A difference I learned in 2022. ​ ​The difference between the world´s most gondola intense mountains in the  Alps of south central Europe and the Arctic Wilderness of the North. ​Lessons are never too late to be learned.

​​Rewinding the timeline one year backwards from the previous post, to September 2022,

​​my joy with alpine hiking ended at the Region Hospital Kiruna after two days.

​On my birthday in 2022 I was surprised in Oslo by my sons with a flight to the Swedish Arctic Mountains.

​I fell in love with the light, the colours and the crispy autumn mountain air. With eagerness I wanted to consume it all from my first morning hiking up in the Arctic North.

Being relatively very experienced with mountain terrain from my many years in Switzerland, I never actually reflected the thought that I was mostly doing my tours uphill and had the luxury options to choose a gondola or ”sessel lift” back to where I started in the valley. 

​And there were options to get a downhill transport within the comfortable lift systems wherever and whenever I get tired.

Added to all mountain lodges or all benches along the trails which always are present in the Alps and really absent in the wilderness in Swedish Lappland.

Downhill hiking

 … is much more risky than uphill.

When aborting my hiking between Abisko and Låktatjåkko Mountain Lodge on September 8th I realized a big mistake. I thought this was a ”short trail” where I didn’t need hiking poles. :P

​Without hiking poles for support, I slipped on a loose stone on my downhill (!) walking back to the valley.

With consequences that also added Kiruna’s Emergency Room as a destination. Kiruna was indeed a destination not planned for me.

​Next week I will tell you more about my unplanned stop in Kiruna as a consequence to my naive self confidence on my second day in the Arctic World. For the first time ever in my life, above the polar circle.