A new scene

Yesterday was not the sunny day we expected. After the fog and mist it never really got above 5 degrees but the section that had cracked above camp came down to join us which was jolly exciting.

Our vista yesterday whilst the big flow happened

 The river rose by 3 feet very quickly but what had broken above just rafted up in front of our lodge.

Sushi

In the kitchen Lucy, Iona and Donna created a mushroom feast as well as delicious sushi. Being catered for by 3 chefs is a real treat and they have really looked after us during some tough times this week.

Lower rooms are ready

This morning the river appears to be flowing and whilst we are confined to what we can see in front of us it appears the river is making it's move. Lets hope the same can be said all the way up river.

Appears to be flowing well

More detail tomorrow.

Jack Selby

Hive of activity

This morning was very foggy early. It's now cleared and there is a gap to the far bank snow line. Nothing big but it has certainly made a visual difference.

This morning with 4" rise

Yesterday was sunny and at times warm which can only help. There was much activity from the Russian team, helicopters and fan boat yesterday. Each time the fan boat came through more ice was dislodged.

Heli activity was high yesterday

Our Russian partners varnished all the windows and doors which was a good job done whilst the sun was available to dry it.

Fan Boat visit

Below camp the ice looks to be thinning and a long thin flow of water has formed where ice, pushed under the main mass, has escaped.

Beginning to get thin below the camp

Bill and I think that the river has risen about 4 inches over night which will help push the chunks on down the river. More tomorrow.

Jack Selby

A bit of rain

Today is warmer. Yesterday was over cast and it rained. Not heavily but for a few hours which has certainly had an effect on the thinner snow and ice.

A little wider each day

The river in front of us is again a little wider and there are areas along the sides that are getting thinner fast.

Kashkarantsy Lighthouse

Painted up for the summer

 We managed to get out to the sea yesterday which was certainly more interesting than being here. We drove to Kashkarantsy and walked out to the light house. The only being we saw was a small puppy which seemed very pleased to see us.

Iona made a fury friend

Fingers crossed a bigger change tomorrow.

Jack Selby

Little by little

Yesterday was again sunny and it's making a noticeable difference to the landscape here. Many of the little streams are flowing again and the far bank is less and less white.

Snow is melting slowly

Some chunks of Ice have gathered at the bottom of the open stretch in front of the lodge. Today is cold and overcast but forecast is better in the next couple of days.

Deeper and softer behind the camp

Plans to get out of camp were thwarted by having no one who could actually drive us. We went instead for a walk to see the area behind the camp.

Beautifully sunny day

On our walk above camp we did see quite a substantial crack across the snow covered ice which is good news. We just have to assume there are many more of these all up through the river system.

Still and clear evening at the lodge

I'll keep an eye on the river and report any changes tomorrow.

Jack Selby

Sad news

It is with extremely heavy heart that we have to cancel week 2 on the Varzuga system. Whilst the water in front of the lodge appears to grow each day it's not getting it's job done fast enough and putting clients in this situation would be the wrong thing to do. The river up above the village is still solid and whilst it will likely break this week it needs a good 5-6 days to clear itself of ice and drop back to a fishing level.

As with last week, the majority of clients have elected to roll over their fishing to next year (in which case we take care of all of their costs in 2018) or exercise their right to a full refund including fishing, charter, hotel, visa and flights. Everyone here is disappointed and deflated by the news but nature is a powerful adversary and no where more so than in the arctic circle.

Getting there but not quickly enough

This is the first time in 26 years that we have had to cancel the second week of the season and our Russian friends continue to shake their heads as to the spring we have had - truly remarkable and we all hope it is a one off.

We are now regretting having rushed all our jobs earlier in the week. Whilst there are always things to do it's pretty much up together. We are therefore going to try to get someone to drive us out to the coast at Kuzomen for a picnic and a change of scene.

Lucy inspects the church spire production line

Yesterday we headed to the village with "tomatoes" on the shopping list but in truth the shopping list is created to get everyone out and about and doing exercise. In the village we met up with Ivan, one of the young guides from Middle. He was loading up a hovercraft to take equipment up to camp. He greeted us warmly and seemed pretty jolly considering the conditions.

Ivan chats to Donna about middle

Toby managed a bit of sledging on the steep slope from the school which conveniently has a good set of stairs to get you back to the top quickly.

Despite appearance he was really shifting

We finally had a snow ball fight which seemed to centre round the park benches only just now above the snow.

Iona and Lucy look on as Donna fights back

We had a delicious pork dish served up by Iona and then had another laughter filled night. It might just be cabin fever turning us hysterical but I am not able to distinguish this anymore. That said we were all in bed by 10 past 11 so hardly a big party.

A little fly tying last night

More tomorrow when a fly might have had a swim in the river.

Jack Selby

Sunny Days

This morning is sunny. Yesterday was quite sunny too but still a little snow managed to fall none the less. It turns out sunny is not a great help as what melts in the day freezes hard by night. What we really need is hot sun by day and clouds by night to contain the heat. But we get what we are given sadly.

It's like star wars here

Sergey came to visit last night. He's an extremely nice guy and guides at Lower. However we got mixed up with a bad crowd and ended up drinking "whiskey" and eating extremely hot mustard. There was arm wrestling which of course I lost and no photos were allowed.

Sergey before the games began

Iona, Lucy and Donna created a delicious beef curry last night. We have been living well here but it was certainly a welcome sight to find a fridge bulging with fresh green veg and herbs yesterday. We have been on a high protein diet supplemented by a little chocolate and crisps for too long.

Fresh and green

Today we will have to head to the village again as whilst we now have a lot of potatoes we seem to be very short of tomatoes. That and it really helps to boost moral. The river is a little wider in front of the lodge today but a lot of the chunks that moved yesterday are now frozen up further down stream. It's certainly different but maybe not better than it was.

A little more open water

It's hard to describe how much like ground hog day this waiting game is but whilst the view is changing in front of us it's certainly not changing fast enough. I have been very fortunate enough to have fished in some lovely and varied places so to say I'm spoiled is an understatement, but here and now all I want is to be able to get a line out and at least swing a fly.

Iona ready to "make someone's day" with a snowball

Jack Selby

Bill returns

Last night was very cold again. Maybe due to the clear sky for much of the night. The soft snow that fell a few days ago is now pretty solid again but as I look out of the office window the little willow and birch tree buds in front of me are definitely getting bigger. It seems nature is more determined to wake up than the river.

Willow buds pushing on regardless

Bill returned from Murmansk with the remains of the supplies as well as Lucy, the chef for Kitza. I think the combination of a number of different connecting flights, a mini sight seeing trip and travelling down to Varzuga in the supply bus had taken it out of here but she joined in the party and mucked in well when the weekly supplies arrived. She's back on form today after a good sleep. No real party emerged last night except for one of our group. However we did play skittles with water bottles and an orange.

Beautiful skies over the Sobacci

The helicopter arrived in camp yesterday. Nothing out of the ordinary for the majority of us but Iona was keen to see what the fuss was about. Glenn wisely suggested me go inside in case the down draft on the fresher snow turned us into snow men. Obviously we all ignored him and tried to get a photo as it came down. Sure enough there is little but white on the image and we got plastered in icy snow. The igloo survived however.

I've missed this sight

Using the igloo as a shelter

Today is Sunday so there are only Russian pilots and service crew in camp. We are going to have another trip to the village at some point today as it seems to keep moral high. Hopefully we will get a closer look at the Eagle who visited us yesterday. Excuse the rubbish image but he really kept his distance. Even the drone could not keep up with him sadly.

More zoom needed

The expanse of blue increases gently daily but I'm really hoping for an over night push to clear some serious space. Fingers crossed.

Jack Selby

Loud Creaking

First thing this morning was glorious sunshine as was much of yesterday. Donna and I set to the final allocation of supplies to camps ready for more supplies arriving today. It's amazingly tricky to work out which camp asked for an odd number of soup bowls but luckily last years camp managers were pretty thorough with their close down notes and requests.

Starting to join up

Glenn has already had a massive win in the form of a reported "seized" engine just being a bearing issue. I say just cause he seemed to have it stripped down and built back in no time but how he knows quite which washer lives where I wont guess.

Tundra Technician 

We were worryingly low on potatoes after our last failed mission to the village so we headed up the side of the river to get some. The village had been resupplied and we headed back to camp wrapped up warm. Suddenly Toby noticed some wagtails catching insects in front of us just as the sun came out in full force. It was glorious to the point of shedding layers. The insects continued to hatch and Toby had a cast for a perch or grayling.

A sneaky cast for a grayling where the "streams meet"

The Igloo still stands and when Bill and Lucy (Kitza chef) arrive later this evening we plan to have a little shindig to welcome them back. Good food, music, dancing and snow it will be... La Folie Douce it wont be...

Bathed in sun but still standing

The Ice began to creak last night and we all watched intently hoping for a big push. Further below the camp where the rapids begin has now started to break up and there are large holes where a few days ago we could have walked so we are really starting to believe it's only a matter of time now.

A quick go but not allowed for the trip to the village

Let's hope for more sunshine today as it clearly made a big difference to the river and to warming up our outlook. We laughed so much last night it hurt and moral is high.

Jack Selby

A most Productive Day

This morning is brighter still but maybe it's partly the sun reflecting off fresh snow. The area of blue water within the white is turning slowly from a streak to a triangle as the down river end reaches out to meet the banks. This might sound like slow progress but compared to five days ago where we were looking for inches of change this is much more rewarding.

Dry goods to go to Middle Camp starting to build

Yesterday, considering it snowed for much of the day we smashed it in camp. Everyone really pulled together. Dry goods arrived, were checked and then split up into camps before being packed into checkered bags or roller bags ready for distribution to their new homes.

Dry goods mid cataloging 

With limited help from me and lots from a small band of Russian guides and fish inspectors Glenn began the task of lining up the worst engines for repair. It took a while to figure out which engines were here as with a low water end to the season last year a few middle repairs "occurred". With luck this year we will see a more gentle season on engines and boats. But as I look out across the river I wonder how what I saw last year was even possible.

It looks good but still needs some love

With dry goods done, as well as a lot of packing away of tools, ropes and anchors, Iona was able to get her supplies as well as the last of her utensils in order. It's been tough on all of us having had to cancel a week and the small things have really kept things motivated. We discovered that one of the supplies was misinterpreted and arrived as small jelly sweets. These are utterly delicious and naturally a few of the deformed ones have been set aside for staff testing.

Moral Boost

We built an igloo. Well our interpretation of an igloo. It seems to just have gone up and up. Iona suggested we google how to build the roof but I pointed out that Eskimos don't have google although I'm fairly certain they have better access to it than us. Once we got too cold to carry on we had a quick snow ball fight and went inside to delicious roast chicken.

Iona and Toby apply all important cementing layer

I hope to have more blue and less white tomorrow and a report on another productive day. The more we do the more we find needs to be done which for once is a good thing.

Jack Selby

Shopping in the Village

Yesterday productivity returned to form. Donna and Iona got their kitchen equipment out of the container and made a note of things that had gone missing or been damaged which was luckily very little. Toby, Bill and I took to the flies and loan reels and Glenn has now cataloged his engine parts.

Flies sorted and stacked

Water is certainly more and more part of our landscape here and there are gaps of flowing water at the edges. It was cold yesterday, very cold, but that did not seem to stop the slow and steady change in the river which seems determined to get going just like we are willing it to.

Starting to eat away at the edges.

The Russian work party left for the village again at around 3:30 which triggered a desire to head out for a little walk. We are out of potatoes and so decided a spot of shopping in the village was in order. We headed out along the track towards the village which actually only took about 20 minutes to reach.

Donna and Emily on our walk into "town"

We had Donna as our guide and the first shop we arrived at was out of potatoes. Luckily it had a supply of chocolate which camp had been lacking for a few days. We got some frozen vegetables too and headed for the church.

Serious log pile OCD.

We found the second shop just past the wonderful churches, one of which is made entirely without nails and is truly ornate in nature. The shop was shut but we walked to the top of the vast flight of stairs to watch the young kids of the village enjoying spectacular sledging. 

A spot of village sight seeing

We walked back to camp buoyed by the idea of being so close to a chocolate supplier and Iona rustled up a most delicious prawn dish of which Toby had 3rds.

Long awaited King Prawns

Today for Glenn and I is engines day. We are now able to get into the container and work out which needs what and get a few on stands. We are also in more of a position to clear up and lay out our living areas which will make it feel more homely. Hopefully more river frontage to report tomorrow.

Jack Selby

The day after Victory Day

This morning is a brighter day but still quite cold. Victory day was fairly unproductive both from a UK team perspective as well as from the Russian side. The snowball fight never got off the ground due to not being able to get snowballs off the ground. Victory day is a national holiday that seems to equal a proper party day. We did not venture to the village as has often happened in previous years but none the less the party came to see us.

Party comes to town

Looking out this morning there is certainly a little more water in front of the lodge but with outside temperatures still jolly cold no one has any expectation the Salmon will be woken up yet. Well all except this guy...

Andrea put on skis to inch to the edge and "cast"

Misha, the Russian camp manager here at Lower, spent much of yesterday reinforcing the bridge between the ice and bank just below the lodge meaning we can still get Ski Doo's in from the village with supplies, people and dogs. He also spend some time with Toby  on the drone screen looking down river and across the Tundra.

Misha and Toby inspect our surroundings

Whilst probably a bit premature this evening will see a spot of fly tying. I'm going to put together a few tungsten coned tubes and Toby is planning to create something from the dark depths of his TDF sea trout season.

A spot of tying

Donna and Iona are in the kitchen setting out their equipment and Bill and I are heading for the office whilst Glenn counts washers and drive shafts. Back tomorrow with a lot more achieved I hope.

Jack Selby