Day 6: Skiiing in Äkäslompolo

Today's activity was centred on skiiing, one year to the day since our previous attempt. As with snowshoeing, we'd decided that we'd try it ourselves by renting our skis, rather than pay for a class. We weren't sure how well we'd remember what we did last time, but it was cheaper to rent the skis for the week rather than pay for a lesson and we liked the idea of doing it by ourselves rather than as part of a group.

Clare knew that there was a beginners' course on the lake, so that's where we headed off to, once we'd worked out how to put on our shoes. If we'd been experienced skiers we could have joined a trail as soon as we stepped out the door but since we're not, we had to carry our skis with us the kilometre or more to the lake. No mean feat!

Clare's skis were soon on and she was ready to go:

This was about 11-ish, so the red tinge noticeable in the background is the sunrise:

Slow and steady wins the race. It was slow going at first but we reached the end of the first leg:

The skies were clearer today, so we could see the fens from where we were standing:

Then it was time to come back. You can see that Clare had picked up a bit more confidence:

Soon enough she'd made it back to the start:

I soon found it relatively straightforward:

My Fitbit wasn't happy, though, noticing the increase in heart rate and ordering me to relax!

We did the same trip several more times. Clare became a lot more at ease with it, although stopping was still a bit nerve-wracking:

Soon she felt happier:

'One more time' became 'one more time' several times, until we'd spent an hour and a half going backwards and forwards.

After having done the final final leg and turned the corner, Clare rightly looked rather pleased with herself:

We were considering resting for an hour and then coming back to do some more but as soon as we got home we realised how sore we were. The good news is, though, that since we've rented the skis for the week, we'll be back out in a couple of days' time to do some more