Monday, February 28, 2011

Helsinki by ski I

Exploring Helsinki has already taken much of my time. With the frozen sea, it is like if a new side of it which was open to me. I can go nearly everywhere on the sea side, visiting islands and viewing the city from new perspectives. The only rules of the game is watch out for thin ice and don't be stranded by a ship going between me and the coast. 
After skiing a few km from the shore, I found some fresher ice covered by delicate snow cristals, build by the wind. Skiing there gave me the impression to be on a desert covered of salt cristals. Nobody around, the sun high in the sky, an infinite, perfectly flat world was laying in front of me. And a taste of solitude. A bit further and I arrived at the main navigation route from Vuosaari harbour. Big signalisation signs surrounded by snow and ice, they felt so out of place. Climbing on them gave breath-taking views and what I was looking for : the scar left by the ships. 

The route was a field of upside-down turned blocks of ice, frozen and unfrozen again. The edge of it looked like a slightly undone puzzle. I was thinking of crossing for a while to feel closer to the big sea when I noticed a tugboat coming at full speed. Another dream coming true, me skiing next to a ice breaking ship, side by side.












Under the moonlight

Went for capturing a special shadow, moon's one. Leaving the cosy room at 22:00 to go on the frozen sea by -18°C. Wrapped in all our layers, we looked like on our way to a hold-up. 19.02.2011






Sunday, February 27, 2011

Ice map

I always loved maps. They contain the secret promise of an adventure. I just found in a long-distance skates shop a map of the ice in the baltic sea. It is updated daily here, displays thickness and different ice quality.

Now the baltic is amazingly frozen, all the way from Helsinki to Tallin and Stockholm. If it wouldn't be for ship scars, we could ski/skate/drive there.

Map updated daily by the the Finnish Meterological Institute

Ice map of the 27.02.2011 after 2 weeks of intense cold.