December is just 3 month away. Okay I know, live here and now. But it is good to start preparing for the winter season. Check the gear sharpening the Ice tools and check so it all is in shape. Next step will be to check yourself, are you ready for peak performance? So it is time to check and develop your skills in; route finding, navigation – Snow travel techniques – the use of the Ice axe – The use of crampons -Glacier and roped travel – The use of snow anchors etc. So look at the weather forecast and start hunting the bad weather for increasing your skills and experiences.

At the moment it looks like it will be time to plan the next summer as well. With the vaccination card ready, we might be able to travel upcoming summer. Then I have two nice suggestions. Why don’t go Via Ferrata in Switzerland. The second will be the Dolomite’s. The Tre Cime di Lavaredo will be a good suggestion. The length is 9,5km. Start point is refugio Auronzo, it also the end so you will go in a big loop. Or why not go sky-running…

SKYRUNNING HD / Trail running motivation – It’s Time to Fly ! – YouTube

I will do a review of the Lowa Combat Boot GTX Black. This is a boot for heavy duty activities. So it will be interesting to see what it will be like.

I will also take a check of Lundhags Gnaur 75 RL. A nice back pack for adventures, so it will be good to see how good it will be.

Via Ferrata – Moiry – Grimentz – YouTube

Le Winter – The Mind (feat. Hampus Ewel) – YouTube

See ya soon

It has been a fantastic summer and also a fantastic year. 8 month and just as many mountain adventures this year (so far). We can see that the interest for mountain activities has increased a lot in Sweden. This means that some of the areas will be more affected, this is the ones with easy access. It will also means that people with less skills will be more common. This is a possibility for the guiding area. The pandemic will probably have the effect that more people will change one of their vacation in foreign countries will decrease. So now it is time to take the advantage of this. So go with clients to places where they will be alone in the mountains will be a business opportunity. I also think that this will also help us to guide clients in other countries as well. So with a International Mountain Leader certificate you will have a future success ahead.

Soon we step in to September and it will be the best time for hikes in the Swedish mountains. It is also time to start planning for the upcoming pre-Winter and Winter season. So how to do that? Well it is time to check map and calendar for put in to the plan. Skiing, ice-climbing, cross country skiing. Just to plan.

This week it will be rope technique training, and to start building up the leg strength and balance for the skimo(ski mountaineering) So here you will got some suggestions. Challenge yourself with new workout so you get inspired and get better step by step. A lot of fighting workout at the moment…

( Me, coach Mohammed and the inspiring Marcus after 60min fighting workout)

Start the workout with balance in time for the season. My first suggestion will be the aeroplane. Stand up, and lift up one leg. Follow with the rest of the body and grip a stick. Hold it over your head.

Trekking Tabata – YouTube

When it comes to equipment I have been testing the Salewa MTN trainer 2. An approach shoe for hiking and Via ferrata. This is a really nice shoe. They are small in its size so choose a size bigger than normal. Then you will have a really nice shoe. With its special sole, its is developed for Via Ferrata. It has a solution for Via Ferrata steps in the sole, small but well thought out solution.

Enjoy Skuleskogen:

Bästa stunden på dygnet att vandra i Skuleskogen – YouTube

Jenn Grant Eye Of The Tiger – YouTube

See ya soon…

As a guide you need to be skilled and got good and grounded knowledge of the area. But also as a guide you really need to got the skill to conveying a feeling. It doesn’t matter how good your technical skill is if you don’t touch the clients. When I hire a guide, this is one of the most important skills I expect. You must really in your heart love what you do. As guide you do it for the clients and not for your self, that what you need to have in focus.

This week I have spend in Funasdalen in Jamtland. The first day it was time for the peak-tour. I get up early and checked the weather. A light rain, but the sky got some light parts as well. The first part of the track was steeply uphill. The first plateau was reached and it felt good for everyone. The next part was  bit easier and the participants moved ahead in a good pace. Soon we reached the Anntjarn, a nice little mountain lake. The rain has now stopped and it was a nice air to breath. Now the track become a bit steeper again, and the next plateau was reached. the fog and clouds now began to come in from below the mountain, and the visibility was affected. But the trail was still easy to follow, and in sudden the cloud and fog diapered and we could at that moment see the peak of Anafjallet. So now it was easy and in twenty minutes we were standing of the top of the peak. The hike down was easy and the the weather smile against us, and for another time it told us that it is often worth starting early. 

Next next step of the adventure was a helicopter-tour. so just a bit later we were sitting in the helicopter. Starting with a flight over the Funasdalen, to Ramundberget and follow the trail to Faltjagarstugan. From here we fly over Mittadalen and ovar to AnaFjallet and the peak of the day: Annfjallet. Fantastic and see the area from this angle. With all this adventure the participants went back to the cabin. The guide (me:-)) decided to take trail-running tour towards the Funasdalsberget. So that begun to look like a nice mountain day in the end…

This day it was time for a hike towards Miesjehkentjahke at Flatruet. From here the view over the Sylarna-Helags massif is really nice. In the other direction you got the Anafjallet in the fond. And as Carl Von Linné described it: It is like a sea that has been frozen. It is like waves…When this hike was done, it was time for a Via Feratta -tour towards the Funasdalsberget. The route is 300m up, and parts are really steep. There is also part that is just trail. But the last part is a bit airy in some part. The effort is well worth the view as the reward. 

Early the next morning I put on my trail-running shoes and started the rout around the Funasdalsberget. The pre-mountain forest was really nice and a woke up two capercaillie birds. A bit higher up a falcon followed me a bit. And at the top of the mountain three reindeer looked at me wondering what I was doing. But this was a really nice mountain morning run.

So conclusion is that Funasdalen has delivered. Really nice area with a little bit of Chamonix feeling with the mountain in sight wherever you standing…..

The summer and vacation is coming to an end, but this is the start of the autumn and winter season. Here we come…

*SUMMER WINE* – YouTube

See ya soon

(Time to plan the upcoming Winter tours? This is a sledge dog tour 1935 in the Sylarna massif of Jamtland)

It is already August, and its time for planning the autumn. As a wise man said: looking forward is the best to do, backwards you cant change:-). The workout this period of the season means a lot of running and hiking. This year I have a average of 18,1 km pro day. That a good result. That together with seven mountain tour, that is great. Ahead of me is a tour towards Funasdalen and also the Summer Assessment of IML’s. So lot to look forward to.

This week I’ve been looking into a quite new brand of Sweden. The Beyond Nordic. This is a company that fits in to the premium level. The super level is like Mammut, Marmot etc. In this area we also find the Revolution Race as well. This brand looks like they are very dependent of social media for promotion. So you have to take that in consideration when using them. The small details may not be there…However, I’ve been testing the BN003 Ultra softshell pant. This pant got a high waist that is something I like. It also got both hooks for the belt as well as Velcro straps. It also got the Beyond Nordic gear loop for tools as ice axe or axe. It also got a recco reflector (this is from my point of view unnecessary, this is not a ski pant..) The price is quite ok, and the finish is nice. The pockets is a bit to small I think. but this I will give a NNNN+.

When preparing for the winter you will here got a good suggestion of how to build a sledge with help of your skies and poles…

Keeping Me Alive – Jonathan Roy (LYRICS) – YouTube

See ya soon…