outdoorgirl said:
Hi all,
It looks like we may be taking a trip to 'Lapland' in December this year, as some freinds of ours have decided to get married there. As of yet I have no details on the location or when in December...
Anyone have any ideas of what to expect - I'm hoping that we'll get a reasonable amount of time to ourselves outside of the wedding celebrations, and am hoping to at least get some Nordic skiing in - Andy wants to go dog sledding and snow-mobiling, of course!
It's just occurred to me that I may also get the chance to test out the new hammock underquilt (so, Wanderinstar, I won't have to rent out that freezer after all!)...
I'll pass on more details when I get them - but if anyone knows the general location that may be helpful...
Cheers,
ODG
Well, at that time of the year it will be nearly no light, the sun will not come up and you have at noon a kind of greyish light, you get reflection light from the snow if the sky is open, snowy or cloudy you can get it quite dark. We have light at the time but very little, maybe 3 hours a day.
Probably there will be 2 meters of snow, if you are lucky you will see the northern lights. It can get stormy and very cold. The average is about minus 12 and at night minus 20 but we can get minus 35 and more. I dont think sleeping in a hammock is a good idea.
Get the best winter cloth you can, learn about winter survival! Go to my webpage on the Booktips second and you find some very very good winter bushcraft book tips.
If you go out with a snowmaschine, drive with several maschines, dont go alone with only one maschine, drive only routes which are marked and counted as safe for tourists. Tell the people when you will leave and when you are back and them where you want to go and which route you plan to take. Have survival equipment with you, learn about Survival shelters. You have to have a gps and knowleadge how to use it. Keep the batteries warm, have several back up batteries with you, not in the backback but near to your body. I heard about a guy which warms them up in his underpants. Know how to use map and compass too.
Dangers are here to go through the ice with the scooter, get into a blizzard and freeze to death. Now if you have several snow maschines, stay on the marked routes, tell the people where you will go and learned about winter surival then you will have a great time. Prepare yourself and study about the north!!!
1.5 years ago a Sami boy drove with his snowmaschine on a lake which was not safe. Why was it not safe? Because it was a regulated Lake, a lake where the energy company is able to change the amount of water in the lake. He drove on a lake where the water was lowered after it build first a frozen cover. Now he broke through the ice, a snowstorm came up and he didnt find his cabin.
He died 600 meters away from his cabin.
A GPS could have safed his live. He knew about the danger of the lake but ignored his knowleadge. Now, if you stay with the marked routes you are fine.
Last year two tourist fell 100 meter down a cliff with their scooters, why?
Snowstorm, fast off route driving being simply stupid!
A guy nearly died because he walked away from his tourist buss to check out the scenery and take a pee. He didnt think that he would get lost without a jacket and a hat on, it was minus 20 degrees when resquers found him laying on a off track forest road, being unconcous. He made it and survived but only just.
Ok, I think you got the point. Get knowleadge and be carefull and you will have a great time up here. My area is Gällivare, you might be lower down the south but still my advive for you will fit your situation.
yours
Abbe
