English, Teori-praktik Some odds and ends that I brought across Sarek this winter that might be worth mentioning.
By Jörgen Johansson
The pack I used was an ULA Ohm. Not exactly constructed for winter use, I imagine, but it worked fine. Only disadvantage was that the mesh was clogged with a bit of ice and snow one afternoon when a cold, hard wind was blowing. Since it was pretty cold, these patches of ice stuck for a while, making the mesh a bit less elastic than it normally is. No big deal though, I would bring it again since I do not do that much winter backpacking these days. My Golite Jam would be better, but it is too small for a trip like this. A Golite Pinnacle would work well, I suppose
I always carry my tent stuffed into the big back pocket on the Ohm as well as on my other pack, the Golite Jam. There it is always handy, can dry out a bit if wet and does not soak the rest of my gear on those occasions. I do not see any need for a separarate stuff sack for my tent. The tent is a Black Diamond Firstlight which I only use in winter, but then gladly.
The trip through Sarek was in remembrance of a trip I made in 1981. One piece of gear was along then as well, my trusty old Helly-Hansen mittens made of pile, with a nylon shell. They are really big, since I want to have plenty of room for my fleece gloves inside when it is really cold. The shell is not the least bit waterproof, which makes them dry out real fast. They are still the best and most reliable mittens I have used.
The shovel I used was was a Snowclaw. Quite adequate for digging a place to sit and minor work. In an emergency you can dig a snow cave I imagine, but if you plan to dig a lot and live in snowcaves every night I certainly would bring a real shovel. The Snowclaw weighs 300 grams and is shown with my cup, so as to give you a hint of the size.
Lately I have started using Mini Tortillas as bread. They are soft and 8 of them weigh 200 grams. They are easy to stash in the pack with sturdy packages that keep them fresh for a long, long time. I hade some problems with them freezing together when it was -10-20 C, but nothing that really was a bother. I either roll part of a beer sausage or some pieces of hard cheese inside the tortilla and eat it like that.
The sunglasses I used was called Sport Eyz. They weigh only 10 grams and are a lot tougher than they look. Of course, for hard wind I use a pair of regular ski goggles that protects from windwhipped snow and does not let it enter, but they are big and unwieldy when not needed. On this trip I never used them.
The Sport Eyz fits very well on top of my regular eye glasses as well, as can be seen. A real advantage in my opinion.
Comments in English below or at Utsidan here.
By Jörgen Johansson
The pack I used was an ULA Ohm. Not exactly constructed for winter use, I imagine, but it worked fine. Only disadvantage was that the mesh was clogged with a bit of ice and snow one afternoon when a cold, hard wind was blowing. Since it was pretty cold, these patches of ice stuck for a while, making the mesh a bit less elastic than it normally is. No big deal though, I would bring it again since I do not do that much winter backpacking these days. My Golite Jam would be better, but it is too small for a trip like this. A Golite Pinnacle would work well, I suppose
I always carry my tent stuffed into the big back pocket on the Ohm as well as on my other pack, the Golite Jam. There it is always handy, can dry out a bit if wet and does not soak the rest of my gear on those occasions. I do not see any need for a separarate stuff sack for my tent. The tent is a Black Diamond Firstlight which I only use in winter, but then gladly.
The trip through Sarek was in remembrance of a trip I made in 1981. One piece of gear was along then as well, my trusty old Helly-Hansen mittens made of pile, with a nylon shell. They are really big, since I want to have plenty of room for my fleece gloves inside when it is really cold. The shell is not the least bit waterproof, which makes them dry out real fast. They are still the best and most reliable mittens I have used.
The shovel I used was was a Snowclaw. Quite adequate for digging a place to sit and minor work. In an emergency you can dig a snow cave I imagine, but if you plan to dig a lot and live in snowcaves every night I certainly would bring a real shovel. The Snowclaw weighs 300 grams and is shown with my cup, so as to give you a hint of the size.
Lately I have started using Mini Tortillas as bread. They are soft and 8 of them weigh 200 grams. They are easy to stash in the pack with sturdy packages that keep them fresh for a long, long time. I hade some problems with them freezing together when it was -10-20 C, but nothing that really was a bother. I either roll part of a beer sausage or some pieces of hard cheese inside the tortilla and eat it like that.
The sunglasses I used was called Sport Eyz. They weigh only 10 grams and are a lot tougher than they look. Of course, for hard wind I use a pair of regular ski goggles that protects from windwhipped snow and does not let it enter, but they are big and unwieldy when not needed. On this trip I never used them.
The Sport Eyz fits very well on top of my regular eye glasses as well, as can be seen. A real advantage in my opinion.Comments in English below or at Utsidan here.
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