I arrived back in Norway three weeks ago to the best early season conditions I've ever encountered. My first ski of the northern season on November 21st (after arriving back in Narvik at midnight the night before) was a lap from Linken which usually isn't filled in until mid January. There were 1000+ metre ski descents to be had without only a few easily avoidable rocky patches. I was stunned.
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| quite a bit of snow so far in northern Norway- this is from a cat cutting at the local ski resort |
And then it started snowing again! For two weeks straight regular snowfall topped things up and made for some terrific skiing. Daily laps in untouched snow so early in the season are not to be taken for granted.
A few rain events created some short term instabilities, but were essentially key for locking the snowpack down and ensuring that it wasn't blown willy-nilly in subsequent storms. Currently the conditions above treeline are seriously wind affected, with stiff wind slabs and sastrugi being predominant. With a bit of searching though, there is plenty of fun skiing to be had at higher altitudes, the best snow however is around the treeline in more sheltered areas.
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| views over town |
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| more views over town |
I've been getting an average of ca. 6000 metres of skiing per week since arriving back, much of it on tours I usually wouldn't contemplate until much later in the season. The light is kinda tricky at this time of year, with darkness descending at 2pm it is vital to have a fully charged headlamp if you are heading out after work. Unless you're lucky and have clear skies, which means you get to skin up under the Aurora Borealis. The faint light also makes photography problematic, especially for someone like me who is typically just using my phone camera. On the occasions when I make it out during daylight hours, the soft arctic glow of the sky at this time of the year makes for a pretty stunning atmosphere.
Yesterday I got in a great outing: I met a herd of reindeer at 1250 metres, skied one of my favourite lines down to Forsnesvatnet and got in some practice at replacing the cord on my Aliens without gloves in -15c temps.
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| local reindeer and a glowing sky |
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| the backside of 3de toppen |
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| plenty of wind affected snow up high |
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| my line for the day: the diagonal ramp in the centre of the image |
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| Beisfjordtøtta massif |
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