I am afraid that I have very little to write about this week. Last weekend was a family weekend which included Kelly’s birthday party.
During the last 24 hours we have had 20cms of snow fall, which together with temperatures down to – 26, is making working conditions challenging on the mountain. But we continue to make progress with the ramp.
We have had a lot of snow recently and very cold temperatures (down to – 26).
I think this is the earliest I have ever been able to get out with the snowmobile. Last weekend the weather was clear and cold so I took a trip out in the forest.
Later I attached Kelly’s sledge to the back of the snowmobile and pulled her around the field.
She had a great time!
We even had a bbq
Now that I am back at work, the work continues on the ramp.
I think there will be at least another weeks work there.
I have just returned from a long weekend in Norway with my daughter Kelly.
On Saturday we boarded the train in our village which would then take us to its final destination at Narvik in Norway.
There was some fantastic scenery from the train on the Norwegian side of the border
Kelly wanted to visit Narvik to travel in the skies lift that goes up to the top of the mountain and that’s what we did on Sunday.
There was a restaurant at the top where we had the best cup of hot chocolate that I have tasted.
On the way back down to our hotel, Kelly got to practice her navigation skills
And as she was hungry I cooked her some noodles and made her a fork out of a split willow to eat them with.
On Monday we planned to do some sea fishing but after a long walk down to the sea, a snow storm blew in and we had to give up.
We decided to go bowling instead.
While we have been continuing to building the ramp and staircase, the weather has been very changeable. From minus 15 degree temperatures to heavy snow,
rain and strong winds, but the work continues to progress.
We were fortunate to have a tractor for a couple of hours to help prepare the ground.
Here are some pictures from construction during the last week.
This morning there was a beautiful sunrise from the mountain.
Early last Friday morning a Wolf was seen in the forest just beyond our garden. Due to a fresh fall of snow, local Reindeer herders were able to track it and they found that it had wondered over quite a large area around the village. As far as I know it has not been seen since.
I am currently working at the base of Dundret mountain in Gällivare, building a 36 metre long ramp to allow wheelchair access into the accommodation building at the ski resort.
We began on Monday by removing the existing steps to the building with help of a tractor.
Now we have started construction of the new ramp and steps.
As you can see we have already had snow and this morning the temperature was – 15 degrees. Fans are running on the ski slops, blowing water vapour into the air to create more snow.
On Saturday evening I used the Cod that I had caught in Norway to make fish and chips, a meal I really miss from the UK.
Myself and Kelly spent Sunday afternoon out in the forest. We had hammocks with us
And during our walk we came across this grumpy old man!
I do not usually subscribe to YouTube channels but Lars at Survival Russia has a very informative channel and it was there that I learnt about the”Siberian log fire” which is a very warm and efficient fire (see Lars videos) and for the first time I made a small version of this fire when we were out on Sunday.
The main log I found laying on the ground and then I cut three pieces from a dead standing tree to put on it.
The face of the large log burns slowly and the logs on top are gradually fed in to fuel the fire. The distance between these logs dictates how fast the fire burns.
Last weekend we visited the cabin to begin taking home our belongings before we sell it next year.
We all spent some time on Saturday building boats
To float on the lake during the evening.
Myself and Kelly went into the forest later and rested in our hammocks for a while.
I returned there on Saturday night and spent the night there.
Unfortunately it rained heavily most of the night and all day on Sunday. And on Monday morning it had snowed and continued all day.
