Northern lights Archives - The Best Viewpoints

March 10, 2024 • 0 Comment

Practical Guide to see Northern Lights in 2024 and 2025

There have been many wonderful northern lights shows in the last years but one stands out! 10th May 2024 was a night that the whole world will remember for a long time! We witnessed the strongest aurora borealis and australis in 21 years! It was so strong that aurora was visible as south as in Florida or on the Canary Islands. It means that basically everyone in the whole Europe and the whole US could see this fantastic phenomenon if there was a clear sky. I myself watched northern lights in Stockholm where the sky was on fire and I could even see the dancing in all possible colours with the naked eye! Would you like to see similar northern lights in the future? Follow my tips and tricks as well as tips for guiding tours and best accommodations to see the northern lights around the world at the end of the article.

Colourful northern lights in Stockholm archipelago — *Record strong northern lights on 10th May 2024 in Stockholm archipelago*

Unique real time northern lights movie from Stockholm

The strong northern lights event of 10th May 2024 was spread across media all around the world and it was unique by its strength. But did you know the aurora shows are happening much more often? I managed to record a fantastic northern light show on my camera on 14th January 2022 and it was also visble across half of Europe and the US and only a few people knew about it. I got many nice comments but unfortunately also many sad messages: “I missed it. When and where can I see the northern lights next time? How did you know there will be aurora borealis that day?” I decided to help out and write this guide. This is all you need to know this fantastic phenomenon.

Exceptionally strong northern lights in Stockholm

What are northern lights?

To understand when and how you can witness northern lights, you have to know first what the lights actually are and how they are caused. First, let’s take a look at the official Wikipedia definition:

“Auroras are the result of disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by solar wind. These disturbances alter the trajectories of charged particles in the magnetospheric plasma. These particles, mainly electrons and protons, precipitate into the upper atmosphere (thermosphere/exosphere). The resulting ionization and excitation of atmospheric constituents emit light of varying colour and complexity.”

In simple words: northern lights are caused by solar activity which reaches our planet via charged particles and they react with the Earth’s magnetic field. The reaction causes lights nearby the magnetic poles of our planet (which are nearby the actual North and South Pole). The animation below will make it even more clear:

*How do northern lights work?*
*Source Imgur.com*

Why is it important to know this to forecast northern lights? It’s easy. By observing the Sun we can predict the aurora activity. Strong northern lights usually occur after unusual activity on the Sun (to make it simple let’s call them eruptions) and it takes approximately 3 days until the charged particles reach our atmosphere and cause the northern lights.

What is Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis?

Aurora Borealis is simply another term for northern lights. It means the same, just a more fancy and epic name 🙂 But did you know that there are also southern lights? The reaction between solar activity Earth’s magnetic field causes lights also in the south so southern lights can be seen from the south of South America, Australia and New Zealand. These lights are called Aurora Australis.

The term aurora occured first in 1619 when Galileo named these fascinating lights according to the Roman Aurora, goddess of the dawn. On the contrary, the words borealis and australis are coming from Greek mythology. These name are derived from ancient gods – specifically of the north wind (Boreas) and the south wind (Auster).

*Northern lights in the north of Sweden at fascinating Kungsleden trail*

What time of the year is the best to see northern lights?

This is a very frequent question on social media under northern lights related topics and I often see random answers such as: “You can see them from January to March because it’s the coldest.” Bullshit. In fact you can see aurora borealis basically anytime when the sky is dark, when there are no clouds, and when the Sun is active.

The Sun doesn’t really think of when to make the largest eruptions based on the position of the Earth. The solar eruptions happen through the whole year, so be ready to see aurora anytime when there is dark sky if you live in Stockholm or even more north. I have seen the earliest aurora in the middle of August and the latest at the end of April. Check out the sunrise and sunset times for Stockholm. The auroras can be seen during night and astronomical twilight.

Northern Lights in Umeå — *Northern lights captured at midnight on 25 April 2013 in Umeå. The sky is not dark anymore*

If you are making a trip with the main purpose to see aurora, then plan it so you have a statistically bigger chance to see northern lights. Remember:

The longer the nights last, the bigger chance to see it.
Consider also the climate. Choose months with less rainy/snowy days.
Warmer days are also giving you a higher chance since you will be willing to wait longer outside for northern lights to show up compared to when it is -20.
Choose a time when there is no full moon. Moonlight is very strong and makes it more difficult to see aurora.

Where in Europe and America is it the best to watch northern lights?

The auroras usually occur behind the polar circle but are more rare in the south. The geomagnetic activity is measured by the so called Kp index. It is a scale of numbers between 0-9. Using this scale, it is easy to determine what Kp number you need to have a chance of seeing auroras where you are (read more about the Kp index here). These are the values to follow for cities across Sweden.

Kp 1: Kiruna, Narvik, Rovaniemi (Europe), Fairbanks, Whitehorse (Northern America): happens almost every day
Kp 3: Ålesund, Sundsvall, Jyväskylä (Europe), Calgary, Thunder Bay (Northern America): happens usually a few times every week
Kp 5: Stockholm, Helsinki, Oslo, north of Scotland (Europe), Seattle, Toronto, Halifax (North America): happens usually 1700 times during one solar cycle – ca 11 years. In 2022, northern lights were reported visible 42 times in Stockholm or more in the south! It’s pretty often!
Kp 7: London, Brussels, Cologne, Warsaw (Europe), Salt Lake City, Denver, Nashville (Northern America: happens usually 200 times during one solar cycle
Kp 9: Barcelona, Marseille, Rome, Bucharest (Europe), Miami, Houston, Los Angeles (usually 4 times during one solar cycle)

The Kp 1 is common. It means you can see the northern lights fir instance in Kiruna almost every day. The more south you are, the less often you will have the chance. Keep in mind that these numbers don’t guarantee aurora. Forecasts are not 100% correct and there are of course exceptions. I have seen northern lights in Stockholm when there was Kp 3 shown in the forecast but I didn’t see anything with Kp 6. There are better tools to follow. See below.

Northern Lights Kiruna — *Strong aurora captured overhead in Kiruna.*

What app is the best to forecast northern lights?

I have downloaded ten different northern lights apps and followed multiple websites and the most important thing to say is: it is very difficult to predict the northern lights activity and the apps are often wrong. The long term forecast is very unreliable. Since you know how the northern lights occur you understand this now. It is difficult to predict exactly when the Earth is hit by charged particles. That’s why it is better to follow short term forecasts and ideally live observations. I recommend following:

Do you speak Swedish? Follow FB page Norrsken. Actually, follow it even if you don’t speak Swedish. The FB translator works pretty well. The page Norrsken makes an amazing analysis every day when there is a chance to see northern lights in Sweden and they also organize observation feeds for all such days. Thanks to that you can see live observations from many followers around the country. It has just reached 100 000 followers so there is a lot of fresh data.
Follow the Soft Serve News website and its FB page. There you can see the short term forecast and they also notify about upcoming geomagnetic storms (Kp 5 and higher). Besides the Kp number you should also check Bz on their website. To make it simple: it should be negative so you can see great aurora. Another good thing is to check the Ovation map. If the map is yellow or ideally red then there are almost for sure northern lights in Stockholm at the moment.
Download one of the apps which offers notifications at certain Kp levels. I have for example the app Aurora Pro and I set the Kp notification at 5.
Download the weather app Windy. It won’t help you with the northern lights forecast, but it will help you plan where to go. If you click on the “cloud” layer you see how the clouds will be moving during evening. Make sure that there are no clouds in the north. Windy is a great weather app in general since you can check multiple weather forecast models there.
For further information and forecasts forecasts you can also check out these links: Space Weather Live, NOAA, Live camera in Abisko.

Patience is key!

I fell in love with aurora borealis when I moved to Sweden 10 years ago. I was studying at Umeå University and since the city lies pretty far in the north there is often a high chance to see aurora. Hunting northern lights quickly became my favourite hobby. I had a lot of great experiences which I could use later when I moved to Stockholm. Here in Stockholm I have seen many auroras too but two of them stand out: the one which I introduced at the beginning of this article and also in 2017. That time I managed to photograph an amazing panorama at Monteliusvägen.

That day my fiancée and I were waiting for two hours in freezing temperatures. She later decided to give up and went home. Luckily I stayed and after 10 minutes the amazing display began. I quickly called her to come back and she thought I was joking. It took some time to persuade her that it was not a joke. She ran back just in time to witness this beauty.

Unbelieveable northern lights taken in the heart of Stockholm — *Unbelievable northern lights in the middle of Stockholm taken at Monteliusvägen*

Remember, this doesn’t always happen. It happened many times that we saw nothing. My success rate to see aurora in Stockholm is only one in four! You have to try, try and try but once you manage you will never forget the moment.

How do I decide if I go northern lights hunting in Stockholm? I check the above mentioned sources daily. It only takes a few minutes and you can see directly if there is a chance that day. If I see a possibility for the upcoming night (meaning the Kp 5 or higher is expected) I prepare my equipment. Besides camera and tripod, we always bring warm clothes, hot drinks and we often barbecue. I often go hunting with my fiancée or with friends. Even if we don’t spot any northern lights that evening we still have a great time! Remember, patience is the most important. The longer you stay outside the higher chance you have to see the northern lights.

What is the best location to see aurora (not only in Stockholm)?

In general, it is important to have a clear view over the northern horizon and to be on a dark spot. I recommend being on the southern shore of a large lake or sea with a great view to the north. In Stockholm Lappis beach is perfect for instance. I also like the Monteliusvägen viewpoint but there is a big problem. There is a lot of light pollution in the city center which makes it more difficult to see auroras. Try to find a spot as dark as possible. The best area nearby Stockholm is the archipelago. Check out the Light Pollution Map.

Aurora Borealis at Lappis beach in Stockholm — *Aurora Borealis at Lappis beach with ca hundreds of happy students*

Book the best northern lights tour in northern Europe or Alaska

Are you living far from the north? Would you like to make sure you will see northern lights on your trip and have also wonderful pictures? Book a northern lights guided tour. The tour operators are experts in their areas and they know where to see northern lights even when weather forecast says it will be cloudy. Here are my recommendations for the best northern lights in northern Europe:

Sweden: Abisko northern lights tour – Abisko is a small Sámi village nearby Kiruna known for exceptionally good weather compared to the surrounding area because it is hidden by mountains around. Witness aurora borealis here in this magical place with comfortable transport from Kiruna.
Norway: Tromsö northern lights tour with free photos – Tromsö has a fantastic location for northern lights as you can drive from there to multiple directions including Finland and that’s why it’s easier there to find a clear sky. It can’t be cloudy everywhere!
Iceland: Small-Group Premium Northern Lights Tour from Reykjavik – If you visit Iceland and plan to make a long trip, you will very likely see northern lights at some point. If you visit Iceland though just for short time and you plan to stay only in the capital Reykjavik, book this trip. It’s organized in just a small group and the guides are real experts.
Finland: Rovaniemi: Northern Lights Tour with Guaranteed Sightings – Finland is also a paradise for aurora borealis watching. Book this best rated guided tour in the village of Santa Claus Ravaniemi which guarantees sighting of aurora borealis.
Alaska: Fairbanks: Northern Lights and Chena Hot Springs Tour – If you would like to see northern lights in northern America you will have the biggest chance at Alaska. Most trips are offered from Fairbanks and this tour has best reviews. It also includes a visit of Chena Hot Springs.

Tips for accommodation around the world to see northern lights

As i explained earlier in this article, you will have a higher chance to see northern lights the more north you travel. At the same times, it’s necessary to find a spot without light pollution to see aurora borealis as bright as possible. Therefore, I recommend remote accommodations far from cities. Keep in mind that booking accommodation at these places doesn’t guarantee seeing northern lights. You also need clear sky. I selected for you places where you have pretty high chance but to make it even higher, I recommend to book a guided tour which I recommended earlier.

Sweden: I will just repeat here that Abisko is the best place to see aurora borealis in Sweden. There is also a very nice accommodation STF Abisko Turiststation where you can experience not only northern lights but also a lot of other activities including sauna or ice climbing. If you are looking for an adventure, you can also spend night at Swedish Ice hotel (warm rooms are offered too) which is also known as a good spot to see aurora borealis.
Finland: This unique Arctic TreeHouse Hotel in the north of Rovaniemi is beautifully hidden in the nature so you will be far from light pollution. Here you can marvel at northern lights even from the warmth of your room through large windows.
Iceland: In the land of fire and ice, I strongly recommend to book hotel Ranga to witness aurora borealis. It isn’t far to drive from Reykjavik but far enough to have zero light pollution and thus excellent conditions to watch nights sky.
Alaska: The best accommodation at Fairbanks to see aurora can be found at Aurora Villa which has a perfect remote location and large windows so you can watch the dancing beauty in the sky from the warmth of your accommodation.

Wedding or proposal under northern lights?

My new challenge as a northern lights photographer is to shoot wedding and proposal photos under aurora. I work as a wedding photographer and it would be cool to connect my two passions – weddings/proposals and northern lights. Do you know anyone who plans a wedding and would be interested? Let me know!

Couple under northern lights in Finland — *My fiancée and I enjoying northern lights*

Next article: How to photograph aurora?

Do you have any questions about aurora? Let me know and I can add it to my article. For next article I am planning to write about how to photograph and film aurora so you can take nice picture and movies. Keep posted! In the meantime you can check out my expedition during which I climbed the highest mountain of every European country.

March 3, 2024 • 0 Comment

How to prepare for your first Vasaloppet

Are you planning to do Vasaloppet, the crazy 90km race in Sweden? Follow my experience and learn from my mistakes… Once I moved to Sweden and decided it will be my new home, I wanted to get to know the local culture and traditions as much as I could. Since I love winters, the tradition I wanted to experience first was Vasaloppet. What else can be more Swedish than a 90km long cross country skiing race? This oldest cross country skiing race in the world has already attracted over 1,700,000 participants who, sweaty and exhausted, completed different distances between Sälen and Mora. How will it be for me? Will I manage to complete the full distance with limited experience on cross country skis? If king Gustav Vasa made it when he was fleeing the war during the winter of 1520–1521 with poor equipment, I have to manage too!

Details and Statistics

Sport: Classical cross country skiing
Length of the race: 90km
Overall elevation: 813m
Difficulty: Very hard
Number of participants: 15800
Recommended training time: 2 years
Location: From Sälen to Mora

My first Vasaloppet race

After a cloudy, windy, rainy, snowy and dark February, the first week of March 2022 finally brought the dream Swedish winter weather. It’s sunny! Swedes call this kind of weather “vårvinter” and it literally means spring-winter. I love vårvinter because it isn’t only pleasant for its sun rays but it’s also perfect for cross country skiing. While the days are quite warm, the nights still get pretty cold. These changes in temperature make the snow very quick.

*Typical vårvinter weather at Vasaloppet*

My fiancée and I are driving now towards Sälen, a popular Swedish skiing resort but mostly the place known for the start of the most famous cross country skiing race in the world. The weather is supposed to be the same tomorrow. What a paradise weather for Vasaloppet!

We park our camper van at a parking lot just next to the Vasaloppet start. Now, the parking lot is almost empty. There are just a few more camper vans in the corner. It’s a quiet and peaceful night but volunteers preparing the tracks at the start remind us that something big is going to happen tomorrow. 15 800 skiers from all around the world will gather here in the early morning for one of the longest cross country skiing races in the world.

Aurora Borealis at Vasaloppet

Joanne and I are curious how the track looks like so we approach the Vasaloppet start. It’s very cold outside but it feels very cosy. The snow pleasantly crunches under our feet. While we are walking the dark sky suddenly turns to green. Am I dreaming? Northern lights just started to dance above the hard and solid track. It will be wonderful conditions for all the skiers tomorrow! We admire the amazing aurora borealis for a while, but we can’t stay long. We need enough sleep before the race starts tomorrow at 8! Good night from our comfy camper van!

Crazy wake up time and crazy snow conditions

I am woken up by my alarm at 2:30 a.m. on a mattress in a gym surrounded by 50 other waking guys. Shit! It was a dream! I quickly realize the reality. It is 2014. I am in a small village called Nusnäs at Siljan lake. Today, my father, our friend Håkan and I are doing Vasaloppet. We are two and a half hours of driving from the start, and we have to hurry to get some breakfast. While eating oatmeal and drinking tea we are looking outside. It’s snowing and temperatures are around 0 degrees. Damn it. This means the slowest possible snow for skiing.

*Evening before Vasaloppet. Lights were turned off at 8 p.m. and everybody went to sleep.*

Why am I talking so much about the snow conditions? For someone who doesn’t ski, it might sound like too much unnecessary information, but it actually matters a lot for skiers. Looking at the results of the past years´ races the bad and good snow conditions make a huge difference in racing time. While Petter Eliassen, the winner of 2020, needed 4:25:14 to complete the race, the next year’s winner Tord Asle Gjerdalen managed the race almost one hour faster with a time of 3:28:18. Among the amateurs, the time differences are even more significant. Slow snow means much more tough and demanding conditions.

*Beautiful winter weather but terrible for cross country skiing in Mora*

Don’t underestimate the preparation for Vasaloppet

After breakfast, we pack our skiing equipment, food supply for the race and head towards the bus. There I start to wonder. Did I train enough for Vasaloppet? As a kid I didn’t like cross country skiing much. It felt boring compared to other winter sports. Luckily, I was a happy kid. The winters were still cold so I could play ice hockey with my friends behind our house and my family spent most of the winter holidays in the mountains. There we did downhill skiing, and I enjoyed skiing at full speed.

After moving to Sweden though, my early disinterest in cross country skiing didn’t help me with my Vasaloppet goal. I was comfortable at downhills at least. These are often most scary for beginners. I was more worried about my poor technique and weak arms. Fortunately, I studied at Umeå University located in the north of Sweden, so I had a long winter to get ready!

First, I needed skis. As a broke international student, I only had money for second-hand skis. I bought all poles, ski boots, and skis for just 200 SEK (20 EUR). Well, the price equals the quality. My skis were made in 1988.

Old but very picturesque skis during sunrise — *My old but very picturesque skis*

When it comes to training, I never would have made it to the start without my amazing Swedish friend Håkan who is a big cross country skiing enthusiast and six times finisher of Vasaloppet. He often trained with me and gave me many valuable tips regarding technique. He also explained to me how important it is to do some race before: “Vasaloppet has many starting groups. If you don’t do a cross country ski race before, you automatically end up in the last seeding group 10. You’d rather start in some better group. If you start in the last group, there will be large queue in front of you and you will lose over one hour in time until you climb the first long hill.”

Long Vasaloppet start with 10 different seeding groups ready for 15800 racers — *The long Vasaloppet start with 10 different seeding groups ready for 15800 racers*

Take part in a preparation race outside north of Sweden

So that´s what we did. We participated in a local 40km race in Umeå called Vildmannaloppet. Unfortunately, I chose maybe the worst winter for the race. There wasn’t enough snow and Vasaloppet organizers were worried that the race will have to be cancelled due to lack of snow. A similar situation was going on in Umeå. The preparation race couldn’t happen on the usual 10km track due to the limited amount of snow so we had to do it on a 5km artificial snow track. We had to do 8 laps.

The race was not fun. Racing in the north of Sweden means that you compete with Swedes who were basically born on skis. It didn’t take a long time until all the local skiers left me behind. The only guy whose pace I managed to follow was another exchange student from France. Before I finished the first lap, I was already lapped by the fastest local skiers. This is not something that helps your self-esteem, but I kept on fighting.

The race was long and tough. I couldn’t even count how many times I was lapped but I was telling myself: “This will help you to qualify for a better starting group at Vasaloppet. You will have a better chance to finish it!” Here, I have to mention one more important detail. You can’t finish Vasaloppet in whatever time you feel like. There is a time limit and cut-off times on the way! The internal motivation helped me. I managed to complete the race even though I finished second last. Yes, I managed to beat the other exchange student! But most importantly – I will be seeded for Vasaloppet!

Vaxing cross country skis — *Another crucial task is to fix your skis. If you don’t know how to wax them and which way to choose, ask professionals. I was lucky to be helped by pros – my father and Håkan*

The start of Vasaloppet is full of emotions

We are arriving to Vasaloppet start. It’s 6 a.m., two hours before the actual start. Our bus manager´s tactics are to arrive early, so we get a good spot within our starting groups. My father and I are going towards the last group 10. Håkan forgot to mention one rule for the seeding – you need to finish the preparation race before a certain time to be seeded. I finished the preparation race too late.

Clever tip: In order to have better sleep before race, I highly recommend to find accommodation nearby the start in Sälen. Book it as soon as possible. All accommodation options are booked many months in advance

Coming early to the start helps for better position for the Vasaloppet race — *Coming early to the start helps for a better position for the race*

It’s still dark outside but huge lights are lighting up the thousands of skis placed in the tracks. I am putting my new racing skis, which Håkan lend me for the race (Thank you so much!), somewhere in the middle of group 10 next to my father’s skis. Now it becomes real: we will really run Vasaloppet! Today, I will either finish or I will die! Other members of our bus have already placed their skis in better groups, and my father and I watch them warming up their muscles with exercises and runs. We decide to save as much energy as possible and we take a short nap in the bus before the race.

It’s 7:40. I am finishing the last snack before the start, and I am heading towards my skis. The atmosphere there is incredible. There is a tower in the middle of every starting group with dancers who have the task to warm up all the participants. Even my father and I dance to the Avicii songs. 5 minutes before the start all the dancers leave. We listen to Vasaloppets anthem, and I feel goosebumps.

Vasaloppet start 2022 — *Vasaloppet start*

The longest day of my life

BANG! The race is initiated. The elite racers move quickly towards the first hill. We wait for a couple of minutes until we can start moving. “Good luck, dad! See you in in Mora in 12 hours!” Our group 10 slowly moves forward. When we reach the first uphill the crowd stops. I see some space at the left of the track, and I manage to overtake some participants. I think I found a cool shortcut but it still takes a lot of time to get to the top of the initial hill. My watch says 65 minutes. Håkan was right.

I was surprised how many people I managed to pass. It must have been hundreds of racers. Very many of them chose the wrong waxing strategy and had to stop to re-wax their skis on both sides of the track. I made it to the highest point of the whole Vasaloppet without stopping. Here, the crowd finally starts moving. Let’s go racing.

Vasaloppet start with thousands of skiers — *Quick start of the elite racers*

For people who like downhills the first 11km to the first stop Smågan are amazing. After the initial climb, the route goes smoothly down, and you can pass a lot of slow racers. It was my favourite part of the whole race. From this point the route starts to be challenging. After Smågan, there are six more stops on the way. To manage the whole Vasaloppet, it is very important to get enough energy at every stop. At each of these stops you can get the famous Vasaloppet blueberry soup, energy drink, water, a broth, a bun and at some stops also coffee. The distances between stops vary between 9 to 13km so it’s good to study the map before so you can expect what comes next.

Vasaloppet Risberg downhill — *One of great downhills but be careful: There are many falls every year. Google Vasaloppet Risberg falls if you want to laugh a little bit*

Plan your nutrition intake before Vasaloppet

I heard that many racers manage to complete the race just by taking what is offered during the race, but should I risk it? Since I have never experienced such a long race before, I didn’t dare to underestimate it. You might laugh at me, but I brought small pieces of bread and my favourite food for emergency – 5 small schnitzels.

Mångsbodarna stop at Vasaloppet — *Mångsbodarna stop*

It turned out to be a great food strategy. At every stop I took one of each of the offered drinks plus one small schnitzel and I had enough energy for the first 60km of the race. Even though the snow was slow and my speed was only around 10km/h, I never had to stop. I passed Mångsbodarna, Risberg, Evertsberg and Oxberg and two thirds of the race were behind me.

*A volunteer giving out blueberry soups to a racer*

Count on an unexpected crisis

After climbing to Oxberg I felt quite confident. I had heard that there shouldn’t be any large climbs anymore. I believed I would manage to finish the race. But here I made a mistake. I underestimated my energy intake and my waxing stopped working due to a change in temperature. I collapsed somewhere halfway on the way to the next stop at Hökberg. The situation was bad. I suddenly went out of energy, and I experienced a big crisis. I could only go very slowly, and I was scared that I will have to give up. Many racers were passing me, and I felt hopeless.

The worst Vasaloppet weather ever — When I saw this weather forecast before the race, I felt hopeless. It was very difficult to choose the wax strategy for the race on Sunday (Sorry, the screenshot is in Czech. Let me give you a short language lesson – pátek – Friday, sobota – Saturday, neděle – Sunday, pondělí – Monday, března – of March)

At this point only a miracle could save me. And the miracle occurred. Out of nowhere I saw an angel. There was a small girl standing next to the track. She was cheering on the racers with her father in typical Swedish: “Heja, heja” and she was giving out pancakes to those in need. When I heard her say “Vill du ha en pannkaka?” my emotions just got to me, and I started to cry of happiness. The pancake gave me enough energy to make it to the next stop at Hökberg. There was a waxing service which fixed my skies and I could continue.

Finishing at Vasaloppet — *At the end of the race there are usually worse snow conditions. Save some energy for the last kilometers.*

The last 20 km hurt me everywhere in my body. I even felt pain in parts of my body where I didn’t know I have muscles. It was also getting dark but the supporting spectators along the way gave me enough energy to finish. At the last stop I took an extra boost by taking a coffee and at a time of 09:09:33 I successfully passed the finish line. What a feeling! Vasaloppet is finished!

*I made it! I finished Vasaloppet 2014!*

Now it’s just time to celebrate with my father and Håkan in a pub nearby over a local beer. We managed the Vasaloppet in one of the worst conditions in years. Out of 15800 who registered for the race only 11248 finished in 2014. We managed to beat for instance the Swedish ice hockey star Peter Forsberg who gave up his race somewhere between Evertsberg and Oxberg.

Back to the dream Vasaloppet 2022

Eight years later, the dream I had before Vasaloppet 2014 came true. Joanne and I just took a different role at the 100^th edition of Vasaloppet. This time I got a press accreditation to document the race. In this way I could return to my memories of my first Vasaloppet and show you pictures of how amazing the race is. If you consider doing the race, don’t hesitate for a moment. Even though it was the toughest physical exercise I ever experienced I would do it again. I actually already did. In my next post, I will tell you how Vasaloppet was in perfect vårvinter conditions, this time using a different skiing technique – skating/freestyle.

Vasaloppet goal — *See you soon Vasaloppet!*

Fun facts about Vasaloppet

Vasaloppet belongs to the four grand classic races. The other races are Italian Marcialonga, Czech Jizerska50, and Norwegian Birkebeinerrennet. A victory in all four races, a grand slam, gives the winner 100,000 Euros! If you get good enough in skiing you can also get pretty rich!
An average racer drinks over a litre of blueberry soup during Vasaloppet. During the whole Vasaloppet week 2022 (consisting of different races) the participants consumed 33,900 litres of blueberry soup, 28,000 litres of Enervit sport drink, 11,900 litres of vegetable broth, 3,100 litres of coffee and 200,000 Vasaloppet buns.
No littering! If a participant is found to have littered in or along the Vasaloppet course (which is a nature reserve) then he or she will receive a time penalty of 15 minutes.
The average age in Vasaloppet 2014 was 42.1 years. The youngest participant in Vasaloppet 2014 was 18 and the oldest was 87.
2.195 racers in 2014 were women which means 13,8% of all participants.
Racers from 73 countries participated in Vasaloppet 2014.
The average racer loses 3kg of body weight during a full Vasaloppet.
All 15 800 tickets for Vasaloppet 2014 were sold out in just 10 minutes!

Vasaloppet logistics — Vasaloppet organizes amazing logistics. You can leave your personal items in a plastic bag at the start and it will be delivered to the finish. Thanks to this service you can for instance prepare dry and warm clothes

My personal tips for your first Vasaloppet

Be ready to buy the ticket for Vasaloppet in time. They sell out in just a few minutes.
It’s recommended to start training at least two years before the race. During summer consider training on roller skis.
Try to participate in a race before to seed better than in the last starting group. Choose a race outside north of Sweden. There’s higher competition there, so it’s more difficult to qualify.
Take great care of your skis before the race. It’s worth spending some money for a professional waxing service.
Book your accommodation before the race close to the start at Sälen. You will have more time to sleep, and it will save you a lot of energy.
Plan your food strategy and test it before the race. Don’t experiment with something new on the race day.
Take some food at every stop on the way. You never know when a crisis gets you. Take some food with you for emergencies.

Come to Vasaloppet start in time — My last tip for you: Arrive well in advance so you don’t end up like these racers. Every year, hundreds of people come late to the start because of long traffic jams. You don’t want to miss the amazing start.

DISCLAIMER: Everything described in the dream actually happened. The only exception is the comfy camper van. We slept in a standard rental car and I have to admit: It could have been more pleasant. In -15°C we were pretty cold and when we got home we got sick. Rent a proper camper van.

Climber in front of mountain Hvannadalshnúkur

February 4, 2024 • 0 Comment

How to successfully climb the highest peak of Iceland – Hvannadalshnúkur

The land of fire and ice is hiding one of the most demanding ascents of the project European Peaks. Its highest mountain Hvannadalshnúkur is an inactive volcano covered by Europe’s largest glacier Vatnajökull and its summit is not only very physically demanding but also very unpredictable when it comes to weather. Strong winds and blizzards are common there even in summer. In this article you can find all tips you need to know before your climb to Iceland’s highest mountain including my own personal experience and you will also get a tip for a guiding company.

Important information for climbing Hvannadalshnúkur

Short description of the ascent: Very demanding long hike on glacier, glacier experience necessary, difficult navigation
Essential equipment: Touring skis/snowshoes/crampons, hiking poles; full glacier equipment 
Best time to visit: April - June
Fees or restrictions: No but guide strongly recommended
Camping allowed: Yes
Nearest accommodation/food supply: Skaftafell
Starting point: Parking lot Sandfell (see the map below)
Height of the peak: 2,110 m
Ski touring/hiking distance: 11.5 km (one way)
Time to ascend to Hvannadalshnúkur: 7 hours 30 minutes up, 4 hours down
Elevation climbed: 2,066 m 
Water availability on the mountain: No but you can melt snow or ice from the glacier
Difficulty level: ***** (6 stars maximum) 
Personal rating of the mountain: ****** (6 stars maximum) 
Beer on the peak: Víking Rökkr **** (6 stars maximum)

Description of the route to Hvannadalshnúkur

The climb of Hvannadalshnúkur has four parts. Up to about 1,000 m above sea level there is a rocky section with a path to follow. Then you will enter the glacier on which you will climb to the altitude of about 1,800 m above sea level. There will be waiting a large plateau. Do not walk the shortest possible route to the peak over the plateau. There is the largest risk of falling into cracks. Instead, follow the peak on a curve, do not go straight (see the map below). At the end there is a steep final section to the peak (ca 300 elevation meters).

Map of the route to Hvannadalshnúkur

My story of climbing Hvannadalshnúkur

I climbed Hvannadalshnúkur as a part of my project European Peaks during which I climbed the highest peak of every European country. After winter ascents in Andorra and Norway I was facing an even bigger winter challenge. The majestic mountain Hvannadalshnúkur is both beautiful and demanding and it became one of the highlights of the expedition. To reach the summit the majority of your climb will be on a glacier where you are in danger of falling into cracks and you have to get ready for hostile weather. Blizzards and strong winds are common here even during summer.

Two climbers under Hvannadalshnúkur — *Jakub and I under Hvannadalshnúkur. Will we manage to climb it?*

I had a big respect for this mountain so I wanted to book a mountain guide (which I strongly recommend to you too if you want to summit this amazing mountain). This company has years of experience in climbing Hvannadalshnúkur and it will ensure your safe summit. However, the circumstances changed. No guide was available on my summit day so I decided to climb the mountain only with my friend Jakub.

Proper preparation is the key

Because Jakub and I wanted to climb Hvannadalshnúkur at the beginning of the climbing season, early April, planning was the most important success factor. In Iceland there were still winter conditions, and climbing in bad weather would mean gambling with our lives. We planned to stay in Iceland the whole week with the hope that one of the seven days will be suitable for the climb.

A farm under Hvannadalshnúkur — *Hvannadalshnúkur in all its beauty*

Before we arrived in Iceland, we closely monitored the weather forecast. That was very changeable. It seemed that predicting Icelandic weather was like throwing a dice. Completely random in the long term. Therefore, I was looking for Icelandic climbers on Facebook to ask how to prepare for our climb and where to watch the weather. I got answers from three climbers who had already climbed the highest mountain of Iceland. We got these recommendations:

Check the weather forecast at this Icelandic website: en.vedur.is.
Be careful when climbing over the glacier. It is necessary to be tied on a rope and to be very careful. The glacier is safe in winter if you follow the recommended GPS route exactly.
GPS is important to not to get lost. Don’t forget an extra battery/ powerbank.
Register your climb at safetravel.is, so local authorities know about your venture.

Weather lottery

Based on the weather forecast we decided to climb Hvannadalshnúkur right after our arrival to Iceland. The forecast looked amazing. Sunny the whole day, just a strong wind in the morning. I contacted local mountain guides who perform regular ascents. However, I was told that the ascent was canceled due to bad weather. “Too windy,” they said. The climb was supposed to move to the next day, but we didn’t like that at all. It was supposed to blow less, but it was supposed to be cloudy with snowfall. There was no other summit day before our flight back to Stockholm so we decided to climb the mountain on our own.

In Reykjavik we rented climbing equipment and managed to get harnesses, crampons, a rope and hiking poles. According to the rental company and local climbers, this should be enough for us in the current conditions. According to them, the main risk – glacial cracks – is safely covered with snow from the whole winter during this time of the year.

First day in the winter wonderland

Then we rented a car and headed towards the starting point of the climb – Sandfell. The trip usually takes four hours. We left Reykjavik and took the Highway 1 (also called Ring Road) to the southwest. The 90 km/h reduction was annoying, but we soon understood why there is such speed limit. It started to blow like crazy, temperatures dropping below zero, and snow was blowing from the mountains. The visibility was suddenly only a few meters. Blizzard. We were glad we could drive at speed of 30 km/h.

The journey was longer than we expected. We arrived late at night to a village called Vík. Due to the high rocks there was a significantly weaker wind than elsewhere on the road, so we decided to stay there overnight. We hoped not to find ourselves lost in snow the following morning. We spent the night in the trunk of our rented Subaru Forester and it was surprisingly comfortable.

Plane wreck in Iceland — *Nearby Vík you can also find the famous plane wreck*

We woke up to see the sunrise on Vík’s beach and the view promptly forced us to leave the car to see the beauty. The black sand beach together with cliffs around was perhaps the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. But the harsh Icelandic climate was showing us its strength. It was so windy that we took just a few pictures and headed back to our car.

Too windy on Hvannadalshnúkur

We decided to continue towards Hvannadalshnúkur. As we drove out of the village Vík, the wind doubled in strength. It was even stronger than the previous day while bringing even more snow. We realized what white darkness looks like. We couldn’t see further than two meters. At that moment we were very glad that we did not borrow a smaller car, which would certainly not handle this furious weather.

There was no rush. We continued very slowly but we still managed to reach the Europe’s largest glacier Vatnajökull pretty early in the morning. We saw Hvannadalshnúkur for the first time. Unfortunately, it was immediately clear why the guides canceled the climb. Even though the sky was clear, the wind was blowing so hard that it created snow clouds on the mountain. We realized that we wouldn’t see anything during our summit. At that moment we were sure: today we won’t climb anything.

Hvannadalshnúkur seen from the road during crazy wind conditions — *The first view over Hvannadalshnúkur and crazy wind on the road*

We drove to the village Skaftafell which offers perfect accommodation for climbing Hvannadalshnúkur since it’s affordable and closest to the starting point. We ate breakfast and thought about what to do next. Will we take some warming up hike and will we follow the climbing company tomorrow in cloudy and snowy weather? During the breakfast however, the wind miraculously calmed down, not only in the lowlands, but also in the mountains. It was nine o’clock in the morning, which is still relatively late to climb Hvannadalshnúkur, but the sun is already quite high at the beginning of April and sets as late as at half past eight in the evening. ‘What if we try to climb? We have more or less 12 hours until it gets dark. We’ll return if it feels dangerous.”

Perfect weather conditions

After a brief discussion, we decided to go for it. We packed food, water, tea, all necessary climbing equipment and power banks in case our phones run out of battery and of course headlights. We registered ourselves on safetravel.is in case we would need help and started our ascent. In a few minutes I got a message from safetravel.is : “Do you have complete glacier equipment? Do you have experience with alpine and glacier tourism? During this time of year the climb is very challenging.”

We were very pleased that the local authorities were so interested in tourists and wanted to ensure our safety in the mountains. We reported an expected return time at 23 o’clock. If we don’t report two hours after, the organization would send a search. We left the parking lot Sandfell at 11 am. I guess it was the latest leaving time to climb Hvannadalshnúkur of all previous April climbers.

Hiking in Iceland in April — *The first part of the climb was easy. It led on rocks*

The wind completely left the mountains so we could climb only in T-shirts. We quickly ran up the first 1,000 altitude meters across stony and snowy terrain. In this part it was easy to find the way. After about two hours we reached the glacier. It looked clean and without cracks. We were relieved. Time to put crampons on, tie ourselves to the rope and climb up.

Climbing on the glacier

We climbed the glacier more slowly. I often checked the terrain in front of us to make sure there are no cracks. I also checked the GPS regularly to see if we were going in the correct direction. We climbed slowly but steadily up. We expected to reach the plateau several times but there were several endless horizons ahead.

Glacier on the way to Hvannadalshnúkur — *Hopefully, the last horizon ahead*

We came across one crack. Luckily it was narrow and well visible so we easily overcame it. It was interesting to look for cracks. It reminded me of skating on thin ice, which I do with a local Stockholm skating club at the beginning of the skating season in autumn. The thickness of the ice often changes, so every skater must have a stick with a sharp end to examine the thickness of the ice. Here it was similar. I tested regularly to see if there was a crack below blown snow.

The large plateau under summit with glacier under Hvannadalshnúkur — *The large plateau under summit*

At around 6 pm we finally reached the plateau below the summit. “The summit is near now” I encouraged my friend Jakub but I saw that it would still be quite a hike to the top. We followed the Icelandic climber’s instruction and didn’t follow the shortest route to the summit. Instead, go along the contour line around. You will avoid a great risk.

Sunset on top of Hvannadalshnúkur

We continued even more cautiously than before. I checked the surface in front of us before every step. We encountered two more cracks. Both weren’t well visible. After another hour we got to the final climb. The sun was slowly setting which we expected. We knew we would be going down in the dark. The last climb was steep, but could be handled without an ice axe. We passed the beautiful snow-covered rocks and reached the summit. We did it!

Selfie on top of Hvannadalshnúkur — *On top of Iceland*

The wind was blowing on top so it quickly became really cold but the gorgeous view of the setting sun over the cloud-covered valley and ocean behind warmed us up. Indescribable scenery.

The view from the peak Hvannadalshnúkur is amazing — *The view from the peak is amazing*

We knew we were only half way. The descent would still be very difficult so we spent only a few minutes on the top and headed back. We knew it would be dark in about an hour and a half, so we tried to get back to the plateau as quickly as possible so that we would pass as much of the glacier as possible before it got dark. Thanks to the perfect weather conditions our traces remained visible. We didn’t have to look for a new path, so we could go back much faster. Indeed, the Icelandic forecast was correct.

Descent in the shine of northern lights

We managed to pass the plateau before it got dark. Then we had to slow down but it was still easy to follow our steps with our headlights. After two and a half hours we came back from the glacier to the rocks. The toughest and most dangerous part was behind us.

Northern lights in Iceland — *Northern lights on the way down*

We expected the rest of the hike to be easy but we ended up in a crisis. Clouds occurred and the navigation got much more complicated. We couldn’t even see our traces anymore and we got lost several times. Our legs were in pain and we were tired so we decided for a break.

Icelandic dried fish with bread and a bit of tea gave us new energy so we could continue. We walked down in darkness and a bad mood when the sky suddenly cleared up and we saw northern lights. The aurora was so strong that it illuminated the path we wanted to follow. Suddenly we could easily see where to go. Thanks to the aurora we managed to get back safely to the car. After our arrival we texted safetravel.is that we are safe and went to sleep. We fell asleep within a minute.

One week road trip around Iceland

In the morning we were woken up by a group of tourists led by a mountain guide at six o’clock in the morning. It was cloudy and snowy. It was certain that even if the climbers managed to climb Hvannadalshnúkur, they would not see anything. On the other hand, I must admit that we took a risk. If one of us fell into a glacial crack, we would have a big problem. We didn’t have any equipment to rescue each other from a glacier crack. Climbing Hvannadalshnúkur with only two people and without glacier equipment is definitely not an exemplary approach. Based on my experience I definitely recommend to climb the mountain only with an experienced local mountain guide.

Hot springs in Iceland — *Well deserved relax after the summit day*

Anyway the goal of our Icelandic expedition was managed on the first day of our visit and we still had six days on Iceland. Time to explore the island. What was the first stop? Hot springs and relaxation. Are you staying in Iceland longer? Check out my 10 day itinerary for exploring Ring Road Iceland.

My tips for climbing the mountain Hvannadalshnúkur:

I highly recommend hiring a mountain guide or joining a guided tour. This is a very demanding ascent even for experienced climbers due to the extreme weather conditions.
It is necessary to monitor the weather. Climbing Hvannadalshnúkur is only possible in perfect weather conditions.
GPS navigation is necessary.
Complete glacier equipment is recommended.
Recommended accommodation: Hotel Skaftafell