Sarek Winter Dazzle - a brief trip into the cold

Impressions from a visit to Gássakáhko, Guhkesvágge, Liehtjitjávrre, Sluggá and Pietsjaure areas in March 2023.
There is no talking in this video so I’d like to give some information below:
I started this tour on March 20th, 2023 from a parking area named Rájvogielas on the road to Ritsem (Ristsemvägen/BD 827). There is a small sign on the road but this spot and its name is missing in some maps. This small parking area is about 15 Km before Ritsem near the mountain Rájvotjåhkkå.

Taking the road to Ritsem in winter with your own car can be a challenge when you get behind Kebnats/Sáltoluokta. Even more so if you make it passed Suorva where things get experimental. There is a seasonal bus starting at Gällivare Train Station at 8 in the morning and returning to Gällivare at around 1pm after a one hour break in Ritsem. This Bus (No 93, Ländstrafiken Norrbotten) tends to disappear from all schedules and without a hint of its existence in off season times. Don’t get confused if planning a tour way ahead of time. This bus exists. Operation starts around February 20th and the winter season ends at the end of April. It is a good idea to take this bus and leave your own car behind because this “bus” is a custom configured 4X4 based on a Mercedes Sprinter. It has 18 seats, double back tires with spikes and it has an elevated chassis. They are pulling a trailer for your skis, backpacks and pulkas. If your own car is anything less than those specs there is no guarantee to be able to get to Ritsem or worst: back! Passed Sáltoluokta the road will be cleared only at random every few days. If there is some wind going the snow will pile up high quick. In fact the road to Ritsem can feel like a trip to The Overlook Hotel in the movie “The Shining” :-)

Crossing Akkajaure on an unmarked route (like I did) is not 100 percent safe. Before I left my car I checked the lake with binoculars and decided it was safe on that day. Unlike in front of Ritsem there is no underwater outlet (coming from Sitasjaure) weakening the ice with currents so I believed this to be safe walking on skis. Taking a snowmobile might be a different thing.

On the other side of Akkajaure I found difficult terrain as expected telling from satellite pictures I studied before. The ascend to Gássakáhko is a bit of a maze. The area is dominated by little but steep hills, long canyon like cuts, boulders, areas of dense standing birches and sudden deep snow conditions. This must be extreme to cross in early winter but I had fortunate snow conditions.

Weather turned out to be great after the second day and snow conditions were perfect. I had great views to the surrounding mountains which I share in this video. I did not see anyone or any tracks.

In Guhkesvágge (on March 23rd) temperatures dropped to an unusual -33 degrees Celsius at night.
I’m using a VBR inner bag and a down mat but I felt slightly cold in my Western Mountaineering Bison sleeping bag. When I left the campsite in the morning it was still
-24. Wind was strong and full frontal. I was happy I brought a cold protection face mask which is normally not a must have item. Using my Lumix S5 for some video was a challenge that morning. Even though this camera is not rated for extreme cold conditions it worked flawlessly however the metal camera body felt like a piece of solidified carbon dioxide. I was struggling to keep a sense of touch in my hands for minutes whenever taking off my gloves to press a button on the camera body.

Around Liehtjitjávrre I finally saw some tracks from other tourers and when I approached Pietsjaure/Bietsávrre I saw the first people on snowmobiles.

You can download a map of Sarek here:
http://w3.nolang.se/Kartor/Fjallkarta...
Sourrounding areas here:
http://bengt.nolang.se/kartor/Fjallka...

There is an iphone app where you can download topographical maps for free. Search the app store for “Swedish Mountain Maps”. This app also works well with gps on location in case you get lost in the fog (unlike my Garmin inReach mini which - for reasons I don't understand - shows me an offset of about 3 Km with the 33W and 34W reference grid which is printed on the BD10 map but displays correctly on sent email map links)

I tagged some locations in the video for better orientation:
Áhkká, Gássaláhko, Niják, Suottasjtjåhkkå, Kantberget, Gávabákte, Sarektjåhkkå, Nordtoppen, Stortoppen, Bucht-toppen, Sydtoppen, Guhkesvágge, Sarekvárásj, Bierikbákte, Mellantoppen, Sarvatjåhkka, Ahpár, Ruopsok, Slugga, Pietsjaure/ Bietsávrre