Where to go when you want black ice not covered with snow? In the end of November the north of Sweden had temperatures below zero and many lakes got wonderful black ice. After approximately a week there was heavy snowfall. Had we missed our awaited skating premiere? With reports from other skating enthusiasts and meteorological forecasts we made a quick decision – to head north to county Jämtland where no snow was reported. A 700 km drive and we kept our fingers crossed for no snowfall.
Haflway to our goal we entered "Winter Wonderland"
Luckily the snowfall stopped not far from Duved and we were looking forward to following day. This time of the year the days are quite short – sunrise at 9.15 a.m. and sunset at 2.15 p.m. We left “home” before sunrise and headed towards Lake Häggsjön, which is situated 20 minutes drive northwest of Duved. The pristine pine and birch forest was covered with frostwork and the scenery was wrapped by fog – like a fairytale.
- 15 degrees C - will the sun show up?
A new scenery appears
Black ice - blue sky - white forest - yellow sun
Crossing the lake over the ridge
Overwhelming view over the mountains from the ice
As photos show we were very satisfied with our first day – from fog to clear sky, perfect black ice and a landscape wrapped in rime – a real Winter Wonderland. What should the following day offer us?
Lost in the fog?
As usual out on the ice one day is not the same as the other. This day we had problems to orientate in the fog but we followed good ice and avoided bad ice. Suddenly the sky cleared and the sun spread its light over us.
From uneven ice to wonderful smooth ice
Now we are back in the southern parts of Sweden, the temperatures are below zero so any day from now we hope to glide on the lakes of our own! (If the snow doesn’t stop us:)