NORDICS
SWEDEN
A VERY ARCTIC ADVENTURE
The Swedish resort of Riksgränsen offers skiing under the midnight sun and some of the most exciting backcountry in the Nordics
WORDS: ALF ALDE R SON
The shadowy figures ambling along the roof of the covered passageway above the railway line look like fugatives as they cross the border. But the skis and snowboards they’re carrying tell a different story. The ‘renegades’ are, in fact, skiers and boarders who
have just completed the ‘Norvege Svången’ (Norwegian Bow): an off-piste descent from the summit of Riksgränsen ski resort in Sweden that swings briefly across the international border into neighbouring Norway before returning into its home country, ending at a railway line. I’m observing all this while enjoying a beer on the deck
of Niehku Mountain Villa, my home for three nights in Riksgränsen, Sweden’s most northerly ski resort, 125 miles north of the Arctic Circle. The award-winning lodge was built within the curtilage of a former railway shed once used by steam trains on the Ofoten Line. As well as bringing skiers to Arctic Sweden for over 100 years, the line has transported iron ore from the world’s biggest iron ore mine in Kiruna to the permanently ice-free port of Narvik in Norway. More than one billion tonnes of iron ore have been
shuttled along the line since its construction in 1902, and without it Riksgränsen wouldn’t exist, as the town was developed initially to service the railway. Indeed, before it developed as a skiing and outdoor destination, Riksgränsen was briefly abandoned as the residents struggled to cope with the phenomenal snowfalls it receives most winters. But with the installation of the first ski lifts on the slopes
above the railway line in the 1950s, locals and the soon- to-follow visitors were finally able to take advantage of all that snow — as does Niehku Mountain Villa and its unique heli-ski operation.
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NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.CO.UK/TRAVEL After a 17-hour overnight journey on the sleeper train
from Stockholm, the transfer to Niehku is about as smooth as it gets, with the villa almost in sight of the platform. Here I meet Niehku’s co-founder and manager, Jossi Lindblom, who’s also a qualified mountain guide. Laid- back and unhurried, Jossi tells me that they could take me out heli-skiing later that day. “But no rush,” he smiles. “It won’t get dark until September.” One of the boons of skiing in this northerly part of the
world is that there’s snow to be found right through to early summer. So, it isn’t until around 6pm that I find myself standing atop the 5,725ft Tjåmohas peak in the Abisko Alps, with Torneträsk lake glinting in the sunlight way below as the helicopter clatters off into the distance. I’m in a group with three Swiss skiers and our smiling, easy-going guide, Bernie Adler from South Tyrol. Before we set off, Bernie takes time to point out the various peaks we can see from our vantage point, including Sweden’s highest mountain, Kebnekaise, which sits at around 6,890ft. (Locals calculate the height of Kebnekaise depending on the amount of snow it receives each winter, which, as with nearby Riksgränsen, is usually a lot.) And then we’re off, following Bernie down Tjåmohas’s
north face where we find boot-deep powder, all the more joyful a month away from midsummer. Our next descent takes us from the summit of 6,532ft Kåtotjåkka, this time down sun-warmed, south-facing slopes, where butter- smooth spring snow and a warm, lemony light diffuse the landscape, with plenty of whoops of excitement from us.
Cloudberries and cloudless skies The sunshine, warmth and knowledge that the daylight will last for several weeks gives the whole experience
IMAGES: LARS THULIN; MATTIAS FREDRIKSSON
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