Situation updates

Ounasjärvi (Lake Ounas) froze on the 1st of November, 2024. Snow fell on it the same day and closed down the view of the shiny surface. The winter of the lake has started.

The lake is ice free since 25th of May.

The Hetta region is a cross-country skier's paradise thanks to its extensive network of tracks and the remnants of wilderness still found in the area. Were it not for the systematic trampling of the skiing tracks by snowmobiles, this place might well be in the top three in the world for long-distance skiing.

After the lake Ounasjärvi has opened up from the ice cover, it was time to get the wooden boat ready for rowing. One of the first tasks in spring is thus to apply a new layer of tar.

In this blog, I share some news of the Lake Ounas catchment area from the perspective of a rower, skier, winter net-fisher and data collector of the Finnish Environment Agency. More specifically, geographically the area of my focus is the upper Ounasriver catchment area and my observation point in Hetta. The news I have written here are words that, as an amateur natural scientist and poet, I mix and match, depending on the case. I freely combine accurate measurements with staring mesmerized into the stream and the fire.