Finnish Taiga in the heart of winter

The forest here looks and sounds completely shut down. So quiet, still and subdued under snow.

But look a little closer and you find tracks in the snow - small mammals and birds in their annual struggle to survive the intense cold (-26ºC today). Hares, weasels and stoats, Jays, Finches and Tits in the trees. It is a wonder how they survive at all. It takes me 30minutes of skiing to get the body running properly, suffering bitter cold fingers and toes until the core-temperature is sufficiently elevated to start to override the peripheral shutdown. With weather colder than today, you are in danger of frost nip - burnt cheeks and ears. Usually when it is this cold (or colder), there is no wind and the air is ultra-dry. But down by the river, a freezing mist can be paralysing. Up on the fells, a minuscule breeze can have a frightening wind chill. So today, we set our sights on a 2km ski over Kesänki Järvi and a bit further around a hill up to the Latvamaja cabin for hot meju (cranberry juice). Then we skied down the old uphill trail back (now one way), the wrong way, back to the lake. The trail was gloriously uncut, but well used by  animals although none were to be seen in person.

Extra is taken from the middle of the lake.