So the first reflection will be -what is dedication? a feeling of very strong support for or loyalty to someone or something, devoted to a cause, ideal, or purpose. But when does dedication goes to obsession then? Well, that is harder do define, because it will be more of a  personally value. But here the word reasonable can be a good way to look into it. The line, as you probably understand between dedication and obsession is subtle.

So is a dedication or curse or a gift? Well, my answer will be Greatness requires dedication. Dedication means commitment, wholeheartedness,  conscientiousness, resoluteness, and diligence. Dedication makes your very life’s work an expression of honor and affection for who and what you deeply value.

So what is dedication for me? Dedication and passion will be a bit the same for me. In my life I have most of the time get dedicated in a area. I asked my dad when he first time discovered this trait or habit (as I see it) he said -I think it was when you started with outdoor activities. You always wanted to be a professional both in equipment and skills. The first summer holiday from school my first work was cleaning a toilet trolley. The first money I earned I bought a back pack.  And honest I think I also have crossed the line between obsession and dedication a couple of times. It is in my DNA, sorry to say. During my running career, I was just living for the running. I became a Swedish military Champion, but I think it was followed by a high price. At the same time it also brought a lot of good stuff as well. So I will never have it undone.

But if you want to become someone or something, dedication and passion will be the way forward. I think I am a good example out of that…

This week I will do a review of the Mammut men’s sapuen high GT boot. The Sapuen’s upper contains more leather and less mesh. The result is a boot that can handle bigger loads in sketchier terrain, keep your ankle in place. This is a boot for load-carrying capability on technical terrain.

Sven Ingvars – En liten bit av Värmeland (Official Video) (youtube.com)

See ya soon…

Positive thinking.

This is a topic I’ve been writing about before, but it always important o be reminded of it. We always got more negative feeling than positive, this even scientifically proven . So this we really must remember and always focusing of the positive thinking.

Change Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs) – Daniel Amen, M.D. (youtube.com)

This meaning we must filtering at the positive. So filtering the positive in everything, and the first step is done. T is easy to fall into negative thinking like this:

Polarized thinking, Well, this is about the grey scale. Nothing is black or white, so se the possibilities in everything.

Overgeneralization, This is when we conclude a experience as bad for just one negative part. E.g. I failed the test so now the whole term will be a disaster…

Catastrophizing, also known as “magnifying,” catastrophizing is when we exaggerate the negative details of an event, making them a much bigger deal than they are.

Jumping conclusion, We jump to conclusions when we make a hasty judgment or believe something to be true without bothering to consider all the facts.

Personalization, This is a cognitive distortion where we take everything personally and compare ourselves to others.

Control fallacies: There are two types of control fallacies. If we believe we are externally controlled, we perpetually see ourselves as the victim of external forces. If we believe we have internal control, we imagine that other people feel a certain way (pain, happiness, sadness, etc.) because of something we did.

Blaming: Blaming is when we either blame others for our emotional pain or blame ourselves for every problem. It is always someone else reason that you feel bad…

Always being right: Similar to how it sounds, when we engage in this distortion, we believe we’re always right and will argue with people who think otherwise

Emotional reasoning: Emotional reasoning is when we believe that everything we feel must be true.

So, ok know we got the understanding of how and why we can think and act due how we think…That’s good, but that I know. What I don’t know is have to get out from thinking like that…Well her you get some tools.

1. Since you reading this, the firs step has been taken. Be aware of your thoughts. One really good habit is to scheme a meditation. Prompted awerness (such as meditation) got a habit to stop during the day and be in the presence and reflect over your thoughts.
2. Turn negative into positive. Next time you find yourself saying “this will never work” or “everything is ruined,” try to oppose that thought with a positive one. When the negativity appears challenge yourself is this true, is this thinking relevant due to the situation?
3. Adapt your thinking, adapt the situation. Take a deep breath, and try to se it from another angle. Take yourself out and distance you’re from the problem.
4. When you end up in a negative situation create a way of good thinking such as, Make it happen, I am enough, I got this, I choose to be happy. This is one of the special forces golden key. I have done some similar before, and I fixed it.
5. Practice daily gratitude, This is one of my favorite, define what are you grateful for today.
6. Pay it back. Pay for a strangers coffee, Participate in a charity activity etc.
7. Switch up your environment. Be with people that give you energy, and positivity, Spend time in the nature, this is probably something you already know and feel about.
8. Develop morning routines. For you how been following this blog, this is nothing new. Exercise-Workout-shower cold etc.

The Tierra Templet 3L Jacket is a Gore-Tex three layer alpine (heavy duty) jacket. It is developed for snowy action sports. What I like with it is the ventilation solution. This is on the side, and easy to handled. Normally this type of solution is under the arms, and can be a bit difficult to reach. But not in this case. Overall it is a good jacket, and the finish is fine. From my point of view it is a stripped jacket, with less details. But it still is a ”heavy duty” jacket which I gladly will bring in high alpine areas. So the result (NNN+)

Poor Little Fool – Ricky Nelson (youtube.com)

See ya soon