Having waved goodbye to the rest of team 1 Pete and I drove over to Svolvaer for a great lunch and then picked up John and Steve from the airport before settling in to our home for the week at Lofoten Ski Lodge.
On Sunday we stayed relatively local and set off in the direction of Rundtind, but seeing several parties already on the hill a plan B was called for to get a bit of peace and quiet and this emerged in the shape of a neighbouring face I have looked at over the last few years.
After climbing to a first col and enjoying some soft turns back to mid-height we then set off for a second lap and managed to find a narrow and airy route to the very summit.
After downclimbing the summit ridge (non-skiable), we found some good soft snow on the higher slopes, then set off in search of a linking set of couloir lines down to the valley floor.
A brilliant day out skiing a line I have had in my 'little black book' for some time, but had never had stable enough conditions in past years. Not a bad start to week 2!
On day 2 we headed East to a new area I have wanted to explore for some time. With a variable forecast we made a quick turn-around on the summit as a wall of snow was approaching, and managed to get down while the visibility was still with us - nice skiing with a few cms of powder on a smooth firm base.
On Tuesday we set off Eastwards (again) to the far side of the Raftsundet, once more seeking shelter from squally weather. We tagged our summit just as a squall hit and spent 30 minutes hunkered down waiting for a weather window. Fortunately a clearing appeared and we were able to ski a fun couloir line right off the summit down a North-facing bowl, with a short skin back in to the teeth of the gale to drop back over to the car. A fun day out in tricky weather conditions.
More to follow...
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