Quick update from Åre

The snow wasn't as nice today. No new snow fell last night. Two of our gang awoke just after 4.20 and took the lift up to the top for a free breakfast. This is, of course, the one lift that's open 24 hours per day. The lift is closed from 5.00 until 6.00 while the slopes it serves are groomed. Those brave enough to make it to the top before 05.00 are treated to a free breakfast. I was not among those folks. I slept until 7.30. After a quick brekfast, we hit the slopes. We had a good day of skiing, and were treated to sunshine for at least 3 hours. We went to Bygget for after-ski life music, fixed pasta for dinner, and had a quick sauna. Now we're going out!  Signing off from Åre.

Greetings from snowy Åre!

I caught a flight up to Åre early this afternoon to join Stina and some of her friends for a weekend of skiing. Stina's friend Magnus flew in this morning from Göteborg, and had already been skiing a bit when he met me at the cabin where we're staying. Affer I dropped off my bags, I walked down to the ski rental shop, located just 50 m from our door, to rent equipment. I opted for the "advanced" ski package and got what look like brand-new skis and boots. Shiny!

We hit the slopes around 15.30, just as the majority of the lifts on the mountain were being closed for the day. The only lift left running was the VM 8 lift. There's a single ski slope down from the top of that lift that is brightly illuminated all night long (24-hours per day actually). So we stuck to this slope, sking until almost 17.00.

The snow was probably great this morning, but by the time we go to it, it had been cut up pretty badly. There were patches of hard icy snow and thick clumps of heavy wet snow. Inconsistent snow makes for challenging skiing, and I fell a couple of times. These skis are really amazing. They're sharp and hold contact with the ground very well. This actually caught me by surprise one time, leading to one of the falls of the day. I caught a bit of air jumping over a clump of chunky snow, and landed on a flat icy patch. My uphill ski caught the packed snow and came off in an instant. I might tighten the bindings a bit tomorrow.

The sun set around the time we began skiing, and was followed by at least an hour of dusk. The thin reddish-orange cresent of the moon was silhouetted against a deep azure sky. A light veil of low clouds was switfly passing overhead. Eventually, the clouds became thicker, and as we finished skiing for the day, the moon and sky had become completely obscured from view.

Around 17.00, we dropped off our skis and we changed into regular boots so we could comfortably walk into town to do some shopping. First we picked up some wine & glögg at System Bolaget, because they close at 18.00. Next we bought dinner and breafast fixings at ICA. We're gonna have tacos tonight, preparing dinner just in time for the arrival Stina and the rest of the gang. They are driving up from Stockholm.

I brought my camera with me, but I haven't taken any photos yet. I didn't dare to bring it with me on the mountain today. I will have to get very comfortable with my equipment and the snow conditions before I'll dare to bring my expensive little toy up with me. I might bring it up on the mountain tomoorrow, but I kinda doubt it. Maybe if the sun comes out and it's a really lovely day.

On the way back from Åre

We're on the train heading back to Stockholm after a terrific weekend of downhill biking in Åre. We had excellent weather both days -- cool, but sunny. I met a local on the lift up the mountain and learned that this past weekend was they've had in Åre in over a month. So we got lucky! The trails were a bit muddy on Friday, but we had a great time anyway. The cable-car to the top of the mountain was running too, so we got in a few runs on the rocky peak above the tree line. On Saturday it was a bit cooler and quite windy, so the higher lifts were closed and we stuck to the wooded trails on the lower part of the mountain. I was stuck with a not-so-great bike the second day because the shop accidentally lent out my bike to another person. The rear shock didn't rebound fast enough, so fast trails with lots of bumps were just no fun at all. But I made the best of it, and did trails that seemed best suited to the bike -- slower, steeper, more technically challenging trails. I even went over the steep root-encrusted drop-off that scared me so much last year. In fact, I did it twice this time around. It won't be as scary next year. It gets easier every time.

I collided with a young girl at one point, and that gave me a scare. I was biking down one of the gravel roads that cuts across the mountain. The girl was walking down the road about twenty meters ahead of her family. I passed her parents and brother without incident. Then as I was about to pass her, she suddenly panicked. Without looking, she ran across to the other side of the road, directly into my path. I hit the brakes and veered to the side but couldn't avoid hitting her with my right handlebar. I crashed into the bushes below the left side of the road, but quickly got up to see if she was okay. She was face-down and crying, and I did my best to console her until her parents arrived. He mom helped her stand up. She was frightened and scraped up a bit, and she'll probably have a nasty bruise where the handlebar hit her; but otherwise she seemed to be okay. I apologized profusely to her and her parents. They were very understanding, having seen the whole thing happen in front of them.

In our group, there were some minor scrapes and bruises, but no major injuries. Lots of photos were taken by me and Kalle, another D200 friend of Patric's who was also along on the trip. I'll post some of the best ones tomorrow or the next day.

Update: My photos are online. Åsa’s photos are too!

Update 2: Calle’s photos are also now online!

Downhilll biking in Åre

It's time for the second of my annual autumn trips to Åre for downhill biking!

In a couple of hours, I’ll meet Matt, Lisa, and a few of Patric & Åsa’s friends at the central train station in downtown Stockholm. There, we’ll catch the midnight sleeper train up to Åre. We shall arrive seven hours later, just in time for sunrise. Once in Åre, we’ll have a bit of breakfast, rent downhill mountain bikes, and charge our lift cards (the same RFID-chip-containing cards we use when skiing at Åre in the winter). Then we’ll hit the mountain!

The downhill biking trails weave through the woods, weaving back and forth in switchbacks. The bike trails are therefore typically not as steep as the adjacent ski slopes. But like the ski slopes, the bike trails are graded according to difficulty. Some of the black-graded trails are quite challenging indeed. I don’t plan to take any unnecessary risks or to ride in a reckless fashion; but I do plan to push my limits a bit and see what I can do.

I will take my laptop with me and see if I can upload a few photos during the weekend. I am not planning to bring my camera up on the mountain though — at least not while biking. I might go up once on foot just so I can get some good photos of my friends.

Time to pack. Talk to you again from Åre!