Nyt hus

Through the last posts you probably guessed I'd moved from Tromsø, and yes, I have: here's a shot of my new base, in Heggelia, Bardufoss, (Malselv), about 200k from Tromso, Southbound and a bit inland.

I've started work these past weeks as a social worker at a refugee transit centre, for refugees seeking asylum. As my shifts are mostly at night this leaves day time free for snow and all else.  It's a busy town, despite it's small size, as there is a military training base here, so plenty of planes, helicopters, tanks.... But it's a great location with mountains surrounding us, and a quick climb up into the woods behind the house leads a pretty nice 'backyard' playground (I guess that's why the military like it too).

I like it here and the work so far, and we shall see where it takes me.  The centre where I work is newly opened so I'm meeting a lot of new faces (staff and refugees are all new).  I have to admit, I feel pretty sorry for people arriving in Norway the first time under very hard circumstances from hot destinations coming straight up North (it was -25C the other day).  No-one seems to quite understand I want to be here because of the snow, but then again, summer will be a tonic for sun-lovers. I hope most of these folks are able to stay and reap the benefits of experiencing the sunnier side of North Norway.  They look incredulous when I say if they stay they will curse the sun later for not being able to sleep! ;)

Birthday Hike

View from the end of the drive, and my porch, practically (er, I am not really using the porch much right now, but the view is great!...)

That's the moon rising, over to the left (at about 3pm).  It suddenly got pretty chilly, but the day had been a good, 6-hour hard snow slog! I was pretty tired :)  Great training for those Approaches (see below!)

Senja sights

Well, there is nothing like a weekend of good ice-approaches to get you warmed up for winter!  I managed to squish into a car of keen climbers ('Approachers') for a weekend away on the Stunningly Scenic Senja island.

But ha! The daylight fades faster than lambs can shake tails.... and so.... we had a good weekend of Some Mighty Approaches To Routes (!).... well, the ice wasn't really in nick anyway, I am unfit, my 'ice-head' needs polishing (a good 'ice-head' gives you power in arms and calves, and a great enthusiasm for ascents in the dark), etc., etc.......

So, here's a Senja Snapshot (I will stop the S thing now)

ps. I am being pointed out 'Ben Nevis' of Senja in the shot above - apparently there a fair few of these (see below)

Hmmm. Looking for routes... (reminds me of scoping for Ice in Iceland with Yvonne - same technique: see ice, stop car, grab binoculars, and not necessarily in that order ;))

See, I told you it was scenic...

Hmmm. More ice?  Maybe??

Ha! Yes!.....but not enough!

Axel and I tried this line, on the left...

See: ice climbing!! (....2 screws used while I took pics and looked at the nice icey views, and then the ice before him turned to snow...)

But hey! There's always the big discussions after the big approaches....

Sun-worshipping

Goodbye sunshine....

On Tuesday the sun officially 'goes' from Tromsø for a couple of months..... 

This was a Goodbye Sun 'topp tur' on Saturday... by climbing high enough we could see the sun - for an hour! 

Sun up, 12:10

Vasstinden topp (880m), 13:34

Sun down, 13:50

Tromsø lights

The Real Deal/Legless on sleds

We went out sledging today.  The Real Deal. No tourists mind you, just us and some very keen canids.  The snow is fresh and deep and quite lumpy bumpy with wet marshy sections.... not easy for a rookie like me (who is trying to take pictures at the same time as steer, brake and remember what this dog-driving on snow is all about since she last tried it in April :)).  Ha ha -and you should have seen me 'take air' quite spectacularly upon departure as the dogs raced over an ominously large hummock of snow and the sledge soared after in a puff of powder leaving - somehow - my legs behind. Mind you, the "6-beer bet that you fall off Helen" didn't transpire... I held onto that sledge for dear life (and because I am skint). 

This sledging has made the training make more sense - at times it was tiring and sometimes tedious to drive the noisy quad bike up and down the road after the dogs... the beating of the dogs when they howled at night or went crazy barking when they were being harnessed, fed, etc., the 'despatching' of new-born pups in the middle of the night coz they were born the wrong time of the year and to the wrong parents, and the constant shouting at dogs... this hasn't been so fun.  But driving the team today was fun, and a good 'send-off' for my imminent departure.  The dogs are overwhelmingly enthusiastic at their job - a good day in the office for them, I think!

Anyhow, the whole mob of dogs have all been out racing in the fresh snow now. The first tourists arrive tomorrow, and maybe they will be less mad to run and easier to stop tomorrow....maybe?? 

Also, the dogs all have houses now.  And I am sort-of living in the dogyard! As you can see, my cabin overlooks the 'dog garden' (as one of my bosses calls it).  It is nice to see them warm and comfy in their houses - less so to hear them singing under my bedroom window!

One nice morning, when the sun was still here!

End of training

Winter has arrived - it is getting dark and has been cold and snowy, and slippery and slidey for the quad bikes.... The brakes don't work so well at minus temperatures (have had -16C already which was a bit parky) and the job gets harder as water freezes inside the cabin.  So, the dog teams have come 'home' to Kvaløya (Tromsø) from Målselv yesterday afternoon, and the dogs are out in the dog yard as we speak, curled up in husky-shaped balls. We are building new dog houses for them this week, and not all are finished so there are a few wet dogs out there as it's raining tonight. Next time these dogs train it will be pulling sleds (maybe even tourists):  The real deal.

However, it's a small family business and there is not really work enough for me to continue here.  It's my last week of work here.  I am on Howling Duty tonight ;)  - don't think I will miss this, but I will surely miss the dogs.  

Husky myth

Ha ha, I just rediscovered this quote from a list of 'Why Canada Is Awesome' that I once sent a Canadian friend:

"... The average dog sled team can kill 

and devour a full grown human in under 3 minutes"

Not sure Castello would do a good, clean job (pictured, with stolen food bowls, as is her habit). She leads the team often, and on encountering this full grown human she would need to harden up a bit to fit the bill and start the devouring job properly to get it done in 3 minutes. Grrrrrrrrr, Castello, grrrrrrr!

Fairly frosty/Nicely icey

It's getting colder now. Most mornings are below zero, (we've had a couple at -5C already so far) with snow on the mountain tops all around.  Makes for a fresh start to the day as you step out of an unheated cabin. But when the sun emerges between the nearby peaks as you drive along the icey riverside tracks... well it ain't too bad!  It's ideal for the dogs as the colder the better as far as they're concerned.  We are driving the teams about 17km daily now; this is nothing much - these huskies are born running machines and capable of up to 30km daily, no problem, if trained for it.  

When the snow comes proper I'll be moving to pastures new - not sure in which direction yet, but I'll keep you posted :)

I'll try and post an icey pic to accompany this - seems the best shot is still on my camera and since I left my jazzy USB pic loader in the cabin in the woods when I headed to the city this weekend....blah, blah, sorry no pic... watch this space! ....(there you go: frosty pic duly added ;))

Cream

Yes, I have a favourite: Cream. Here he is!

Babysitting dogs

I am learning the varied vocabulary of dogs - they not only howl, but squeak, whistle, moan (normally preceeds a howl) and bark, whine.... It's interesting to hear all 80 of them interact (or so I think!) but the neighbours across the valley disagree.  So, much of our day (and night!) is spent on the canine equivalent of 'babysitting' - i.e. keeping a close eye and ear on things. Makes sense, as noise levels get hysterical if they continue to intice one another to howl endlessly, and if one husky slips its collar in the madness and gets loose then concludes being caught ain't fun then... Havoc In The Woods surely results (and more problems with neighbours). The long and short is, that huskies would long-since have a UK ASBO (Anti-Social Behaviour Order) slapped on them by the local coppers.  (ASBO is a British thing, normally reserved for fining/threatening mad noisy people when the neighbours complain!). I like the howling of a pack of dogs to be honest, but neighbours are neighbours, I guess: frequently two colliding worlds in terms of taste.

So, we are busy with Crowd Control in the woods. Stern words, harsh discipline, and maybe the dogs will get our basic message across to them: "please guys.... zip it!"

We have had great autumn colours this past 3 weeks; however, frosts and the nip of winter pending is here now, and the leaves are mostly off - the forest is thinning out as a result. Perhaps the increased visibility is dandy for moose-hunters...there has been the annual moose-hunting fest in the woods this past 10 days.  So, lots of cars slowly 'patrolling' the forest tracks near our place since moose were sighted IN THE DOG YARD.  Yes, 80 rather over-excitable huskies did not stop two adult moose and two calves from wandering in to have a gander. Norwegian moose are fearless, I tell you (it was a bad move though, as one of the calves then wandered into a nearby meadow where someone was waiting for it, leaning out of the bedroom window to take aim....). 

Here are some pics of dogs, in the yard and in training traces. Should offer some impression of the fall colours. It has been glorious :)