The stories must be told…

Early morning in end of October 2010, three guys are struggling towards Getvalen in the clear and cold autumn weather. A preparing weekend for an upcoming attempt of reaching the top of Aconcagua. The tent were placed close to the wind shelter. Early in the morning the three guys were up to reach the Norder Tvaraklump. All stories in the mountains need to be told, think after a long day on the mountain and when you get in to the sauna. All histories that are told there are for the most inspiring and interesting. Or when you reach the mountain cabin and lite up the fire in the stove, the heat is coming and you look into the fire. The stories starts appearing by its own as the heat and coffee warms up your body…

(If wall could have speak…If the walls of the sauna at Blahammarens mountains station  could have speak, a lot of interesting stories about the struggling and the adventures of the mountains probably have been told:-) )

Park-Nisse the story of a mountain man. When it comes to stories that need to be told, the story of Park-Nisse must be told. With a background as rack blaster he ended up in Abisko region in 1925, and initial he was hired by the Swedish tourist association. The mission was to maintained the bridges and cabins in the area. The tall, powerful and charming man was a popular and talked about man. Often on his mission he was pulling his own build sledge witch was full loaded with cargo and a weight of about 200kg. This sledge was pulled on a ground that never was level but always uphill. Nisse was also a popular guide at the mountain station of Abisko. Soon he become guard of the park of Abisko. As a park guard the responsible included the control of poaching. And woe them which was discovered by Park-Nisse. Park-Nisse was known as tough against all poachers, but sometimes he was in a good mood as well. One time two Kiruna residents was fishing illegally at Abiskujavri. Of a sudden they heard dogs barking, so they hide their catch in the snow, and put a lump of snow on the top, on which they have pee on. They put their skis on and run a way, but Park-Nisse raced them. He asked them in what case they were out in. And they answered for taking pictures with a camera. Park-Nisse replayed that it was very unusually for Kiruna residents being taking picture in this area. When he has disappeared in the peripheral they turned back for picking the fish, but it was gone. In a birch bark there was a paper note with the text: Ni tog risken, jag tog fisken. (you took the risk, I took the fish) signed by Park-Nisse. His duty was very shifting, building bridges, guiding helping the researcher etc. In a sunny Sunday the 26^th of March 1944 He was skiing with his sledge and his three dogs. He meet Professor Sven Ekman from Uppsala, on his skiis. He said: -Nisse, stop for a while so I can take a picture, it looks so nice in the sunshine. He got his photo, and Park-Nisse did not told him about the transports nature. In the sledge there was lying a corps from a dead tourist from a mountain tour.

A Norwegian and a Swedish matter…

In the border between Sweden and Norway, there are lots of nice tours. The peak of Sylarna is of course one of them. Also Sulitelma is one of them, but also Harjedalen got its own border mountain. The Storviglen is the one I thinking of. A tour to this peak is a long day trip, so you have to start early in the morning. The distance to the peak will be 26 K, but you will be at 1561m at the peak. The approach is 8km and then the hilly part starts, and you now got 10K to the peak(600 height meters). You park the car at the mountain park at the foot of Svansjoklappen. Follow the trail towards the North western tip of the lake Bolagen. Pass the bridge. At the left side you have good places for a bath before you start the climbing towards the peak. From here you follow the summer trail(to the right) marked with the Norwegian tourist associations symbols. The other trail is winter marked with cross, and much more difficult to use during summer. You soon will passes a weathered sign of the national border. Soon the winter and summer trails crosses and you will find a wind shelter av 4,5K after the bridge. Stay at the shelter and get some more power for the peak. Now you just follow the the winter trail 500m and 90 degrees towards the peak, and follow the compass upwards to the peak. It will takes about 30-45 minutes and you reach the peak. If you are lucky you might got the opportunity to se the herd of musk oxen from here. Going back will be the same way, but reverse.

At the end a poem in Swedish…

Den lilla byn I vinternatten drömmer, tyst under himlavalvets stjärneljus. Kung Bore köldvågen kring fjällen tömmer, det knäpper uti timrat boningshus. I månens silver norrskensflammor spraka, högt över byn tycks fjäll i bruddräkt vaka.

Det morgon blir, från ladugårdar stiger snart rök ur skorstenar mot vinterskyn, det sällan är som fjällets stormsus tider och djupa drivor tornas upp i byn. I båsen lugnt små feta fjällkor spisa och riklig mjölktribut de ofta visa.

Gustaf Carlqvist 1920.

See ya soon…