So I got my sunny day… mostly sunny, anyway. Time for the last skiing trip of the season, and it didn’t turn out to be quite what I had expected.I made sure to get to Lofsdalen before 10am to catch the first snow buggy up the mountain (it saves some time and energy – instead of skiing up, you can tag behind the buggy and be pulled up). I have never taken these snow buggies before so I didn’t know exactly how things work, but when I saw everyone throwing their skis and ski poles up on the roof of the buggy, I followed suit. As it transpired, not everyone had thrown their skis up, but only those people who sat inside the buggy instead of being pulled. It’s just that the pulling doesn’t start until on the lake (less than 50m from the buggy parking), so most of the people were down there waiting. I made an effort to join the ski crowd but this is the peak season and all the rope loops had already been taken. So I was stuck inside the buggy, but after someone had fallen down three times and the other people in the cabin said that being pulled taxes the energy anyway, I felt better. And with hindsight, I’m glad I spared the energy.

When we got up, I felt the mountain was definitely crowded. Three fully booked snow buggies means a lot of people, but the crowds soon vanished. There was just simply too much to photograph, so I kept stopping frequently and I was naturally further and further behind the other people after every stop. And gradually, I couldn’t see any other people anymore. The mountain is a big place.

Something else there was a lot of, initially, was reindeer. I don’t think I have ever seen so many on one mountain before, a good few hundred at least. Since they were not all grouped together, I couldn’t find a way to show the sheer numbers, but at least I had a chance to try different settings and compositions and I think that this one turned out the best.

And then, only after a couple of kilometres, I had a mishap. I lost my balance (yeah, it happens a lot when I’m skis) and used the ski pole to hold me up. I ended up on my knees anyway and thought it was a bit strange that the pole suddenly sank halfway, but then found to my disgust that the pole hadn’t sunk – it had broken! I thought for a moment what I should do, I sure didn’t feel like turning back. I tested the pole and found out where the ”fiber” in carbon fiber comes from – broken as it was, the fibers still held the pole together and it was in fact possible to put a little weight on it (very little weight, mind). With the slow speeds I normally ski with, I figured that I will be able to do without the pole. Going uphill is mostly about using the legs, downhill you don’t use the poles at all, and as for the rest.. well, this is a mountain, so how much level ground was there going to be?

I wish it had been that easy. Every time I forgot that the pole was bad and put weight on it, I had a nasty surprise when it gave way. I had also chosen to follow the snowmobile trail and the traffic was heavy so I had to be extra careful to keep my balance, now that I couldn’t use the poles to help me stand up (this probably explains why the pole went off in the first place – I’ve put my full weight on it one too many times). So I had this nagging feeling at the back of my head and I wasn’t able to fully enjoy the trip. Especially when I came to the downhill part of it, and there was lots of it. At its highest, the trail was closing in on 1100m. The lake (and the parking) was at below 600m. It didn’t take long until the lactic acid built up in the legs because I was constantly ploughing my way down. But hard as I tried, gravity just took hold and I achieved my new speed record on skis – 35.9 kph, which I checked as soon as my legs had stopped shaking! That’s definitely too fast for me, it’s a miracle I stood up.

When I got to another steep slope, I decided to be smart and picked up the skis and walked. When the ground levelled again, I continued with my lopsided skiing with one pole dragging behind me. I was able to start enjoying the scenery again and it sure was fine, with the sun shining bright after having been veiled by some thin clouds earlier. I even tried some artsy photography, which is a definite sign that my mind is at ease – if I’m worrying about anything, I can’t fully concentrate of finding subjects.

But, there was still some downhill left. I had planned to have a waffle for lunch but when I came where I thought that the våffelstuga would be, I found that it’s some 300m further away – uphill. I had already skied over 10km with one pole, no way was I going to trek up an inch anymore, I don’t care how good their waffles are!

All that was left was to ski down. This was even harder than the earlier slope which ended up with my speed record and my legs were quite seriously hurting by the time I got to the lake. Finally back at the car, I checked the trip computer and it showed just over 16km. It didn’t show that 14 of those was with one pole… this is definitely the end of my skiing season! I’ll get new poles next winter.

All in all, it was a good trip, not one of the best but not the worst either. But it was definitely one I will remember!

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Some random notes. I think one of the reasons I’m always so tired towards the end of my trips is that I don’t take enough breaks. Yes, I stop a lot to photograph, but I should also make a proper stop to sit down and eat something. Instead, I just have some snacks standing up and continue skiing straight away. The energy reserves have no chance to recover so I’m all drained before soon.I’m also a bit worried about my bad hip. This happens every time I do a longer hiking or skiing trip – the hip is hurting and I feel the pain every time I lift my foot. It has never completely disabled me though and it feels fine after a night’s rest, but right now the hip is feeling worse than usual. It didn’t help that I had to make an emergency side step to avoid tripping over a kid in the supermarket (may I just say, f**cking parents who can’t keep their brats under control, excuse my french) and naturally, this step was on the bad side and I felt the pain increase straight away. I can only hope it’s ok in the morning again. Maybe it’s just as well that I’ll have a break from skiing… the cycling season will start soon!