The topic of the day will be about the reindeer. The deer animal can be find in three part of the world; Nordic, northern part of Russia and north America. You can find different sub species of the reindeer.

Most differ from the size or the color of the fur. Some of the reindeers live at secluded places and even islands, such as Greenland, Svalbard and Ellesmere-island in arctic Canada. At Svalbard the reindeer got shorter legs and is a sub species, which is closely related to the Greenland reindeer. Here in Sweden the wild reindeer could be found until the end of the 1800. But today there is just domestic reindeer. During the 1700 some reindeers was transported towards Gotland, but the last out of this was shot in the 1800. Wild reindeers can be found in Russia, North America and in Norway. There has been an ongoing discussion about to reintroduce wild reindeer in Sweden, but no such decision has been made so far. A reindeers antler can have a weight up to 15kg. Often the fur got a dark grey brown color, but it can vary. The color is lighter during the Winter. This helps them for being discovered of predator. The reindeers fur is buildup of hollow air cells who protect very good from cold. In addition the reindeer got a dense undercoat. When the reindeer moves you can hear a snapping sound. It is due to a tendon attachment in the hind leg that slides over a leg, thus producing a sound. It is not known for sure what the meaning of the sound is, but it may make it easier for the reindeer to stay together in the dark and fog. The reindeer is a ruminant herbivore and eats many kinds of plants, such as grasses, lichens, rhizomes, rice from deciduous trees and various herbs. They also like mushrooms, such as soups, mushrooms and mushrooms. Reindeer management in Sweden today takes place from Idre in the south to Karesuando in the north. The Swedish legislation (reindeer farming law) limits reindeer husbandry to those who are members of one of Sweden’s Sami villages. The reindeer’s migrations are controlled by the Sami with the help of helicopters, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. Reindeer raising has a long history, there are historical sources that telling us that it has been ongoing since the 800. This animal is also fast, up 80Km/h is the speed level they can reach. In Sweden there are 360 000 reindeers after the yearly calving. In Sweden today there is about 4600 reindeer owners. Today’s reindeer husbandry is mainly focused on meat production. Domesticated reindeer are used today in tourism or for ”reindeer racing”. Reindeer herding still plays an important role in Sami culture. It is a carrier of tradition with great symbolic value.

Being a reindeer herder is a hard profession, but it is also a way of life. As a reindeer herder, you are at the same time a carrier and mediator of the Sami reindeer herding culture.

Mitt skinn och ben – YouTube

See ya tomorrow…

Today we will learn something more about the mountaineering skills. This are is quite wide, so it will not be all of it. First of clothing. Secure you got a good layer set-up. Wool of the first layer is important. This will help you to stay dry and warm. Next layer can be fleece or hybrid (prima-loft etc,) or even wool here as well. It can be good to add a vest and after that the shell-layer. Now you can put on/off regarding to the heat-and don’t get overheated. You shall also bring a down jacket for breaks and at the camp site. Wet means danger…The navigation skills you need to brush-up. No way around this one: navigation is more difficult in winter! With paths and topographical features often buried under snow, fewer daylight hours, and a higher chance of bad (or even zero) visibility, your navigation will have to be up to scratch. If your map-and-compass skills are rusty, consider getting some tuition – or just head out and practise with a knowledgeable buddy. Get comfortable with skills such as aiming off, handrailing, counting paces, and timing. It isn’t cheating to use a GPS and this is especially true in winter, when efficiency is important. However, it’s no substitute for having the core skills.
An important tip for winter navigation: don’t try to follow ridges too closely. Ridges often hide a ‘cornice’ (or overhanging lip of snow) on their leeward side, which can be difficult to see. A cornice may or may not support your weight, and it’s easy to think you’re standing on solid ground while in fact suspended only a foot or two over a massive drop. Give potential cornice areas a wide berth.

Weather. While important at all times of year, knowing the weather forecast is doubly important in winter when major snowfall could leave you stranded in a remote bothy – or worse. A rule of thumb often used by instructors is to let fresh snowfall consolidate for a couple of days before taking on a big route. Deep, fresh snow is hard to walk through and can lead to increased avalanche risk. Generally speaking snow consolidates (i.e. settles and hardens) more quickly later in the season, from February onwards, but both good and bad conditions can be found at any time of year.

Food and drink. It will be extra important to bring energy and liquid with you. The cold will eat significant more energy from you than usual. Bring a thermos with hot water or soup. Water is to prefer due to you then can chose what to ad. The, coffee or soup.

You also need to work, train and use all equipment you bring. Wind-shelter must be known how to use, ice-axe and navigation equipment.

Here follows some tips for navigation in bad weather conditions…1. Carry the right tools, and know how to use them. 2. Keeps tabs on your position. 3. Be aware of near hazards( such as steep or rocky ground, Scree, cornices, avalanche-terrain) 4. Be prepared and got plans for bad weather. 5. Know how to use bearing for navigation. 6. Trust your compass. 7. Use handrails. 8. Use GPS. 9. Measure distance with pacing. 10. Don’t panic, cool down there will be solution…

Mud – Lonely This Christmas (Official Video) – YouTube

See ya tomorrow…

The journey started already in 2014 but become serious from 2017. I was involved from 2018 and in the beginning of November this year we (SFLO) became fully members of the UIMLA organization.

This meaning that we got the five first International Mountain Leaders trained and examined in Sweden. But what does this all means? Well, it means that SFLO had been approved as a provider of the UIMLA standards. Ok, but what does the training and the examination includes then? First we got the previous knowledge such as you must be a certified Swedish Mountain Leader among others. The IML itself includes all this moments: Security in mountainous terrain, navigation, first aid and rescue, group leadership, teaching, mountain environment, anatomy and physiology, weather, mountain survival/bivouacking, physical ability, legal and economic considerations, multi-day activities, snow covered terrain, duration of training and assessment must be minimum 40 days and a minimum of 10 days in snow covered terrain. After you have done all this part and also have demonstrated good decision-making ability and have a good self-awareness, you can be approved. Then the real challenge start to live up to the expectation as a International Mountain Leader.

The two most important abilities you must have is just self-awareness and judgement ability. You also continuously must develop. Evolve your self as a leader as a guide. You must never stop training…

This week I also held a information about the Swedish Mountain Leader standards and about the International Mountain Leader standard at a meeting with the Swedish Centre for nature Interpretation. My take is that our training got a very good quality and level…

The White Buffalo – Love Song #1 – YouTube

See ya tomorrow…

Todays topic will be about self-confidence. But to begin I need to reach out the difference between self-confidence and self-esteem. They are namely quite different.

Self-esteem can be described as a more general sense that we can cope with what’s going on in our lives, and that we have a right to be happy. Also, self-esteem comes in a part from the feeling that people around us approve us. We may not be able to control this, and if we experience a lot of criticism or rejection from others, our self-esteem can easily suffer unless we support it in other ways.

So lets continue with the focusing at the self-confidence. When you got self-confidence you trust your abilities even when other don’t. It means you don the right thing even when its hard or you have to go against others opinion. It also means you not afraid to admit when you wrong, and not afraid of learning from that mistakes. The good news is that self confidence can be learned and developed. First start to think positively, when you got into self-defeating thoughts force to stop and think about something more empowering such as -I can do this. If start to have doubt about what you are doing, take a paus and write this down on a paper. Then calmly and rationally challenge them. You might find that many of this doubts looks more irrelevant and other might be valid.

When it comes to self-confidence even the behaviors will tell us about this topic. -Are you willing to take risks and to go the extra mile to achieve better things or are you staying in the comfort zone, fearing failure, and avoiding risk? Are you admitting your mistakes and learning from them – or are you working hard to cover up mistakes and hoping that you can fix the problem before anyone notices?

And it is also important to appear confident to others. So think about the way you speak, tone, voice and words. Energy and enthusiasm, and being expert or knowledgeable in the area. The body language is a chapter by its own in this context.

The Offspring – ”Self Esteem” – YouTube

Todays Christmas suggestion will be: A book of Anders Blomé ”bilder från Västjämtland” real nice photos from the area of Jämtland Sweden.

See ya tomorrow…

1st. of December have some requirement. So today we start this years calendar. Behind the first door we find Funäsdalen. This are who has been in focus since the 12 century. During this time the king of Norway, Sweden and Denmark fought about to concur the area, and was ravages by fire and the inhabitants have to leave their homes. But in 1882 Jonas Aslund founded a guest house in Tänndalen, and that was the starting point of a mountain adventure like no other.

In Funäsdalen, the shack culture of the time is interspersed with the living Sami culture. It is a very alive village with just 1000 person permanent residence. During the seasons the number will be at least tripled. What is really nice with Funäsdalen is that the little village got a couple of nice restaurant, hotels, hostels and also ski-lodges. And most important they also got the their own coffee roastery.

It got four or even six different areas you can discover both with skies or mountain-bike or hiking. Tänndalen, Hamra, Funäsdalen, Bruksvallarna, Ramundberget and Messlingen. Funäsdalsberget is easy to access directly from Funäsdalen village.

And it offers a fantastic view. Otherwise my favorite area will be around Fjällnäs with Rutfjället och Storvigeln in the heart of the area. But also Storskarven area is really nice.

Todays x-mas gift suggestion will be a knife from Casström in Sweden.

The Swedish forest knife, Masur will be a fine gift for the bush-craft interested.

Casström No.10 Swedish Forest Knife – Ek (casstrom.se)

See ya tomorrow…