A Winter Scene

A Winter photo.I shot this yesterday, during my visit to Rudan. Sure has Winter feel to it.

Gone Skiing

It was -10C when I decided to go for a winter promenade on Sunday morning. The sky was blue and it was a very beautiful,(but cold), Winter day. Lots of people out skiing, walking and running. This ski track at Nedersta seems to be quite popular. Made by an happy amateur it goes across a couple of fields belonging to the Nedersta farm. During the Summer months the farmer Janne, (you have met him here on the blog a few years ago), don't want anyone out walking over the fields destroying his crops but this time of the year you can ski pretty much anywhere you like.

A Happy Man

Skiers are always happy, and Christer Nilsson was no exception. He was skiing back and forth over the frozen Lower Lake at the Rudan nature reserve in Handen when I spotted him earlier today. Everything was perfect today he told me. No wind, 0C and a clear blue sky and just enough snow on the ice. He preferred to ski on the frozen lake as that made it possible for him to use the skate technique, something you can't do on the ski track here. Christer is a former ski coach/trainer/teacher. He has worked at the Mora skidgymnasium, (Upper Secondary School), and also at the Dalarna University. Before that he was a good athlete. He once won the national title in Ski-orienteering in junior athletics.

The Top Executive

This is Inger Lagerquist. Business woman. She runs a company called In Touch. They work with coaching and consulting. A few years ago she was on a list ranking Sweden's top female executives. I met her at the ski tracks at the Rudan nature reserve yesterday. Inger loves cross-country skiing and this weekend she will travel to Italy and take part in the Marcialonga 70 km ski race. That sounds like quite the challenge. Go Inger!

The Smiling Skier

Thanks to the recent cold spell the ski club at the Rudan nature reserve have been able to start the snow cannons. On my visit to the lakes the other day they had created a short ski track. It is only 700 meters long but if you like cross-country skiing and live in Stockholm it is one of the few places with snow at the moment. I took a bunch of photos using the panning technique. Shot with the pancake lens so I had to stand close to the track on the icy grass. One skier asked if I was from the local paper and I told her that I might send them a few snaps.

Hall of Fame Student

Despite me ending the Winter two days ago, here is another winter portrait. Meet Mats Persson. PhD student at KTH. The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Hi is into data processing and reconstruction methods for photon counting spectral computed tomography! In other words, he is a clever guy. But he is very modest about it. Last year he received The Wallquist Study Medal for outstanding academic performance so you can now find him at the Hall of Fame. I met Mats near the old tree yesterday. He was out on what was probably the last ski run of the season. This is another Brenizer method portrait. I shot twelve photos, but in the end I only used eight.

Skiing towards spring

Still winter, but we did have a couple of hours with sunshine yesterday. Can't remember when that happened the last time. Took this photo of the cross-country skier in Västerhaninge on Friday as I was shooting some photos of a building site.

A World Class MTB Racer

This is Emmy. I met her at the lakes on Sunday. My first impression was that she must be an elite skier, because she looked super fit. Turns out I was half right. Emmy is a world-class mountain bike racer. She has competed in the two latest UCI MTB Marathon World Championships. Emmy finished in 19th place last year, and 16th the year before. She has won a few races and you can see more results on her Swedish blog. Emmy comes from a village outside Gävle called Valbo and she competes for Härnösand CK. At the moment Emmy is studying dentistry, and because of that she moved to Haninge six months ago, and now resides in an student apartment in Handen. We talked a bit about cycling, and I told Emmy to get hold of a copy of the local bike map so that she can find her way around Haninge come the spring.

A little lunchbreak skiing

On my way to the lakes yesterday I met Åsa. She works at Osram in Jordbro, and that companies office building is only a few minutes walk from the ski tracks at Rudan, which means that on a good winters day like the one we had yesterday, Åsa will go cross-country skiing on her lunchbreak. She has taken part in the annual Vasaloppet race a number of times. If you don't know it, it is a long distance (90 km) cross-country ski race that takes place in Dalarna on the first Sunday in March every year. Åsa has also tried her luck in the Engelbrektsloppet in Nora. That race is also part of the Swedish Classic Circuit. So I guess it is safe to say that she is a fit woman. And when there's no snow, chances are that you will find Åsa either at the gym or out jogging.

The Daily Commute

A cross country skier at Lake Rudan this warm and sunny (Spring?), afternoon. Possibly the last weekend for skiing here as it was 8 C today, and the snow is quickly melting away. In the background the commuter train leaving the Handen station heading for Jordbro.

Gone Skiing

Two skiers crossing a field at Nedersta in Haninge yesterday. The red stable in the background belongs to the Nödesta farm. As I'm typing this it is snowing like crazy all over the country, and several big roads have been closed because of the snow storm and the many traffic accidents.

Skiing Cross-Country

I stopped at the frozen Lake Rudan yesterday and met a couple of cross-country skiers. The first person I asked for a portrait was a pretty girl, but she told me she was camera shy. Next to her stood Stefan. He is from Aspudden. Stefan had a day off, so he decided to go skiing for the first time in a decade! He wasn't too sure which of the prepared ski tracks to use, and was talking that over with Kenneth when I arrived. Stefan told me that the skies he was using weren't exactly new, he got them when he was thirteen, back in 1990. The weather was perfect for skiing on this day, with a temperature around -5 Celsius, which is a bit better than the -17 C we had last week. I had some camera trouble here, the auto focus was not working, but hey, that happens sometimes!

A very upset skier

This is Anders. I met him three weeks ago, so it's about time I post this portrait. Anders lives in Handen and is a member of the ski club Jordbänningarna. He is a keen skier both in summer and winter. Anders looked very tired when we met, so I figured he had done what I planned to do that day, which was to go for a ride on the new motorway before it opened for traffic. And I was half right, he had skied, but only for a couple of kilometres as he has been feeling a bit under the weather lately. We talked a little about the new promenade around the lakes at Rudan (that's where the ski club is based), and Anders was a bit upset (or very angry). The promenade has been sponsored by ICA Maxi, and they were supposed to pay for an asphalted road that the skiers were hoping to use during the summer. That never happened and Anders was very angry about that, claiming that ICA Maxi made millions in a recent food scandal, write that in your blog he said, so that's what I did.

Winter Pastime

Another winter photo from the popular recreational area Lake Rudan in Handen. From my visit two days ago when the sun was shining, and a lot of skiers could be seen on the ski track between the two lakes. I shouted to this woman that I was going to shoot a few action shots, and got a smile back. If you would visit in the summer, you would meet a lot of mountain bike riders in the forests here. And on a sunny day, the green spot near the Upper Lake, would be filled with sunbathers.

Coffee and Skiing

Yesterday was a good day for cross-country skiing. A blue sky and not very cold. I spent some time on my favorite bench at Lake Rudan,chatting with a woman who sometimes go skiing here. We talked about my 100 Strangers Project as we enjoyed the winter sun. Before heading home, I decided to get some photos of the skiers, and ended up falling on the ice with camera in hand! But luckily I didn't hurt myself. And I got a few decent shots and I showed you one of them yesterday. On todays photo you see two skiers, and in the background two buildings that once belonged to a farm. These days they are not used for farming. To the left is the theatre barn where the Ormteatern (The Snake Theatre Group) performs. And the other building belongs to the ski club, and if you recognise it, it's because I zoomed in on that building last week.

Health Tip of the Day

If you love cross-country skiing, like this man, and want to go for a run even when it's really cold, you should use a mouth worn humidity and heat exchanger. They don't cost much and they will save you from an asthma attack. Shot this today at Lake Rudan where the ski club Jordbänningarna, have six snow canons that can produce 90 cubic metre snow per hour. On a good day 200 people go skiing here on the 1,3 km track. For one day you pay 50 SEK, and for one season the price is 200 SEK.

Smile for the camera

A smiling skier. She probably noticed me in time as I stood there trying to get a few shots of different skiers. From Lake Rudan (now frozen) in Handen. I did see some tracks on the ice but no one skiing on the lake. Only two days left until the winter fishing season gets under way on the ice here. The red building in the background is a restaurant. The other building complex is Najaden. With offices, a hotel and nightclub, and much more including dentists and and the commuter station.