Winter magic of Lapland on top of Pallas

Lapland. That mystical wonderland in far North. One of the most exciting places in Lapland is a fell named Pallas, or Pallastunturi. Today I’m telling you about my hike to the highest peak of Pallas during winter.

Christmas and new years time is well spent in Lapland. Polar night and Northern lights are the best reality TV for me. What could a photographer enjoy more? I started my journey from the parking lot of Hotel Pallas. The weather was nice and clear. Temperature -20 degrees (celsius) but I wasn’t worried about that. The climb would keep me warm. I was using snowshoes although some people were hiking in winter boots. Start was the easy part and the path was clear.

Wooden cabin

The first point was a small wooden cabin. After that path became steeper and I was glad to have my snowshoes.

One small step…

The view was so amazing that I just had to stop to photograph the landscape every now and then. Slowly rising Sun created colors so unreal.

The view is getting more and more magical

Higher I got, the colder the wind became. Landscape also transformed more arctic.

This way or that way

About 50 meters before the top something unexpected happened. The Sun rose. Just a little bit, but still visibly. During polar winter the Sun should not get up this far North. Later back in the Hotel they told me that the highest peak is high enough for the Sun to reveal itself during clear skies.

WOOW

Here I was, on top of the peak watching this light show. It took me about 2,5 hours to get up there. Then I spent 1 hour just photographing the view. Some people were skiing down the hill but I had my trusted snow shoes. So no fast track down.

“Candyland”

Suddenly I felt like a 7-year-old kid in a candy store. So much “stuff” I had to enjoy before it ends.

Something I will remember all my life

Slowly the Sun started to set. During polar winter the light in the sky is like a 4-hour sunrise/sunset. Then it gets dark again.

Coming down went a bit faster. I was back at the Hotel’s parking lot about 45 minutes later. Temperature was now -25 degrees, but I was still warm enough and my 32 gigabytes memory card full of “candy”.

If you like my photos, please follow me on instagram @anttiphotography. Thank you so much.

Snow creates some interesting shadows.

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