Kattilajärvi cave walk with Jarmo

 

Last winter I explored the far reaches of the Kattilajärvi on snow shoes, and found several new small caves. But also ran out of time to explore them further, and the heavy snow cover didn't make it easy to explore the boulder caves. I wanted to return during the summer, and now Jarmo and I hiked around the Lippukallio are east of Kattilajärvi. And wow, many new small caves, and we realized one of the boulder caves I had seen in the winter was actually quite big. Three levels, complex maze, shaky moving boulders... nice!

Photos in this article are mostly Jarmo's -- it always wonderful to explore with him as the photos are much better than what I can take myself :-)

And as Jarmo pointed out, that big boulder cave may actually be Espoo's longest cave at around 22 m. There is one shelter cave that is longer (Myllyjärvi cave, 35m) and a couple that come close to the same length (Nepperi cave at 18m but much of that length is in its shelter cave part, and three other shelter caves in the 9-12 meter range in the Lippukallio and Kattilajärvi area).

Anyway, cave length is largely in the eyes of the map drawer, when it comes to shelter caves and boulder caves. Opinions about how the length should be measured vary. I have usually chosen to count the total length of all tunnels for boulder caves, and width for shelter caves. There may also be difference of opinion when a shelter caves can be called caves. I've chosen to report even small ones, and document their dimensions, rather than ponder too much about what is a proper cave.

The boulder cave was indeed found on my earlier exploration and I chose to call it not-so-imaginatively "Lippukallion lohkareluola 2". It is in coordinates N 60.303523 E 24.628776. There's a cave map and a rotatable 3D model (you can also download the model here).

But we also found seven new caves! They are:

• Lippukallion minilippaluolanen in coordinates N 60.302990 E 24.630841 (cave map, rotatable model,  downloadable model,  model video). A shelter cafe, width 5.8m.
• Lippukallion halkeamakololuolanen in coordinates N 60.303264 E 24.630163 (cave map, rotatable model, downloadable model, model video). A crevice/boulder cave, length 3.5m.
• Lippukallion kiipeilyhalkeamaluola in coordinates N 60.303375 E 24.629955 (cave map, rotatable model, downloadable model, model video). A crevice cave, length 10.6m.
• Lippukallion pieni lohkarehalkeamaluola in coordinates N 60.304029 E 24.628730 (cave map, rotatable model, downloadable model, model video). A crevice/boulder dave, length 3.1m.
• Lippukallion kallionsisuksen halkeamaluola in coordinates N 60.303867 E 24.628588 (cave map). A very narrow crevice cave, length 5.0m. Probably can be entered, but we were hurrying to the next one.
• Lippukallion halkeaman päätykololuolanen in coordinates N 60.303735 E 24.628617 (cave map). A crevice cave at the end of a crack in the cliff. Length 2.7m.
• Lippukallion rapautumislippaluola in coordinates N 60.302362 E 24.629877 (cave map). A massive shelter cave, formed by erosion in weak rock that is still going on. Width 11.5m, depth 4.9m, height 7m.

Pictures, first from the big cave ("lohkareluola 2"):

The smaller boulder cave next to lohkareluola 2, called "lohkareluola 1":

Minilippaluolanen:

Halkeamakololuolanen:

Kiipeilyhalkeamaluola:

Lohkarehalkeamaluola:

Kallionsisuksen halkeamaluola:

Halkeaman päätykololuolanen:

Rapautumislippaluola:

Views:

This article has also been published at TGR. Read more urban exploration stories from theurbanexplorer.net, and other underground stories from planetcaver.net. Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, or all blog articles from Blogspot or TGR. Photos and text (c) 2021 by Jarmo Ruuth and Jari Arkko. All rights reserved.

Long lake swim

 

First time swimming in Nuuksio's Pitkäjärvi (Nuuksio Long Lake)! There isn't really an official beach, but there is one semi-official, down from the Haltia nature center. 

It is here: N 60.292973 E 24.554634.

For more sauna and swimming stories, check out planetswimmer.com and saunablogger.cool websites! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2021 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. I never take photos of other swimmers on a beach, and try to visit at times where there is simply no one else around.

Lamminjärvi swim

 

Another new lake swim, this time in Veikkola, at the Lamminjärvi and the Lammaskallio beach. Very nice. And hottest day of the summer so far!

There's also a sauna that can be rented, with its own  pier.

For more sauna and swimming stories, check out planetswimmer.com and saunablogger.cool websites! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2021 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. I never take photos of other swimmers on a beach, and try to visit at times where there is simply no one else around.

First swim of the season!

 

I've been lazy. Last year I swam every day during the summer, this year.... took to June 19 for the first swim!

But it was nice to again go to a new place. Or I've been to Vitträsk lake in Kirkkonummi, but I've not been to the Svartvik beach.

Nice, small beach. I really enjoyed getting to the water, despite having to enter a bit further away from the main beach and on the not so sandy lake bottom due to the crowds. But very nice, cool experience on a hot day!

For more sauna and swimming stories, check out planetswimmer.com and saunablogger.cool websites! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2021 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. I never take photos of other swimmers on a beach, and try to visit at times where there is simply no one else around.

Vihta. Vasta. Whisk.

 

A fresh bath whisk from my own garden, and enjoying a Friday evening in my own sauna. Bliss!

For more sauna and swimming stories, check out planetswimmer.com and saunablogger.cool websites! And of course the Planetcaver, and Planetskier blogs for other stories in Blogspot and TGR! The photos and text (c) 2021 by Jari Arkko. All rights reserved. I never take photos of other swimmers on a beach, and try to visit at times where there is simply no one else around.

World's southernmost ski resort

 

What might be the world's southernmost ski resort? Internet claims that the answer is Cerro Castor, outside Ushuaia, on the southern end of Argentina. But, that is actually NOT the right answer. Glaciar Martial, a small ski slope in the city of Ushuaia is actually south of Cerro Castor. But wait, even that is NOT right. There's an even smaller ski slope, Club Andino Ushuaia, south of Glaciar Martial. Or is there?

Cerro Castor (website, wikipedia, skiresort.info page) is a great, large ski resort with slopes covering high alpine region to the east of Ushuaia. They have 29 km of slopes. The resort base is at S 54.723416 W 68.018205, and the southernmost slope point appears to be S 54.724527 W 68.008713 on the "Avutarda" trail. See the trail map.

Glaciar Martial (website, skiresort.info page) is a one-lift operation right in Ushuaia. They have 5 km of slopes and 190m vertical. Although the 5km seems a bit suspect, I remember them having just one slope, which the trail map also seems to confirm. Eyeing the slope from the satellite map it seems like a bit over 1km. The base is at S 54.798732 W 68.370889, which is also the southernmost point on the one slope it has.

When Tero and I did our big Argentinian ski tour, we visited both Cerro Castor and Glaciar Martial. When we were departing Ushuaia, on our way to the airport, we saw. a third ski slope on the mountains, Club Andiano. And were bummed! 

Club Andiano Ushuaia (website, skiresort.info page) is even smaller than Glaciar Martial. Per skiresort.info they have only one 0.5 km slope and 190 m vertical. There's a sort of a trail map (maybe) here. The south end of lift track appears to be at S 54.812530 W 68.351065.

So the right answer is Club Andiano. THAT is the southermost ski resort or slope in the world! And I have not skied there, despite being in Ushuaia. Grr!

But, skiresort.info says "The ski resort has shut down and skiing is no longer possible". Hmm. So is it still open? The Club Andiano website does talk about this year, but... it is difficult to see evidence of them actually operating the alpine ski parts of their operation. All information about skiing classes seems to indicate Cerro Castor as the location. So what's the story?

Google maps pictures seem to indicate a ski slope next to the lift towers, but growing with trees. So maybe that's the conclusion, then? But it would sure be nice to know what the actual situation is. Does someone know? Any locals?

One could perhaps claim that Cerro Castor is the southernmost ski *resort* while Glaciar Martial is the southermost ski *slope* or local ski hill. And that Club Andiano *was* the southernmost ski slope but is no longer.

And Tero I have visited what appears to be currently the world's most southern ski hill. But at the time we visited it, we missed visiting the one that actually was the most southern one back then. Hmm. Well, if I ever get to go to Ushuaia again, I will make sure to climb the Club Andiano slope just for safety's sake :-)

Note: Obviously, there's skiing more south, all the way to the south pole. But there are no ski resorts, organized ski slopes, or ski lifts.

Pictures from Cerro Castor:

Pictures from Glaciar Martial:

Pictures from Ushuaia:

This article has also been published at TGR. Read the full Planetskier series at planetskier.net, or all blog articles from Blogspot or TGR. Photos, videos, and text (c) 2012 and 2021 by Jari Arkko and Tero Kivinen.