North, South, East and West. Another 6 months in Sweden and beyond

It would appear that 6 months have somehow managed to slip by since I last added an update on here. As the time ticked along, yet more noteworthy events occurred and the task of assembling them into a coherent text became ever more daunting. But here I am with a free day on my hands as it is Ascension Day (a public holiday in Sweden), so I’ll do my best to cover the highlights of the past half year.

Collecting data on Storglaciären. Sweden's tallest mountain, Kebnekaise behind.

Since I wrote last November, numerous milestones have been met. As with many people there’s been some catching up to do after Covid-related delays and both personal and work trips and events have bunched up into 2022. On the work front, back in February I published my first journal article (www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2022.734682/full - just in case you’re interested in geophysics in glacial environments!), something I had been working on for over two years so was ecstatic when the ‘accepted’ email finally came through. Another ‘finally’ came in April when Benny (my old supervisor) and I made a trip up to northern Sweden and, after many days of relentless snow, we managed to collect some radar data so I can get working on the fourth and final paper of my PhD.

Malå accommodation

This work in northern Sweden was to replace my original plans of studying the Hardangerjøkulen ice cap in Norway, as we believed getting to the Swedish glacier Storglaciären, would be a much simpler task than navigating the Norwegian border controls. How wrong we were. After months of planning, changes of plans due to permit or staff issues, and a hectic afternoon packing all the equipment into the car, we were ready. On the morning of our departure, I got a call from Annika, the coordinator at Tarfala research station, where we’d be staying while we collected the data, to tell us that a snowstorm was on its way so we might want to delay our arrival by a couple of days. Given that we had a 16-hour drive ahead of us and the weather in the mountains can be changeable, Benny and I decided to set off anyway so we’d be ready when the weather cleared. We drove the first 10 hours up to Malå without too much issue and spent the night in a basic apartment located in an old wheat tower on the side of a ski slope.

Kiruna accommodation

The plan for the following day was to drive the six hours to Nikkaloukta, where we’d meet our snowmobile guide, Tomas to take us up to Tarfala. A look at the forecast and call in the morning confirmed this wouldn’t be possible and instead we made tracks for Nikkaloukta, hoping to stay there the night and try again the next morning instead. As we drove north, the weather closed in and the battle between the snowploughs and the snowstorm became ever tougher until the ploughs just couldn’t keep up and we got a call from Nikkaloukta to warn us against trying to drive the final road there that night. A quick google search showed that most of the accommodation in nearby Kiruna was booked up but there was a lodge just south of the town that had space. After crawling our way along the highway, passing multiple jack-knifed lorries, we reached our lodging, praying we wouldn’t get stuck in the 40 cm of snow that had built up since the snowplough had last passed. Once there, we didn’t want to risk leaving again so tucked into our only provisions: cereal, milk, and trail mix, before bunking down for the night and keeping our fingers crossed things would clear in the morning.

Testing out the snowmobile sledge

Day three and the snow ploughs were back in the lead, meaning we could slowly make our way to Nikkaloukta. The journey up the valley to Tarfala still wouldn’t be possible due to the deep powder snow and resultant avalanche risk, but at least we were a step closer to our goal. Day four came and went and our hopes of reaching Tarfala and collecting any data diminished. By this time we’d made our way through all of the meals Nikkaloukta had to offer – all of which involved reindeer meat in some form, and we were considering giving in and making the 16 hour drive back home. Then, on the morning of day five, came good news. The wind had changed direction so the avalanche risk had dropped slightly meaning we could make use of the window in the weather and attempt the snowmobile drive up to Tarfala. We met Tomas and piled his sledge high with radar equipment, leaving a small hole for me to slot in, while Benny took the spot on the snowmobile.

The drive up was a tricky one, with Benny and I frequently having to hop off and walk as the snow became too deep and Tomas needed to do a few laps to get the trailer up the steep slopes. But eventually, three days late and exhausted from the ride, we made it to Tarfala. This is a research station that belongs to Stockholm University and has been used by scientists since the 1940s to monitor the nearby glaciers and surrounding environments. This was the fourth time I had tried to get to Tarfala with other trips having been cancelled due to colleagues’ health problems and Covid, so it felt like a big step to have actually made it there.

We were staying there with Annika, Nina, Jamie, and Andreas who were running the station for the Spring season and our guide, Tomas. We all had meals together in the main kitchen/dining quarters then Benny and I were staying over in the ‘Old house’, about 200 m walk away. In summer this wouldn’t be an issue but given that nearly a metre of snow had fallen in the four days before we arrived, our trips back and forth involved wading through power up above our waists.

Snowshoeing up the glacier

It turned out our wait for data was not quite over. The snow returned that evening and when Tomas and Andreas tried to drive the snowmobiles up to the glacier the following day, they kept getting stuck in the powder and there was no chance they’d be able to make it with any passengers. It was so tantalising as we could see the glacier from the station but for another two days, we found ourselves stuck in the station, staring at the weather forecast, willing it to clear. Day seven we decided was our final chance before we would have to give up and travel back to Stockholm. On checking the forecast the night before, it seemed there was a potential weather window at 5 am, so I set my alarm for 4.45 am and sure enough, the sky was clear. By this time Tomas had left, so Andreas and Jamie drove Benny and I up to the glacier. The snow was still too deep for them to get us up the steep slope, so we had to snowshoe about 500 m and Jamie’s snowmobile didn’t have enough power to get to the top. But Andreas had made it, meaning we had a two-hour slot to drive back and forth across the glacier and collect the radar data.

Praying the helicopter will land

My hands were freezing, clinging on to the monitor, I was covered in snow and getting lungs full of exhaust fumes as I had to sit backwards, but I didn’t care. I was just so happy to see data on the screen. Once back at the station, data downloaded and backed up, it was time to prepare for the trip back. It wouldn’t be possible to get down the valley by snowmobile as the snow was coming in again and the avalanche risk had increased, so the only option was to book a helicopter. About 3 pm we got the call and helicopter would be with us in 15 minutes, meaning we had to drag all of our equipment through the deep snow, during a snowstorm, to where we assumed the helipad should be. After a bit of digging, we managed to locate it just in time for the helicopter to touch down so we could be whisked away down the valley back to Nikkaloukta ready for the two-day drive home.

Sedimentology students

After this emotional roller coaster of a trip, I had the long Easter weekend to sort my stuff out and recuperate before I was back on the road again. This time taking a group of 11 Master’s students down to Småland in southern Sweden to teach them sedimentology along with Martina. This was the same course I’d taught on the year before, and my main role was driver, so I spent a lot of the week wandering around gravel pits, soaking up the sun while the students dug sections and made notes of what they saw.

First meal in the new apartment

Outside of work, this was a busy period too. Emil and I had secured a three-room apartment in student accommodation, so Emil sold his apartment and we needed to move all our stuff across during April. We missed our slot to pick up the keys as I was on a PhD writing retreat on an island called Askö, about an hour south of Stockholm, then we were in the UK for a week. Therefore, the weekend before I headed up north, I collected the keys so that Emil could move in and I followed with my stuff the weekends either side of the southern Sweden trip. It’s now so lovely to be living together and we’ve just about got there making the place our own. Having this apartment is great as the extra room means we have a little more space if friends and family are wanting to stay and it’s still just a 10 minute cycle to uni.

The Burman's in Gothenburg

We’ve seen a lot more of family and friends over the last half year than we had the previous year and a half combined. Back in November, Emil and I met up with his family in Gothenburg to meet the latest addition to the Burman family, Emil’s nephew Hugo. Both evenings we had dinner at Linn and Kristoffer’s place and took it in turns playing with the very calm 3-week-old Hugo and during the day we explored a very wet Gothenburg. A few months later, in February, Emil and I met his parents again, this time up in his hometown Skellefteå for a proper winter experience. We went for some chilly walks in the fluffy snow, visited the new wooden skyscraper in town, and were treated to scrumptious dinners by Siv and Steffan. Two weeks ago, we met them again, this time

6 month old Hugo

here in Stockholm to celebrate Emil’s 30th birthday, along with Linn, Kristoffer and a much more alert, and still incredibly cute, Hugo. On Emil’s actual birthday, the two of us went for a delectable meal at Agrikultur; quite possibly the best meal I’ve ever had – with an added bonus of watching the chefs prepare our various courses on an Aga and an open fire. When Emil’s family joined for the weekend, we had them over for dinner on the Friday, followed by some shopping and fika in town and a pizza dinner on the Saturday. During this time we had our first guests in our new apartment as Linn, Kristoffer and Hugo stayed with us.

Toasties at the nearby beach

Back in February I also had a guest come to stay as Libby popped across for the week for a working holiday in Stockholm. During the days we both worked and then in the evenings we could properly catch up and do some wintery Stockholm activities. While she was over it was my birthday, so we met up with Emil and went ice skating, where he skated loops around the two of us and later in the week went out to a Peruvian restaurant to bring back some memories from our 2015 trip.

Previous to Libby’s Stockholm visit, we had manged a quick catch up when I made it home to the UK over Christmas. Given that Omicron was rife at that point, we still couldn’t have any big Watts gatherings but I managed to slot in a walk with Libby before Mum, Dad, Tom and I headed up north for a socially distanced Christmas with Grandma and the Aubreys. Mum and Dad were about to head off on their Antarctic trip so we made sure to be extra cautious, staying within our bubbles, waving to the Aubrey’s in the next room as we had our Christmas dinner.

A socially distanced Christmas

Since Christmas, Emil and I have had another trip back to the UK, this time spending time up in Yorkshire as, a year and a half late, it was time for Rachael (uni friend) and Tiego’s wedding. To make the most of the trip across, I booked a meeting with my colleagues at Leeds Uni, and Emil and I spent the week working from a little apartment in Leeds, giving him his first taste of Northern England. I fear

Rachael and Tiego's wedding

it may have slightly miss-sold the UK as we had hot sunny weather throughout our March week! While there, we both took the Wednesday off and caught the train across to York to explore the historic city, have some proper cream tea at Betty’s and meet up with Lewis for a sunny lunch. On the Friday we travelled across to Hull ready for the wedding on Saturday. It was a lovely day, great to catch up with some old Lancaster University friends and so nice to see Rachael and Tiego so happy together after nearly 3 years apart due to visa issues and Covid. We flew back to Sweden from Heathrow on the Monday so were able to slot in a Mother’s day lunch up in the Peak District with Grandma and the Aubrey’s so Emil could meet everyone and Mum could take us back down south. Sadly Dad had Covid at this point so couldn’t make it and we had to just wave to him through the window when in Coleshill. I’m very much looking forward to being able to give him a proper hug next month when we pop across for two 60th birthdays.

Colosseum

Finally, having been on work trips and visits to see friends and family, it was time Emil and I had a holiday just the two of us. So a few weeks back, we decided to book a few nights in Rome. Neither of us had been before and we certainly weren’t disappointed. We were in awe of the amount of history crammed into the city, along with the quantity of ornately adorned cathedrals at every turn. After four days and about 100,000 steps, we made it back last night vowing to only eat vegetables for a week after munching our way through about five meals a day to fit in as much of the incredible pizza, pasta, suppli and gelato as we could!

So there we have it, a whistle stop tour of some of what’s been going on over the last six months. Now it’s time for me to start playing with my data, adding the final touches to our apartment, and planning our upcoming trip to Skellefteå and the UK.

Ice skating with Libby

Pisco sours

Peruvian birthday meal

Skellefteå strolls

PhD gang on the boat to Askö

View from Askö's sauna

Day trip to York

Betty's

Becky and Mat at Rachael and Tiego's wedding

Moving in to our apartment

An Easter stroll to the local cafe

When in Sweden...

30 years old!

My twp favourite bites from Agrikultur. Scallop in a hot shell with a seaweed bouillon and potato puree with roast hay flavoured burnt butter and vendace roe (Kalix löjrom)