I did some scouting yesterday, I walked the winter trail from Ljusnedal to Lillvallarna and beyond, almost up to the tree line. When I came to a sign which said Ljusnedal 7 km (the direction I came from), and Ljusnedal 10 km (if continuing on the ski trail), I decided to turn back. I was so close to the tundra I could taste it… but as you can see in the picture, it’s not easy to continue up on foot in the deep snow (those footprints you see are actually made by moose, not people). However, my scouting had produced the information I needed – the trail was not at all as icy as I had thought it would be, and that I could ski up that last little bit through the snow because I was really, really, aching to get to the tundra.

Said and done. It was -12°C in the morning when I left, so a bit nippy but not a problem with the right clothes on. The first 3 km are a pain, it’s just up and up, then it levels off for a while until the last km when you finally reach the tree line. I was so happy when I got there! 7 km from my door to the tundra, it is 100% worth all the work to get there, and in March or April when the sun is warm, you better bet I’ll be up there again and I’ll go beyond the tree line as well. But today, I settled with one panorama and turned back (and followed the ”Ljusnedal 10  km” trail back home).