Safe Return Doubtful

It was the last day of this particular, hopefully last, heatwave. The forecast was for today to be the warmest day, up at 29C in Tromso town, but up at Sørskaret, 200 metres above sea level, it felt a bit cooler, maybe because in the morning there was a strong southerly wind.

The heat had put me off doing much today. My idea was to take in some of the dumplings and lochans or tarns a couple of hundred metres further up the massif from where I was parked. Once out though, enthusiasm grew, and I followed a reindeer trod up higher, which joined with a walking track and sent me in the direction of the highest point, Kjølen, at 790 metres.

There was an hour just after midday when the wind lessened to a bare waft, and the heat awakened, then just as I was in the summit ridge, the cloud gathered. I had my timing wrong. We took a heavy shower just as began to descend, but in,y that, and it did leave a splendid rainbow.

The mountain had far fewer people on it than in previous days, and those that were there mostly got their timing right, and had already descended. I had come up an unorthodox route, but could see them across the valley. There is a small hut at the summit, and there were some hikers sheltering inside, a couple of which descended with Roja and I. They were local people who told me something of the outdoor vibe of Tromso, something of which I had already picked up. This trailhead is only ten kilometres from town, as are several. For most of the year, the city has a real outdoor feel to it, with a fair bit of infrastructure for visitors, and plenty for its own residents. There is plenty of hiking and trail running within a five minute drive of town, great cycling and kayaking both on the Norwegian sea and fresh water lakes, of which there are very many. It’s dark for 8 weeks which is its downside. Some short five kilometre circuits are floodlit, and cross country skiing in popular, but the darkness is a difficult time for many. The more affluent residents take their vacation then. With its outdoor feel, even in such a brief summer season, it does have an atmosphere similar to that in Boulder, Banff or Queenstown.

We were out for four hours or so, just over 12 kilometres.

The spell of a fortnight or so of hot weather has broken now. The heavy showers were on and off for the rest of the day, and the temperature gradually dropped. Cooler conditions are much easier in the van, though there is more rain in the forecast than the zero that there has been in the last two weeks. As I write the cloud is down, visibility even from the trailhead is only ten metres or so, and rain pounds the roof.