Went up for a 'bimble'

Enough quartz to make a few watches

Karltinden summit with an ultra background

Karltinden from near Svensby

Karltinden summit

27-07-12

It looked relatively easy on the map. I just wanted to find a hill that wasn't going to be an epic struggle in the rain. The morning was fine, the birch trees didn't seem to go on for too long - although the marked path through them was non-existent. Then there was the usual boulder field, maybe this wasn't going to be as easy as I  thought. Then it got steep.



However, the top was a huge plateau and that meant hands in pocket walking, doesn't it? Well, yes, if it was vegetation and not endless boulders, rocks and scree. Still it wasn't too bad - except it started to rain. The top was reached in cloud. Not the top of the overall massif but a nice 1206m with a prominence I reckon of about P350-400. In other words, bigger than anything in England and Wales. And not a bimble.

Nakkedalen

A Nakkedalen view from Karltinden

Snow face

And then wonders will never cease, the weather turned, the skies cleared and I even found a meadow half way down to wander through the yellow poppies.

 

Needs must, when midges abound

 Shame about the midges - my face is covered in bites as I did not put on the hat straight away.

Caught the ferry from Breivikeidet to Svensby on the Lyngen peninsula. And stopped for the night looking across to Norway's third most prominent Ultra, Jiehkkevarri and behind me the fourth one, Store Lenangstinden. Would the weather hold? Was this a ridge of high pressure or just a break between two weather fronts?