This summer, me and a friend ascended Åreskutan, the tallest mountain in the town of Åre, the popular ski resort in the swedish region Jämtland. It was the first time I went hiking with anyone outside of my immediate family. Solo hiking is more my thing but still, it's fun to share experiences with others as well. We ended up spending just two nights in Åre, between 2023-07-19 and 2023-07-21.
Traveling to Åre from my home takes about 6 hours by car, and it turns out parking is readily available and free (for a few days at least) near the start of the trail leading up to the very crowded mountain.
We arrived in Åre at about 18:00 and didn't spend any time in the town. We went straight to the trailhead and made our way up the smaller peak Totthummeln (831m) where we had decided to spend the night. It was raining and the trail to Totthummeln passes through a small but pretty dense forest with very high humidity, and because of the wind we went up the hill fully geared in rain jackets, which I soon regretted. It was very sweaty so the uphill battle along the scenic route around the southern part of Totthummeln quickly took its toll. Once we figured this out and got rid of the sweaty jackets the ascent was way easier.
The scenery near the top of Totthummeln was really nice once we got above the tree line, and improved as we made our way to the top. Even though it was evening, this place constantly had about 3-5 people on it except us, including joggers and people walking their dogs, flying drones, etc. We set up our tent where the ground wasn't too wet and proceeded to cook dinner. We then realized we had no good water source at the top so we took a short hike about 100 vertical meters down to the north where there was a small ditch with seemingly fresh water in it. We slept in quite nice conditions that night but I was the only one who got any sleep. I happen to snore and while it's fine with my wife, not everyone can handle that noise. Especially not when sharing a two person tent with me. For future social hikes I think I'll have to sleep at some distance away from my neighbors.
The next day we awoke at about 8:30 in complete fog surrounding the mountain. After packing the tent we finally started making our way up Åreskutan at about 10:30. We worked our way up some sharp inclines that required us to catch our breath a few times, and we also came across some patches of snow on the way. At one point it was difficult to see which way to take, and we chose what I think was the longer way around some ridges. If we would have fought on to the top we would likely have had an even shorter hike.
At about 14:00 we arrived at Basecamp Åreskutan which is the lift centre and restaurant near the summit. It was super crowded as expected and there was a steady stream of people making their way to the peak. We had lunch there and finally pushed on to the summit. Because there was no marked trail we simply picked a path up the mountain and walked up. I guess it took about 30 minutes before we were up at 1420 meters, which houses a small cabin, a weather station and cell tower, as well as a wooden deck for visitors.
With that done and with some photos taken, we walked down the west side of the mountain along the ski and mountainbike slopes and a few wrong turns later we ended up in steep downhill shrubbery which took some effort to traverse. The afternoon had turned into evening when we arrived in a place suitable to put up our tent again. We could easily have made our way back to the car the same day and picked a better camping spot, but because of the lack of sleep for half of us and because of the rain we simply decided to head back home the day after, and sleep in the offpist slopes on a platform near the La Gondola restaurant. We had dinner and went to sleep early. That night was very windy and our exposed position made me happy I own a sturdy Hilleberg tent, which isn't ultralight but rather built like a tank while only weighing 1.7kg. I slept well but my friend didn't, again.
The next day we went down the slopes to the car. I gave my friend a ride to town where we split up. He had coffee and I had a nice run back up to the parking spot up the hill, and down again, passing the family friendly Trollstigen on the way. We then had lunch in the village and drove home.
All in all it was nice being outdoors, but I didn't like having to care much about my friend's wellbeing. I think I'm a solo hiker at heart. I would have preferred a full week, with some fishing and such. I don't really mind the rain. My next trip will be focused on my needs and I think I'll get more out of that.