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Snowmobile transfer to Kebnekaise

It was a day in March. It was not the nicest day perhaps, purely weather-wise. Cloudy, windy, and chilly. But a little bad weather did not stop us from an exciting snowmobile trip to STF Kebnekaise Mountain Station that would later turn out that the weather Gods were with us after all.

We started early in the morning and drove out to Nikkaluokta. Along the road we saw many moose in the forest, and after about an hour’s drive we arrived at Nikkaluokta Sarri. We were welcomed by our guide Ellen who offered us to borrow warm overalls to put on over our own clothes.

The actual snowmobile transport is done together with Nikkaluokta Alltransport, who are used to traveling by snowmobile in the mountain terrain around Nikkaluokta and get around even in difficult weather and snow conditions. It felt safe. When we were dressed and ready, we jumped into the open wooden sledge behind the snowmobile, wrapped ourselves in warm blankets and then we headed out on a 45 minutes’ drive to STF Kebnekaise Mountain Station.

We travelled through Láddjudalen, a beautiful valley where we saw a grouse and a dog team resting along the road. The mountain winds and snow swirled around us, but there is a fascination with it as well, and it is a beautiful winter landscape to travel through. Our guide even made a few stops to show us the surroundings.

When we arrived at the mountain station right at the foot of Sweden’s highest mountain Kebnekaise, the sky cleared up and the sun peeked out from behind the clouds. Very quiet and peaceful there, we did not encounter many people. We had lunch at the restaurant Elsa’s kitchen which got its name from Elsa Göransson who worked as the manager at Kebnekaise Mountain Station for almost 30 years. We enjoyed a hearty plate of real home cooking just like in Elsa’s time. We also took the time to look at the historical pictures that adorn the walls of the older part of the mountain station.

Happy and satisfied, we took a walk in the snow to take a closer look at Kebnekaise’s peaks and Tuolpagorni. The thing about the names are a bit funny as Tuolpagorni, which looks like a cauldron, was originally called Giebmegáisi / Kebnekaise, which roughly means “cauldron peak” in Sámi. But due to misunderstandings along the way, it is now Sweden’s highest mountain that instead carries the name Kebnekaise.

After four wonderful hours, it was time for us to return back to Nikkaluokta. We left the sun behind us and went down into the valley and to the storm again.

TIPS!

In addition to the incomparably beautiful surroundings here, there are also wonderful activities that you can do either with a guide or on your own. Rent snowshoes, skis, sleds for the little ones and head out into the wintry mountain landscape.
A recommendation is to take the snowmobile transport up and rent skis for a wonderful trip back to Nikkaluokta. When skiing, it is almost a must to stop at Restaurant Enoks.

This wonderful trip is perfect as a day trip to discover the mountain world, but of course you can plan to stay longer. The snowmobile transport is available during the spring-winter season and the times are adapted to the Nikkaluokta express.
Here you can read more about the different mountain transports that are available and preliminarily book your place.

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