There are many great summits (and more to be added soon) over the whole of Sweden and I look forward to seeing many new SM and guest activators in the future. I would like to use the forum to highlight a situation in the northern regions of Sweden (starting from northern SM/DA) during the spring period.
We share a lot of our summits with reindeer and springtime is an important period for reindeer calving. The mother is especially sensitive to disturbances during pregnancy which can, in the worst case result in losing her calf. The peak of this process is during the month of may but it varies and april/june are even months to show particular consideration to the reindeer.
Depending on area, the recommendations for behavior in the mountains may vary from showing extra consideration and awareness for the reindeer, to avoiding the summit altogether. There are, however, plenty of alternative summits which can be accessed during this time but it’s not always easy as a visitor to find out which summits are to be avoided during this period. With the current volume of traffic to our SM summits I would say the easiest is to simply get in touch with me, or any of the other region managers (also me), for more information if you are planning a trip.
It is difficult to give a list of summits with from-to dates to be avoided but I will try to make the information as visible as possible and the AM will be updated with more detailed information on this topic if you are interested in reading more. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you are planing an activation around this time, or any other time of the year!
73 de SA3IEI
Image Source County Administrative Board, Sweden