Lofoten Islands 2017 - week 3

Last week was the third and final 'Lofoten Ski Touring Adventures' week for 2017. Having picked up the team at the airport we were met by a welcoming committee on the drive to our home for the week at Lofoten Ski Lodge:

With a combination of high winds from the previous Friday and it being Easter weekend the challenge on Sunday was to find a spot away from the 'crowds' and where we might find some decent snow. We managed to tick both boxes, with a mix of spring snow and 'blown-in' powder and only met one skier in the whole day... Perfect!

On day 2, with sunny conditions forecast we set course for the West and a 'double'header' starting at one of my secret spots. Unfortunately we met much warmer conditions than the previous day and the couloir was already quite heavily transformed by the time we topped out, so we had to pass on the summit (no 3rd time lucky for me!) and ski the line before it got any heavier:

We even managed to sneak in some bonus cold snow turns on our way out to reset for objective number 2:

With round one complete we headed further West to the magical Stornappstind. Given snow conditions on our first line I was intending to ski the classic West face, but a chill wind met us in the car park, and on the way up the West face was far from softening so a tentative look into the South face revsulted in a great run on good spring snow:

The forecast for the rest of the week was quite mixed and on Tuesday it looked to be a classic Lofoten day of mixed snow flurries and sunnier spells, with a strong wind picking up from the West. Once again it was time to think laterally and we headed to the 'Wild North' into a bowl I had looked at many times from the road but had not had the opportunity to explore. As it turned out it was quite good!

We put in 3 good laps in here on different lines and I left with it very high on my list for a return visit.


Wednesday continued in a similar vein with pulses of weather and very strong winds ripping over the summit ridges. Fortunately I am starting to put together a good selection of bad weather tree skiing options and we even managed to get our timing about right to match the clear spells with a series of great laps for 1600m vertical of good powder snow:

Thursday was a day of wild winds and lots of precipitation with varying temperatures (sometimes white, sometimes translucent...).
Friday was our last day, and with a weather window predicted for the middle of the day, but high avalanche risk and heavy snow low down, we set off putting a skintrack in to heavy snow with expectations set rather low. Once again though the Norse gods and Lofoten's maritime snowpack worked their magic and we snuck in 4 great laps on cold snow before braving the wet stuff low down and retreating for a well earned waffle!

And so another Lofoten spring draws to a close for me... On Friday night the wind was so strong that the lodge was physically shaking and it was hard to walk over to the fisherman's huts! Wild weather does of course mean stunning views and I was treated to a 'leaving present' on my early morning drive back to the airport:

A massive thank you to Rich, Dave, Chris and Sandy for a great week, and also to Seth, Maren and all the crew at Lofoten Ski Lodge, as well as the Northern Alpine Guides Team (Sjur, Chris, Mark, Erica, Sami, Tim...) - see you next year...

Lofoten Islands 2017 - week 1

Once again it is time for my yearly pilgrimage to the mythical, magical Lofoten Islands.

This week I was with my team of regulars who were on their fifth trip up here (and already next year's trip is pencilled in!), and having had a couple of less snowy springs the reports were looking grat as we flew up. Arriving midday Saturday to blue skies and cool temperatures there was only one thing to do... drop the kit off at the lodge, get chamged and get out on it asap. We were rewarded with a couple of great short laps in the 'Freeride' bowl near Glomtind:
Day 0.5

The next day also promised to be a perfect day, and with a big low pressure system approaching we had to make the most of the conditions. The classic routes on Lofoten are getting busier every year and the main goal today was to ski an objective with no-one else around and some good powder. Time to pull one of my 'secret lines' from the little black book. The team named it 'Unicorn Valley X' so that is the name we shall keep here...

'Unicorn peak' in the background as we skin back out...

On Monday the storm hit. I have seen rainy weather in Lofoten before, but not of the West coast of Scotland torrential downpour at all altitudes variety. This went on for 48 hours (we managed on quick tour on the Monday morning before it got too wet...), and we passed the time checking out surf beaches, drinking coffee and also visiting the incredible war museum in Svolvaer. If you are ever stuck in Svolvaer for a day take the time to go here - it is an absolute treasure trove of interesting exhibits.

On Wednesday we went out to the classic Rundfjellet peak to see how much damage the rain had done, and see if we could find some skiable snow. Amazingly not only was there still plenty of snow even down low, but it was actually really very skiable, with a supportive crust already starting to set up.

The snowpack here never ceases to amaze with its ability to rebound from warm wet weather (as born out by the great skiing we have had every year so far despite wildly different weather set-ups). A nice visit to the summit and good laps on smooth snow in the North bowl and Kudalen followed:

On Thursday it was time to pull another rabbit out of the magic hat, and we headed West to a top secret location. Unfortunately our original couloir objective turned out to be filled with bottomless graupel (never seen anything like it before!). But plan B and Plan C turned out to be more than adequate!

Yesterday was the last day for the first team, and with a great week in the bag so far the pressure was on to find a great day to wrap things up in style. A couloir in the far North of Austvagoy had been high on my list for some time, and with good reports coming in from similar slopes it seemed like a good plan, and so it turned out to be... The weather was classic Lofoten, 30 minutes of sun, 30 minutes of snow, but the skiing was fantastic, with a mellow lap on the east side before skinning back up and dropping in to the North couloir - a stunning way to finish the week!

Friendly ptarmigan:

Lap 1:

Lofoten - if you don;t like the weather just wait 30 minutes...:

A great end to a great week - only one way to top it off - a sauna and dip in the Arctic sea!

Today was meant to be a rest day, but with snow and weather both set fair it was too good to resist bagging a classic Lofoten line that I have looked at for 5 years, but never had the time or conditions to ski!

Having dropped the team at the airport I put on the afterburners and blasted up the 600m to ski the 'Svolvaer Mallory' - possibly one of the most aesthetic lines on the Islands, following a beautiful hanging gully and ramp line. The snow conditions were perfect - warm spring powder on a smooth base - within 1h30 I was back at the car and nowit is 'turn-around' time, getting washing done and preparing for next week...

Vanoise touring

Back at the start of last week I had a couple of days touring in the Vanoise to finish off my 'alpine' season before coming up to Lofoten in Arctic Norway. Rob, Simon, Andy, Mike and Hugo are all ex Courchevel seasonnaires from way back in the day (think turn of the century...) and wanted an introduction to ski touring with a night in a refuge. The Col de la Vanoise hut above Pralognan is the perfect venue for this with relatively easy access, with potential for detours on the way up, and lots of summit possibilities before dropping back into the valley. With heavy snowfall just 2 days before we were a bit too early for the spring snow cycle tobe back to its best but still managed to find some great snow!

See you next year guys!