Skiing the Kungsleden
A 460km journey in winter through the mountains of northern Sweden on skis, crossing the arctic circle along the way.
Distance
460 km
Time
19 days
Total Elevation
12,327 m
After many years of long distance journeys on foot, this was my first trip covering a greater distance on skis. I had quite a bit of experience winter camping and forest skiing, but I was curious to see what was possible with a lightweight ski set-up. The Kungsleden, a popular summer route in Northern Sweden seemed like the obvious choice for an experimental trip as the terrain isn’t too steep overall and it finished among friends in Abisko, my old workplace. I was accompanied by the legend that is Charlie Key and over 19 days we completed the 460km from Hemavan to Abisko. The journey had a bit of everything; days of fine weather, hideous storms with white-outs, crossings of icy lakes, over mountain passes and winding through beautiful forest.
Photos by Charlie Key