Tykky

At the top of the fell at Riisitunturi National Park, in Finland’s frozen north, lie a truly Finnish natural phenomenon: the tykky. Tykky is the delightful Finnish term, or rather an Old Norse loan-word (þykkr), for the ‘thick’ snow and rime which accumulates on tree branches, causing them to bend. They are unique to the exposed fell tops in Lapland. This photograph from January 2019 shows tykky in various stages of buckling, all illuminated by the gorgeous pink glow of the Arctic twilight.