The tundra calls. Beautiful in an understated way that is about something else than spectacle. A wide open rolling landscape, covered in a few meters of snow, beneath a low sun at day and stars and nothern lights at night. Lakes and streams and bogs are all frozen. You can wild camp anywhere. Explore everywhere. It's wonderfully quiet - until a snow storm suddenly descends and sweeps around you with whirling snowflakes, scary yet exhilerating. I can't travel at the moment because of COVID-19 travel restrictions, and I miss being on the tundra much more that I thought I would. What else to do but write a lovesick blog with all the reasons why I love arctic tundra so much - not just in winter, in all seasons.
Light
The light does special things in the tundra. From the short days of winter with their blueish light, to light nights of summer, to long sunsets and twilights of autumn, to northern light high up in the dark sky, there's often something extraordinary going on. Interesting for everyone to experience, but especially a landscape photographer's dream.
 |
| Because in the far noth the sun sinks beneath the horizon at an angle, sunrise/sunset/twilight lasts a long time. I was able to enjoy this fiery pink sky for over an hour. |
 |
The wonderful, unpredictable, slightly spooky northern light.
|
 |
| The blue-tinted light of the 'polar night', the period where the sun doesn't quite make it over the horizon, or doesn't do so for long. Not 24-hour darkness as some people think, but many hours of darkness (which isn't so dark at all with the stars and moon and snow), and hours of twilight-like light. |
Space
Because the lack of trees and the scarcity of human population and infrastructure, on the tundra there's a sense of endless wide open space around you that I haven't experienced anywhere else. Open access laws and rounded fjells with their more gentle slopes mean you are actually able to access a lot of that nature. That freedom to explore and wild camp in our largely privatized world is precious. On the tundra, at least in Europe and Greenland, the land still is from and for the people. I recently learned that in Greenland, it is not possible to even own land, which is ancient Inuit law. A good reminder that modern times don't automatically bring progress.
 |
| Wide views and so much space to explore. |
 |
| These three little trees near Tromso stood out in the otherwise bare slopes and valleys. |
 |
| Wide river valley in Sweden. |
Water
It rains little enough that tundra technically counts as desert, yet because of bedrock and permafrost water is everywhere, cold and pure and clear. Perfect conditions for hiking and boating (if you don't mind wet feet, that is, because you won't be able to evade the marshlands).
 |
So much water - and all of it perfectly drinkable. Photo taken in Padjelanta.
|
 |
| Bogs, streams, lakes. Photo taken in Greenland. |
 |
| Crossing a lake by rowing boat on the Kungsleden. |
Wildlife
Animals are relatively rare on the tundra (not counting mosquitos!), but you're not entirely alone out there. I haven't seen many of its species yet, but already have fond memories of encountering tundra wildlife: spotting whales from the Greenland coastal ferry, soaring eagles and ravens above my head, seeing arctic hares between equally white cotton flowers, waking up at night because an artic fox tripped over a guyline. In Sápmi, freely roaming reindeer of the Sámi are your graceful daily companions.
 |
| Arctic hare in Greenland |
 |
Reindeer herd in Sápmi
|
 |
| I photographed this cute seal in a sanctuary in Tromso, not in the wild - but they do live in the northern coastal areas in huge numbers. |
Climate
Life is harsh so far up north with its cold temperatures, thin soils and short growing season, yet people have managed lived here for thousands of years and it especially isn't cruel to well-prepared visitors. Because of the dry air, the tundra often feels warmer than you'd think it is. It isn't rare to be able to walk in a t-shirt in summer, and even a -30 celcius winter day doesn't feel as bad as it sounds. From snow and ice to vivid green moss and wild flowers to autumn colors and berries: each season is beautiful.
 |
The vivid green of summer on the Kungsleden.
 | Stars and snow in the Tromso area - these nights don't feel dark at all.
|
|
 |
Autumn colors and moody skies in Padjelanta national park.
Hopefully I'll be able to travel to the tundra once more in August/September. For now, I'll just have to dream on for a little longer. |
Comments
Post a Comment