finger ring, ring, suormas (saL), rings, jewellery

Yellow-metal finger ring. Inscription inside the ring: PRIMA DOUBLE JPS 60. Some small black spots inside the ring. These objects are found in Sarek in the summer of 1974., when the person who gave them to Ájtte wandered towards Axel Hamberg’s observatory in Pårtetjåkå, but turned halfway pga bad weather. On his way down he found three objects: a finger ring, a pocket watch and a barometer (AJ 4568-AJ4570). In the same place there were also other objects scattered, including the remains of a carrier, a decomposed knife, slightly thermosetting. This was 57 years after Manne Hofling disappeared in Sarek. FYNDET In SAREK Manne Hofling was an observer at Axel Hamberg’s Pårtetjåkåobservatorium 1917. During an enforced provisioning trip to Pope at the end of September 1917, he never returned to his comrade and assistant, Finn Malmgren, who was expunging in the observatory 1,830 metres above sea level. Very harsh weather with a snowstorm and the fact that Manne was not really healthy has certainly contributed to the tragic event. After five days alone, Malmgren understood that something horrible must have occurred. He decided to abandon the observatory and the tasks to be performed once an hour around the clock. Like Hofling, he went down in bad weather and was forced to stay overnight in the snow. Exhausted, he came to the colleague at Easter and they immediately understood that Hofling was unlikely to be alive. A large arc of Kvikkjokksbor searched the entire area. The men were able to follow Hofling’s tracks to a large rock and it was claimed that obscure traces were in the snow in the steep towards Pårte. The latter seems somewhat uncertain as the snowfall and snow reef in the harsh wind should erase most tracks. Hofling was missing, nor was he found in the summer of 1918 during the searches made. Hofling has never been found but many have speculated on what has actually happened. Tired and febrile, he might not see the precipice in the non-existent sight, but fell to the Pårteglacians. Perhaps he has docked in the past but never been found. Now we know with great certainty that Manne Hofling passed at least the jåkk seen on the mountain map south-southwest of the top 1,803 of the Trotjåkkås. At about 1,150-meter level, Axel Hamberg had one of his 20 snow seal sites on the trail between Kvikkjokk and the Observatory. It’s just the lead, the pegel, that Hofling went. He was meticulous and always read the snow depth when he passed. The remains of such a meter (number 15) still stand there, and I have seen a couple more on the way up to the observatory. A number of years ago a very old backpack, a barometer, a pocket watch and a gold ring were found in this place. The back of the barometer stands: Uppsala University. The gold ring is unfortunately engraved. There are also apparently remains of an old knife. These findings can be tied to Manne Hofling with great certainty. The backpack and the knife remain on the mountain. I was last summer there with four comrades and searched the area without finding the need. We found some suspicious bone remains but after the advice of several doctors, these do not originate from a human being. Why has Hofling left his belongings there? Why didn’t he have his gold ring on his finger? What happened to Manne Hofling is still shrouded in obscurity. A puzzle piece has come in place but the question is whether we ever find the remaining pieces of puzzle. (Article by Håkan Hultberg i Fjället (Swedish Fjällklubben) 2-2010.