Solo winter snowshoe expedition in Lapland for charity

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 crayefish 09 Sep 2016
As title title says, does anyone have experience of doing all/part of the Kungsleden (Kings trail) or other routes in Scandi during late winter with snowshoes?

As my partner was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, I have been toying with the idea of doing a one or two week solo expedition for charity - nothing too groundbreaking but something that will test my endurance in the cold, provide much exhaustion & suffering while not being too dicey.

Id be open to more mountainous routes but climbing/mountaineering is out as I don't think it's a good idea to do peaks if one isn't fully prepared to turn back (which doesn't fit with the charity part), as are glaciers as I'd be solo (though open to others joining).

So basically I was thinking of doing part of the trail in Feb or March (for want of a better route right now), camping or biving the entire time (huts are cheating imo) and carrying supplies with a backpack and homemade pulk (sled). Trip length would be up to two weeks.  I plan to snowshoe as it's cheaper, fits with my current equipment better and I don't have a lot of cross country skiing experience.

Any thoughts on doing this route with snowshoes rather than skis?  Any preferences on pulk design and width etc?  What are the snow conditions like in Feb/March?

Any experiences, ideas or alternative routes are most welcome.
 OwenM 09 Sep 2016
In reply to crayefish:

Feb/March might be a bit early I think you'll find it's still dark then. April/May would be better it's light and the roads will be opening up so easier to get there. I'm not sure when the huts open but I don't think that you can just walk from hut to hut as they're not that close together anyway, you do have to camp between them.

How much winter camping have you done?

How much snowshoeing have you done?

You can make a pulk out of a kids plastic sledge that will carry a large rucksack.
 Doug 09 Sep 2016
In reply to crayefish:

There's a reason why the Scandinavians use skis & not snowshoes, and the level of skiing ability required for the Kungsleden is pretty low.

 wbo 09 Sep 2016
In reply to crayefish:
I'd spend a couple of hours getting used to using cross country skis. Snowshoes just sound like a way to make it artificially awkward and slow

Pulks are pretty cheap used
Post edited at 14:36
 Brass Nipples 09 Sep 2016
In reply to crayefish:

Do it without snowshoes, naked with a single pot of honey. Now there's a proper challenge.
OP crayefish 09 Sep 2016
In reply to OwenM:
> Feb/March might be a bit early I think you'll find it's still dark then. April/May would be better it's light and the roads will be opening up so easier to get there. I'm not sure when the huts open but I don't think that you can just walk from hut to hut as they're not that close together anyway, you do have to camp between them.

Thanks for the reply. As far as I know, there are at least a few hours of good light at the end of Feb. No issue to use a headtorch too But I'd like to do it when it's very cold with just enough light to make it manageable. Have you done the route? I'd be interested to hear your experiences if you have. No intention of staying in huts... camping is much more fun.

> How much winter camping have you done?

Quite a bit, biviing down to -30ish when climbing.

> How much snowshoeing have you done?

Only an hour. I hear they're very quick to pick up though.

> You can make a pulk out of a kids plastic sledge that will carry a large rucksack.

Exactly my intention
Post edited at 15:57
OP crayefish 09 Sep 2016
In reply to wbo:

> I'd spend a couple of hours getting used to using cross country skis. Snowshoes just sound like a way to make it artificially awkward and slow

Could also do it in a skidoo or snowcat... easier still. But not quite the point eh? Perhaps I also forgot to mention the added challenge of doing it on foot.

> Pulks are pretty cheap used

Know of anywhere I could find one? I never see them in the UK.
 daviemore 09 Sep 2016
In reply to crayefish:

Northern part of the kungsleden is dead simple and fairly flat. Southern part is a bit more undulating and interesting, and not so well used. None of it could even vaguely be described as an expedition. It has marker posts all the way along it, and there will usually be snowmobile tracks. You can access it from a train/snowmobile/bus at various points - this is Sweden so the roads are either kept open or they just use snowmobiles instead..
We were there in mid march and had to sit out storms on a couple of days otherwise the weather was similar to scottish winter, but a bit colder at night. Think -20 was about as low as it got.
Plenty of comfy huts easily within a days walk apart; most with blankets and fuel, and every other one with a warden and a shop, so taking a pulk and camping is just stupid imo. The nights are still long, your tent will be frozen solid until the sun comes up, and you'll have to carry loads of fuel to melt water. Nothing hard about it, just stupid.

We used snowshoes as my partner wasnt confident using skis with a pack. In fact she would have been fine.
Nordic touring skis would be faster but only if you know how to use them. We overtook a lot of people who didnt.

The stf site has loads of info - https://www.swedishtouristassociation.com/

Why do so many people have to claim that their holidays/trips are for charity? Getting to northern Sweden isnt cheap, so donating the cost of the trip would probably be of much more benefit.
In reply to crayefish:

As others have said, if you want suffering go for snowshoes
 OwenM 09 Sep 2016
In reply to crayefish:
Have you done the route? I'd be interested to hear your experiences if you have.

I've only done sections of the route, I much prefer to go off piste into the wilderness. I have however been to Scandinavia quite a few times summer and winter. I wouldn't dismiss using the huts all together, they might well be a lifesaver - your life that is, at least join the STF and take a key with you.

The route is very well marked with red paint on rocks and trees, it's quite often done in spring when there will be a ski track to follow. Almost no one goes out in February for very good reasons it's dark, it's cold, the snow unconsolidated and the weather is atrocious. I get the impression you're really underestimating just how bad it will be.

If you've only spent an hour on snowshoes I'd suggest you get out in a snowy part of Scotland as often as you can over this winter. I still can't help thinking your time would be better spent learning to XC ski.
Post edited at 17:36
OP crayefish 09 Sep 2016
In reply to daviemore:
Sounding like my first route thought might not be a particularly interesting choice... perhaps overstated on other sites!

Anyone have any better suggestions for a route/area in Northern Europe?



> Plenty of comfy huts easily within a days walk apart; most with blankets and fuel, and every other one with a warden and a shop, so taking a pulk and camping is just stupid imo.

Best that you stay home on a comfy sofa then

> Why do so many people have to claim that their holidays/trips are for charity? Getting to northern Sweden isnt cheap, so donating the cost of the trip would probably be of much more benefit.

If I just wanted a holiday I'd go climbing or diving. I have a personal reason for wanting to do this and I wasn't asking for your advice relating to my motivations. I am asking about suitable routes in Europe that provide a challenge. If you have a sensible suggestion then let's hear it.
Post edited at 17:53
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cb294 09 Sep 2016
In reply to crayefish:

Kungsleden is not an "expedition"! Huts in easy day hiking distance (even with slow shoes, please note the correct spelling), either open and staffed or with winter rooms, signposts all the way.... March into April sounds much better, though. If you want adventure, just go 25 to 30 km further west, regardless of which bit of Kungsleden you were thinking of!

CB
1
 TobyA 09 Sep 2016
In reply to cb294:

Does the Kungsleden go through Sarek? I thought when I skied into Sarek we were on that path. Sarek is pretty wild but there are open huts.

I've probably snow shoed and xc skied more than most here, and agree that in Lapland you'dbe a bit mental to not go on skis. I tried snow shoeing into a probable icefall in Finnish Lapland once and even with massive snowshoes it just didn't work on powdery untransformed snow. If the snow is crusty it might work but quite a risk.
 OwenM 09 Sep 2016
In reply to TobyA:

> Does the Kungsleden go through Sarek? I thought when I skied into Sarek we were on that path. Sarek is pretty wild but there are open huts.

It doesn't go into the park itself but skirts around it on its southeast border from Kvikkjokk to Aktse. The only open huts are outside of Sarek. I took two fairly easy days to walk that section at the end of my trip last month so it should be skiable in a day, no idea how long it would take on snowshoes.
cb294 09 Sep 2016
In reply to TobyA:
Kungsleden just skirts the eastern edge of Sarek, running from Saltoluokta down to Kvikkjokk. It passes through the national park for a few km, largely in the forest area just south of Aktse. In Sarek itself there are of course no open huts, just a few reindeer herder's huts plus the old Hamberg huts and the one of the Swedish geological survey at Skarja, all of which are locked.

And I agree, skis are essential, snowshoes would be masochism (unless maybe if you can stick to windblown ridges etc..)

CB


sorry, saw Owen's post too late. Anyway, even though it is not an "official" winter trail (meaning manned huts), skiing Padjelantaleden from Ritsem to Kvikkjokk seems an interesting alternative, especially if you go later in the season and do not fully trust the lake crossings on Kungsleden.

C
Post edited at 19:32
 wbo 09 Sep 2016
In reply to crayefish: if I was after buying a pulk I'd go onto Finn.no, go to torget and search on the word pulk. 500nok and up. You can also hire them, but I don't know the best place

cb294 09 Sep 2016
In reply to wbo:

Exactly. I would not bother with a converted children's sled or whatever. Buy the proper thing, usually whatever Fjellpulk model suits your needs best. The difference anyway is not so much the sled base itself, but the packing system and tow bars and harness. Ideally buy the whole set used and, should you have no further need, sell it for pretty much the same price one season later.

CB
 TobyA 10 Sep 2016
In reply to cb294:

Looking at a map I guess we weren't on the Kungsleden then. I remember there being some trail markers and some duckboards in a few spots though. We crossed the big lake from the Stora Sjöfallet side - this was fun in itself because a passing snow mobiler offered to tow the three of us. Doing maybe 30 kmph on tele skis with a massive rucksack on holding on to a rope was an experience!

Doing a bit of googling I reckon this is the hut I remember https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/STF+Akka+Fj%C3%A4llstuga/@67.634447,17.... I skied the hill directly behind the chap in the photo. So that fjällstuga is just outside Sarek but we skied on from there into the park itself.

Various things didn't work well on that trip (along time ago now!) I really must try and get back there at some point - it is a wonderful part of the world.
 OwenM 10 Sep 2016
In reply to crayefish:

Here is a youtube vid of a party XC skiing the northern section of the trail in march.

youtube.com/watch?v=8rSvGBSLiG4&

As you can see they're not expert skiers but they managed without too much difficulty.
cb294 11 Sep 2016
In reply to TobyA:

That is Ahkkastuga, the start point for Padjelantaleden and Sarek from the north east. Just walked past there four weeks ago to the ferry back to Ritsem,

CB
 summo 11 Sep 2016
In reply to crayefish:

I know of no one who has snow shoed it. Skis, modest ruck sack, hut to hut.

It could be -5 on compacted track, or -30 with half metre of fresh powder. I understand you want a challenge, but you don't need to risk becoming a casualty. In the space of 48hrs the weather could change dramatically.

I live many hours south of there, but there will still be storm bound days most winters where I need a balaclava and goggles just to walk the dog. Think cairngorm car park, when everything is shut down because it is too wild, you can't even see the ski tows or fences, the snow is covering the road rapidly etc.. you need a few days spare in your plan just in case you have to sit a day out..
 Strife 11 Sep 2016
In reply to crayefish:

I've never been to Sweden, but I have traversed the Southern Lyngen Alps in Norway in March, using snow shoes and wild camping the whole way. Didn't use a pulk either. I learnt a few things on that expedition - mainly that I should have used skis and utilised huts where possible.

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