Meet Dick Johansson
The Swedish Mountain Guide is worth knowing; here's a profile to introduce Dick (with a ton of photos)
He moves up a mountain the way runoff flows down during spring’s melt—naturally along the path of least resistance. He’s quiet. He’s quick. He’s efficient. He has stories for days but only shares them if you ask. His job isn’t to entertain, it’s to introduce (safely). He knows the Abisko Alps, intimately familiar with the Swedish mountain range’s nooks and crannies, ramps and couloirs. He has a fleet of helicopters at his disposal, but he’d prefer to walk.
He’s Dick Johansson.
I watched Dick track wolverines through the backcountry. He showed me where to find the world’s best waffle (made at the Låktatjåkko Hut—sorry Corbet’s Cabin in Jackson Hole, you’re #2). He talked about how the Sámi people care for their herd of reindeer. And, he showed me what it’s like to move with nature.
Dick and Mina, his wife, own the Abisko Mountain Lodge. It’s one of the coolest places I’ve ever been. Located more than 300 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle in the small Swedish village of Abisko, the lodge sits at the feet of Lapporten, a visually arresting rock formation that resembles a massive granite halfpipe. The u-shaped valley was carved by Arctic glaciers. It signals the gateway into Abisko National Park, a Swedish treasure of public land, towering mountains, gurgling streams and raging rivers. The water in Abisko National Park is so fresh that you drink it straight from the source. Nestled between this outdoor lover’s dream triumvirate, Abisko Mountain Lodge accesses everything that I pine for while sitting in the hangar of my WFH office, grounded by COVID!
The lodge sits on the shores of Abisko Lake and it is a stone’s throw from spinning chairlifts at a rustic ski hill. Its property line marks the beginning (or end) of the 440-km-long Kungsleden Trail that bisects Abisko National Park. Nordic tracks wind around the lodge in winter. It is 38 km away from Riksgränsen, Norway’s hotbed for freeride skiing. Most importantly, in my opinion, Abisko Mountain Lodge is a helicopter’s bump away from the Abisko Alps.
This is Dick’s backyard…
The first time I met Dick was during the summer. We were dropped off by helicopter at the feet of a glacier in the Swedish alpine. We were there to explore Sweden’s tallest mountain, Kebnekaise. Though we didn’t summit, we did trek. Trekking is a Swedish institution. It’s walking in nature. And, it’s way better than hiking.
I was roped to Dick and storyteller, skier, snowboarder, surfer and marketer Hans Aschim as we navigated the glaciated terrain. That night, we sat in a tent in the Arctic and ate reindeer. I have been hooked on Sweden’s mountains since that unforgettable day.
Here are a few photos I snapped in August 2016 while following Dick up, down and around Kebnekaise:
The second time I moved through the mountains with Dick was during winter. I was there with professional photographer Nick Cote, writer Kassandra Cloos and Fjallraven’s Christiane Dolva and Nathan Dopp.
That morning started at the Abisko Mountain Lodge’s helicopter pad. After a heli bump from the lodge got us deep into the backcountry, we spent an entire day climbing, ski touring, skiing and methodically moving through the Abisko Alps. Over the course of almost nine miles and 4,600 vertical feet of climbing we learned firsthand from a mountaineering legend, Dick.
We saw a herd of reindeer grazing on a mountaintop, we tracked a wolverine across a frozen alpine lake and we found remote huts devoted to glacial research. We explored. We shared stories. We walked with nature. We skied and we “worked.” Then, late in the night, we capped it all off with the Northern Lights!
I’ve learned a lot through osmosis during two trips with Dick Johansson. And, I’m anxiously waiting for the opportunity to return to Dick and Mina’s digs as soon as possible. I’ll bring Brie, Duke and Boone next time I get to explore with Dick because Abisko Mountain Lodge is a place you want to share with the ones you love.
If this piqued your interest, I’d encourage you to visit their website for more information. CLICK HERE to learn about Abisko Mountain Lodge.
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[Throughout the post you saw photographs from Nick Cote that illustrate Abisko’s magic. Thank you for sharing the images from our time in the Abisko Alps, Nick!]