Gillivarri Topptur solo mission

I got an early start, with a weather forecast of snow around noon. I crossed the road and put my skis on in Olderdalen and started following the route in the Outdoor Active app. 

It was a bit tight getting up through some trees to open snow.  Views across Kafjord to the Lyngen Alps opened up as I climbed.

Steady pace with a few stops to de-ice my skins. The snow got progressively colder and softer as I ascended. I looked back down to see several skiers following my tracks.

I passed over several crests until the summit was visible in the distance. 

Excellent summit with great views all around, across to Nordmannviktinden, the Lyngen Alps to the west and snow covered peaks and valleys to the east. 

Some Austrian skiers arrived. I chatted to Sebastian from Salzburg who was interested in Australian skiing. I asked him why they were skiing in Norway - he said the ski season in Austria finished at the end of the February so they were keen to come to where there was plenty of snow.

We were joined by another 15 Austrians on the summit so I headed down before the rush and enjoyed primo snow. It's a great descent, good angle and plenty of room. I descended into the gully near the bottom, which would be a better ascent route to one that I came up. 

Another superb ski tour and very lucky with the weather again.

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Uløya tour: Blåtinden, Kjelvågtinden and Uløytinden were epic

Blåtinden, Kjelvågtinden and Uløytinden on the island of Uloya are epic mountains. 

I drove to the Rotsund ferry terminal in the morning with good views to the mountains and good weather. 

When the ferry arrived it was going to Uløybukt on not Hamnnes - I had misread the timetable.

Over 20 skiers waiting boarded the ferry and there was a 2 hours wait for the next ferry to Hamnnes to I  jumped on figuring that the skiers knew where they were going. 

Speaking to some on the ferry they advised that they were doing a traverse route of the island and sking the summits .

The pace was fast skinning up through open forest towards an impressive ridge. I tagged along with a friendly Austrian group led by Martin @skioholic.

Steeper skinning gained altitude quickly, opening superb views to Arnoya to the north.  Gaining the ridge revealed superb views across to the Lyngen Alps.

We reached the summit Blåtinden with some cloud swirling around the did a long ski run down back into the sun with in excellent snow. 

We climbed back up to Uløytinden then skied across to the Kjelvågtinden summit, the most popular ski peak on the island.

The ski descent with views across Kåfjord and the Lyngen Alps was superb.  We stopped for a late lunch digging a Norwegian style lunch pit in the snow.

The ski descent entered trees. The firm snow and tight corners were challenging. Arriving at the historic Hamnnes wharf we found that the ferry was leaving very soon so there was a mad ski dash to get to it, just in time.

A hard but rewarding day - 18km & 1683m climbing. Uløya traverse is one of the best ski locations and tours in Norway. 

Thai Red curry for dinner at Siam catering AS went down well!

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Storhaugen Kåfjord backcountry skiing solo mission

Storhaugen is a popular ski peak with great views across Kåfjord to the Lyngen Alps. This was my first outing for my one week stay in Olderdalen in the Kåfjord region.

I got an early start to beat incoming weather. I drove to the route start and parked among some campervans then headed off along the skin track, stopping to check out a small wooden hut .

 

Good skinning up through the trees in cool weather with no wind. Views across the fjord to the Lyngen Alps opened up as I climbed . 

A snow cloud was descending on the higher peaks above as I worked my way up to the ski summit of Storehaugen following the Varsom map app. 

There was low avalanche hazard with firm snow. 

I got to the summit cairn on the ridge as the snow clouds arrived. After a snack and some tea I enjoyed a superb ski down finding some soft snow with enough light to see the slope.

I passed a large group on their way up.

I got back in good time for lunch and a rest with the weather deteriorating.

 

Husfjellet is one of the most scenic ski peaks in Norway

Husfjellet on Senja was today's mission. We skied a trail through trees to gain a ridge that took us to the skiers summit.  

A short walk along a ridge to the main summit with excellent views across fjords and back to the high er peaks of Senja.

This is one of the best most scenic peaks I have skied in Norway.

Sunny weather and a lovely ski descent all the way to the carpark.

Photos of me skiing were taken by George Reid.

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Funky snow up high on Skolpan and good views

Skolpan is a nice summit with great views. Some funky snow up high. George set a good pace. 

We met a large German group near the summit. The ski descent got better as we descended.

Good tips from Alison helped us all handle the tricky snow. The tree skiing was nice towards the bottom.

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Great snow and skiing on Raudtinden to finish our Narvik tour

Fresh snow overnight and improving weather at last. James and Andy chose to go to Raudtinden, a route we attempted last year but didn't get to the top due to low cloud. This is a place to ski near Narvik when there is poor weather forecast.

We skied on a trail up through the trees, stopping for one quick lap in fresh snow then continued up above the tree line over a series of bulges to reach the summit.

The run down the other side was excellent skiing with fantastic views to surrounding peaks. After three marvellous runs we headed down into trees and then back along a return trail.