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