Sweden 22 December 2023 - 7 January 2024

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Around Varuträsk

When we returned to Varuträsk, the cold weather had set in. It was 25-28 degrees below zero, but sunny. You can't ski for too long in such weather.

The blue red and brown lines show our tracks on the 5 и 6 January in the daytime and in the evening. Shift-click on the track link will open it in nakarte.me.

This is Magda's grandmother's cottage where we stayed. We went cross-country skiing along the marked trail.

Sunrise at 10am in the morning. Nobody was skiing in this weather except us. Lova ran ahead very quickly.

It was very still, and all the trees were covered in fluffy snow.

Everything gets quickly covered in frost in this weather.

We saw the sun in the birch forest. It doesn't rise much higher in early January.

Lake Varuträsket. The ski trail goes to the far end of the lake. We had to ski back along the same trail.

Cottages and houses are scattered here and there along the shore of the lake.

A river flows out of the lake. It does not freeze even in this weather. White bushes on the river bank.

And the other side is flooded with sunshine.

The frost is trying to encase the river, and the water makes ice floes which look like fish scales.

A close-up view of the snow-covered twigs.

A ski trail leading down to the lake.

A hay barn in the middle of a snow-covered field.

A view of the river downstream.

The ski track enters a spruce forest. It has its own beauty.

Sörberget

The weather was cold but sunny. It was our last full day in Varuträsk. Victor took us on a trip to the other side of the lake. Looking back at the village.

Today we are skiing on back-country skis. We are breaking new trail so as not to spoil the one for cross-country skiers. The snow on the lake is not deep, so we are moving fast.

Reeds on the opposite side of the lake. Just like on the Kavgolovskoe Lake.

We crossed a road and skied up the hill on the other side. There were many little roads and paths in this forest. We even came across a few ski tracks.

It's beautiful. We come out of the forest into a clearing.

A cottage on the top of the hill. There's no one around. It is probably used by hunters in the summer.

No one's been here for a long time. The snow is coming off the roof in layers.

The forest on the hill is amazing, a real pine forest.

All the trees are covered in snow on one side.

There are clearings in the forest.

The logging roads are covered with fresh snow, so they don't look ugly like they do in the summer.

A small pine tree with a crown of needles.

Snow balls on the twigs.

Pristine pine forest is lit by the low sun.

Sonya.

It must be very beautiful here in the summer too.

A pine tree with snow patches.	A lonely birch tree.

A view of Lake Varuträsket from the hunters watch tower.

The counterweight on the barrier is made of gears.

We are heading back to the lake. The sun has almost set over the horizon.

We made it home before dark.

Our long shadows on the lake.

Eventually we got onto our track and skied home.

The last day

We had a couple of hours for one last ski trip. Then in the afternoon, a return flight to England.....

We followed a ski trail around Varuträsk.

Magda and Inger.

Yasha showed us a hunter's house. He hangs his prey on display. There were still some unused hooks under the roof.

A house with two willow trees.

A photo to remember.

So that was the end of our trip. It was time to return to snowless England. We've done enough skiing for the whole year.

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