the real reindeer games

so, the Nordiska Same Mästerskapen has come and gone, and here are some photos of the event. pretty much all of these are of the "Sprint med lassokastning" (sprint and lasso casting on ski's) competition. there were several different age groups competing. the first group was kids around 9-14 years old, and the second group was youths aged 15-20 (?), i'm guessing.


athletes and spectators hanging out during the competition


the giant Sapmi flag!


young girl and ger dad strategizing


man wearing lots of lassoes


close up of his awesome "Sapmi" jacket


the team from Kiruna, a town north of Jokkmokk which is home to Sweden's largest iron-ore mine. it is also the home of Spaceport Sweden, the European Space and Sounding Rocket Range, and the Ice Hotel. this guy here (back turned) came in second place in the young men/women's competition.


skiing up to the lasso station


kids lined up and lassoing


the reindeer antler marks


going for it


lasso in mid-air


the rightmost guy in the red, number 67, won first place in the youth's 15-20 competition. moments after this photo was taken he lassoed his last antler and skiied through the finish line!


service at Gamla Kyrkan


Sofia Jannok, from Gallivare, is probably one of the most famous Sami musicians around. she combines joiking with jazz and pop, though the lyrics are in Sami! here she is singing"Amazing Grace" in Sami.

i'm off to Stockholm on Sunday for a birthday week extravaganza...my gentleman friend Julian is coming to Sweden to visit! I'm not looking forward to the 18 hour train rides there and back, but it'll be worth it. i leave you now with some random images of my days around town...



bell tower at Gamla Kyrkan


weird waves of melting snow...


the only sand i'm seeing these days


snow storm and icicles


a message


the school


house next door at night


"studio" by the ski runs where one could make drawings


like this


and this


and this!*

*sorry for the lack of white balance