Kings Trail, (Kungsleden) Cross Country Ski Touring in Arctic Sweden, April 2012

Finally we decided on cross-country skiing in the Arctic for my 40th; how hard can it be? We are both downhill skiers and cross country skiing must just be like walking on skis, right?

Breaking trail in fresh powder

It turns out there is a little more to cross-country skiing than we first thought. After the first day, having left the comfort of Abisko Mountain Station, we had got the hang if it, albeit taking twice as long as anyone else to reach our first mountain hut for the night and breaking a binding along the way. Thankfully the hut guardians were practical and had plenty of tools to mend the binding.

After a comfortable night's sleep in wood-burner heated dormitories we set off on the gentle uphill into the glaciated valleys and surrounding mountain peaks of the Swedish Arctic.

Succesfully skied from Abisko to Nikkaluokta

We followed the glaciated valleys for a further 6 days, wandering at first how we would cope with maps of 1:100 000. It was pointed out that when there are only mountains and valleys to put on the maps there is no need for a larger scale. 

Skiing through Sami territory

The trail undulates but since the first uphill into the mountains was completed, there were not many more uphills. All but the initial slope were easily achieved on skis with the friction of the fishscales. The downhills were also managed in a fashion; luckily the foot or so of fresh powder made the conditions more forgiving. 

Managing the uphills

Andy asked me, 'what do you do to turn yiur skis?' I replied that I thought really hard and gritted my teeth and eventually they seemed to go where I wanted them to. He was relieved that I too, didn't really have any particular technique to get these 2 metre long planks, an inch wide, connected only to our soft boots, at the toes, to turn.

Happy!

The huts are all manned and you cannot book a bed for the night; they guarantee that they will find somewhere for everyone to sleep. Dormitories vary in size, beds and blankets are provided. The system is similar to the old YHA days. Water is collected from a hole in the ice, by us. Wood is chopped and burned, by us. Basic food is sold in some of the huts but you cook and clean up for yourselves.

A hut stop for the night

The huts had saunas and there were times for men, women and mixed. Being British we didn't partake in any saunas! We have since discovered the benefit of them after a hard day's physical activity. The issue was getting washed from a warm bowl of water afterwards!

Such a welcome sight at the end of a day's skiing

The toilets were often a long walk away from the dormitories and we heard tales of people freezing to death between the toilets and their bed in blizzards with temperatures well below -30°c. We experienced the cold, with the coldest conditions when we descended away from the mountains towards Kebnekaise Mountain Station. Extra layers were added as we sunk into the shadows of towering cliffs either side. With no effort being made on the downhill slopes, we generated no heat. It was also windy. We forced ourselves to stop for a drink from our flasks and a Snickers before hurrying on our way towards the sunshine.

Preparing for the downhill in fresh powder

We were lucky enough to see the northern lights but in April, with a bright moon they are only faint colours in the sky. We also saw Sami tending to their reindeer with both the traditonal dog-sleds and the modern ski-doo.

Beautiful, post-glacial scenery

The King's Trail is a fantastic journey into Arctic scenery. It can be dangerous, especially in bad weather. However it does not travel through avalanche prone areas or cross glaciers and the local wildlife does not pose any risk. Therefore it is a fantastic exoedition where you are unlikely to come across many people, other than a few Swedes who know of this stunning journey and are prepared to undertake it in winter conditions.

Another welcome hut stop for the night

The trail is marked every 50 metres or so with red crosses so even in the worst weather you can hopefully find your way. There are also a few emergency huts with wood-burning stoves, along the way. Great for lunch stops. It is a challenge with long days in a wild, mountain environment. The weather can change rapidly and experience in navigating, skiing and surviving in extreme mountain environments is definitely required. 

Nearly at the end of a day's skiing

Kebnekaise Mountain Station was a welcome sight. There were showers, restaurants and we drank the most expensive celebratory bottle of wine. It is not cheap to get supplies into the Arctic mountains! From Kebnekaise it is a straightforward downhill/flat ski to the Sami settlement of Nikkaluokta. With the drop in height we soon niticed that spring had sprung. Rivers were now flowing and the snow was getting sticky. It was still really cold though. At Nikkaluokta there is a choice of rooms, a visitor centre and restaurant. It is not a quiet settlement; most of the locals seem to have their dog-sled teams there. Fortunately they have to be kept out of town.

From here it is just a short bus trip back to Kiruna, where if you are lucky you will spot moose beside the road.

http://nikkaluokta.com/en

https://www.swedishtouristassociation.com/areas/kungsleden/

Time to head away from the mountains towards Kebnekaise