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