Dudalstind/ Nonstind and GNARbars

Had a quality outing yesterday in Gratangen with Bjarte, Einar and Jan Eirik. We linked up Dudalstind and Nonstind, found some quality snow as well as some ice and boiler plate, and ended up skiing a new line which I've been eyeing for years. Here's a few photos from the day and at the bottom of the post is a recipe for the energy bars which have been powering me on all my days this winter. 

Core members of the Narvik Toothpick Mafia topping out on Dudalstind

Bjarte skiing from the summit with Jan Eirik supervising.

Bjarte enjoying some cold snow on a warm day. Photo: Jan Eirik

Me on the first turn from the summit. Photo Jan Eirik

Photo: Jan Eirik

Gang ski

Skinning up from Botnsletta enroute to Nonstind, Dudalstind in the background.

The ridge on Nonstind is as scenic as it is simple.

Einar sprinted ahead so he could make a detour and sit on the false summit whilst he ate a sandwich.

A short bootpack up the summit pitch on Nonstind. Photo Jan Eirik

Bjarte about to top out.

Bjarte about to drop in. Photo Jan Eirik

Einar on his first turn from the summit of Nonstind.

We skied the SE face of Nonstind (the one which is clearly visible from the E6), it is super convex and you can't really see what you're skiing until you are in the crux of it. The key is to not ski too far left (it cliffs out), but if you stick to one of the central gully features it doesn't get any steeper than about 45 degrees (not measured).

GNARbars:

I've been getting a lot of requests for the recipe recently and thought I might as well share it here.

Getting quality energy bars in Norway is difficult and really expensive. I've been working on a simple recipe for years, modifying the ingredients and tweaking the way I make it. For years I was doing bars which required baking, but these always fell apart and crumbled after a few hours in a backpack, or were difficult to eat on the go. Inspired by these and this type of thing I'm now settled on a basic recipe which is a) easy and quick to make; b) nutritious; c) long lasting and durable enough that it doesn't get smashed up after hours in a backpack; d) edible regardless of the temperature (even when semi-frozen on mid winter tours); e) tasty!

They are easily modified according to taste and preference. Obviously they contain quite a bit of sugar from the dates, but they're energy bars- that's the point! If you want some more complex carbs add more oats, if you want more proteins and fats for fuelling longer days add more nuts, my favourite combination is the one listed below. But another popular recipe is substituting the cocoa, chocolate and chilli for dried apple, raisins and cinnamon ("apple-pie") or dried banana. You can even add ground coffee for a caffeine kick (but be warned of the laxative effect of eating a bunch of ground coffee whilst moving around in the mountains). Ginger works really good in them too. And desiccated coconut is a nice addition also.

GNARbar ChChCh (ie. chocolate/chia/chilli)

300g pitted dates

80g almonds (or other nuts, but peanuts don't work so well in my opinion)

50g chia seeds

50g oats

5g sea salt

(additional extras):

30g cocoa

80g dark chocolate (crushed into small pieces)

5g chilli

• Throw the nuts and oats in a food processor and blend until they're coarsely chopped. It's okay if the mix is slightly chunky- it makes for a bit more texture.
• Add all the other ingredients to the food processor and mix for a minute or two until everything is mixed well and the dates are totally puréed.
• Scoop everything into a freezer bag and use a rolling pin to press the mixture into a rectangle about 2cm thick and 20cmx20cm long. Put it in the freezer overnight to set.
• The next day slice it into bar size pieces and wrap in cellophane.