And then there was reindeer racing

Last weekend J and I had a day out in the city at the reindeer races!
Despite what you might think, this is not an everyday occurance in Tromsø. Last week was Sami week (a week celebrating the indigenous folk of Scandinavia) and so a range of different Sami activities and hand-made products were on offer in the city. One of these was reindeer racing. It involved a senior and a junior competition where two racers on skis are towed behind reindeer running at about 60km/hour. It took place in the main street of the city and it was awesome!
It began with the different reindeer owners greeting each other in the marshalling yard.
Then each of the competing animals was paraded up the racing runway, with a guy on a loudspeaker enthusiastically declaring the name of the owner and the beast, where they were from, past wins and previous times etc. Many of the reindeer were incredibly flighty being paraded along the runway, with quite a bit of bucking and kicking going on.
Before the race, the reindeers are placed in their starting boxes, which often took some time given the aforementioned flightiness.
Then they are released and charge up the track going as fast as they can, towing their racers behind them and kicking up a flurry of snow in their wake.

After a range of heats and finals, the winners are declared and awarded their trophies. Both the racer and the reindeer owner get a trophy and a cheque for a wad of cash.
While the reindeers don't appear to get any reward, I certainly hope that they are given some special treat for their performance from their owner when they get home. Although I must say, I do fear for the losers, given that in the laavo beside the track you could buy a kind of hot reindeer bone broth to help warm your frozen body...
I could not bring myself to try this after seeing the beautiful beasts running their little hearts out, but at the urging of some of the locals, J happily gave it a go. He said it tasted like reindeers smell and I am not sure he would buy it again. Perhaps it is a vegemite thing, you have to grow up with it to appreciate it. After it was all said and done though, J and I decided that we really enjoyed reindeer racing and perhaps we might make the trip out to the frozen inland area of norther Norway in easter where a large international competition is held every year. In fact, J enjoyed it so much he decided he might actually have to learn how to ski so that he might be able to try his hand at this sport and perhaps even compete in next year's competition. I think his form looks good. Heia J, Heia J!
xxx

Let it blow

It is now mid January in the arctic and I am yet to go skiing or snowboarding here at all this winter!

It is incredible to me that I can be living so far north, have arrived at the point of mid winter, and yet have still not seen the conditions right for snow fun activities. Around Christmas was perhaps the best so far, and J managed to get in one good snowboarding session on the backyard mountains, but unfortunately the closest I have come has been walking and slipping around on the mountains with the dogs (none of whom really wanted to have their photo taken with me) :)
Fortunately they were happy to have their picture taken on their own and J was happy to tolerate my need to capture our arctic Christmas eve on the mountain top.
As you can see from the pics, there has been snow, but it has just not really been enough to cover the rocks and bushes that we need for good snowboarding. There has also been rain and this rain has currently turned the snow to ice, and this is the real problem! Today was a very slippery walk with the dogs along the coastline and to make matter worse, we now have a severe hurricane like storm raging all around us and threatening to sweep us right into the fjord!

This week has been blessed with some joy though, because on the 21st we offically welcomed the sun back above the horizon.
Well, apparently. On the actual day, the whole of Tromsø was covered in a very unusual fog and so the sun, and everything else beyond 5m in front of you, was effectively invisible. Fortunately we still got to celebrate in the traditional way of the north, by eating jam doughnuts (sun balls apparently) and drinking hot chocolate. Since the official sun day, I have unfortunately always found myself in the shadow of some mountain or another in those precious few moments when the delicate sliver of the sun peeks her head up over our horizon, which means I am still yet to see that magical orange orb. Strangely though, the long dark arctic winter has not bothered me nearly as much as I thought it would. There have been some problems encouraging the body to sleep and wake at the right times, but apart from that, it has actually been rather lovely. There is someting quite charming about the lights twinkling in the dark and walking under a full moon in the blue light of midday.
Of course I still look forward to seeing the sun again, I just hope that she brings light and not heat for a little while though - I still hold out my hopes for some snow! Given the feeling of this intense oncoming storm we have today though, it may just be that I live to regret this wish. xxx