Norwegian Lappmark

This location is mentioned in the following paragraphs:

(§646) 11th. We were up early in the morning and we arrived very quickly (after 1 3/4 miles) at the ice-mountain, which was a very high mountain covered in eternal snow. I noticed that the snow was very hard, as if frozen, and we sometimes walked on the crust and sometimes went down through it just as if we were walking in sand. Every so often there were rivers which ran under the snow, and in some places the snow had fallen through so that it was possible to see many consecutive strata of snow. The rivers now began to flow towards the west - a sign that we were in Norwegian Lappmark. The sweet green earth that had earlier alternated with the snow was no longer visible and there were no lovely flowers here; instead, the whole area was blanketed in white snow. The cold east wind drove us quickly on, forcing us to protect our hands from the chill and to put on an extra coat. We were proceeding along the north side of the mountain, driven so hard by the wind that as often as not we fell over and tumbled far down the hillside. Once I fell the distance of a gunshot and ended up not that far from the edge of a precipice that would have put an end to the farce. That shows how strong the wind was. The rain, which was coming at us from the side, brought a coating of ice that stuck as an icy crust on our shoes and backs. Had this wind been against us, we should never have endured such a long and toilsome distance. When we had travelled 20 to 25 miles in such conditions, rocky and barren cliffs began to appear and, by and by, the western sea showed up between the cliffs. Earlier we had had perpetual spring, now we had perpetual winter, next it would be perpetual summer.

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• Written: Norwegian Lappmark