Lyngen in May, a ski-mountaineering trip report (part II)

Part II of this account is just a day by day account of what I did on this recent trip and might give some ideas for routes for anyone else interested in skiing in Lyngen. The maps below are screen grabs from the Norwegian national mapping website, and I've just drawn a line on them - it's not a GPS track so only shows approximately the routes I took.

Sunday: Jiehkkevárri (1834 mtrs) via Holmbuktind (1666 mtrs).
 

Jiehkkevárri, taken later in the week from Ellendaltinden. The summit is the central high snow dome. Holmbuktind is the peak on the far left. The traverse between them follows the skyline.

I would imagine this is going to feel like a big day for all but the most ludicrously fit; my friend measured about 2,300 mtrs of ascent. We had a very good avalanche forecast which made the double bowl that is the route up Holmbuktind feel OK. It gets pretty steep in a couple of places, some people took skis off for a short section coming up into the upper bowl, but I felt fine on skis even though I don't have heel bars on my bindings. Leaving the upper bowl and coming out onto the ridge there is another short steep bit, most seemed to take off their skis and I was happy to crampon that bit although some did just in boots. The ridge itself to Holmbuktind is easy enough going up but a serious place to ski coming back down, you wouldn't want to go off either side.

Coming out of the bowls onto the summit ridge of Holmbuktind

From the summit of Holmbuktind you drop down (east) to the col between it and Jiehkkevárri (serious ground on your right). there was one short steeper section a bit after the col that I needed to put crampons on for, but after that its just knackering skinning for another couple of kilometres and some 200 mtrs of ascent to the summit. All of this is a glacier but we saw no signs of crevasses or bergschrunds.

Skiing back across the Jiehkkevárri across the plateau

 You reverse the route to descend. Going back up to the summit of Holmbuktind is pretty morale sapping but the ground gets too steep too quickly to try and take a traverse line below its ridge. Coming off the ridge and back down into the bowl there is probably the steepest bit - my experienced team mates estimated at 35 degrees. They swooped down it being good skiers. Being mediocre, I side slipped which was fine. After that its was all pretty fantastic skiing on spring snow right back down to the last kilometres through the afternoon gloop in amongst the trees. I fell over a lot here and used many rude words, taking skis off though is no help as you'll go crotch deep into the hell-snow. Trying to keep a sense of humour is probably the most important thing and tell yourself its only another few hundred metres back to the car!

Big drops either side - careful skiing back down Holmbuktind's summit ridge.

Fantastic skiing above the sea.

The last of the great spring snow, back down to the trees.

Monday: Middagstinden (1072 mtrs). 

Middagstinden from the house we stayed in.

Steep skinning, Piggtinden's summit behind.

 This hill was right behind our house so an easy target after a long morning of drinking coffee and recovering from the big day before. Considering that this is still about a 1000 mtrs of ascent, we seemed to shoot up Middagstinden; I think we were up and back down in under three hours. Once out of the trees it's a pretty steady ascent up the west flanks. If you keep towards the ridge (south) you both minimise being on open slopes and get great views over to Piggtinden and it's amazing ridge. Skiing down was fantastic on first powder then great, firm spring snow. Once back in the trees I found what must be a track in summer and followed that back down coming out right by our house, avoiding the difficult slush skiing through the trees that had finished the day before.

Looking back up at the great slopes we descended.

Tuesday: rest day.  

Heavy rain at sea level. Some of us went to Tromsø for some shopping. I visited the the North Norway Art Gallery which was both interesting and free!

They grow 'em tough up north.

Wednesday: the lower slopes of Blåtinden. 

Blåtinden from the lower slopes.

Some of the team went fishing in the morning rain, so after lunch myself and the fellow telemarkers of our group, Olli and Mikko, decided to go and check out the skiing conditions. Blåtinden isn't strictly part of Lyngen, its a well known ski peak in the Tromsø Fastland area, but only about 15 minutes from where were staying. We went light without axes or crampons and this meant we thought the upper slopes looked uninviting: either wind-scoured and icy or loaded with the fresh snow that had fallen in the last two days and blown in the hard wind from the now scoured areas. We figured that all the rain at sea level was fresh snow up high and it would have been moved a lot by the strong winds and therefore we wouldn't be missing much besides slog and possible windslab risk higher up. Nevertheless we met the unsuccessful fishermen, Dave, Okke and Roger, as we headed down and they went all the way up reporting that actually the conditions on the upper half were fine. Oh, well - a summit for another time.

Above Balsfjord.

Olli making tracks down next to our track up.

Thursday: Tomastinden South Summit (c. 1525 mtrs).

Tomastinden in the evening light. Don't worry you don't go up from that side!

 The route finding is pretty easy on this one, from Lakselvbukt you go straight up the bloody, big couloir above the village (Tomasrenna). This we found mainly skiable although we bootpacked maybe the last couple of hundred metres. From here you emerge on to a wonderful glacial plateau, nicknamed the 'place of heavenly peace' surrounded by the Lakselvtindane peaks.

The skin track in up the Tomasrenna

The wonderful 'Place of Heavenly Peace'

With the other telemarkers again I headed to the south summit of Tomastinden which appears to be the regular "skiers peak" - the actual summit is a few metres higher at 1554 but would require climbing gear to reach. Skiing back down from this peak was great in powdery snow then a schuss back across to glacier to the top of the Tomasrenna. I realised coming up that this was going to be beyond my skiing skills on the return, so I cramponed down the first few hundred metres before going back to skis. For strong skiers in our party this was amongst their favourite bits of skiing on the trip. For me, it was a bit to tough going to be really fun, but there is some satisfaction to be gained in just doing something difficult for you, and doing it safely.

A Norwegian skier dropping down from Tomastinden's south summit

Olli and Mikko skiing back down the Tomasrenna.

Friday: Ellendaltinden (1345 mtrs).

Ellendaltinden (centre) and Langsdaltindane (right) from Tomastinden. The approach goes up the valley between the two.

After the 'big thursday', the Telemark team decided maybe to try something a bit easier for Friday. In one sense Ellendaltinden was difficult. Most of the skiing was straightforward although the last summit cone was covered in thick, hard sastrugi, so we left our skis at the col and bootpacked the last bit. But on the other hand, whilst beautiful, it was a long ski up Ellendalen - probably the the most distance we covered all week. 

The valley approach starts along snowmobile tracks.

Higher, looking back down and westwards.

The mighty north wall of Langsdaltindane, around 700 mtrs high.

 On the return a lot of this is just schussing, and in the afternoon sun we even had to pole a bit on the flatter sections. Nevertheless, its a fantastic viewpoint and you can seen right across Lyngen, and back in land to Sweden and Finland from the summit. Again, here the skiers summit is slightly lower than the true summit, but perhaps on by a metre or two; and getting over to the true summit looks really rather tricky!

Swinging round to climb westward up the open easy summit slopes; great skiing coming back down.

Mikko on the summit, looking south into the valleys that go up to Sweden and Finland.

Hiking back down to the col where we left our skis.

After six days of great skiing, everyone back down safely. Enjoying a beer in the afternoon sunshine. Thanks guys for the great trip!

All at sea - blogging from the Baltic

Viking Line ferries have wireless internet - hurrah! Hence blogging from the middle of the Baltic is now technically possible. I left Helsinki amongst some pretty dramatic summer thunder storms.

Out at sea it is calmer and the sunset was rather pretty. Tomorrow, Sweden and then the rest of of Europe.


The ferries between Sweden and Finland are always slightly bizarre experiences - I don't think that they show either country in the best of lights, but perhaps it is all the more truthful for that reason. I quite enjoy it as a once-a-year type of experience - but I think my idea of hell might be being condemned to being in a Baltic ferry disco listening to cover versions of Abba song for the rest of eternity.

Brussels; Tehran. No connection.

I'm in Brussels again. It's a sad thing when you have to head to Belgium for better weather, but it's better here than in Helsinki! I'm back in a few days but minimal blogging this week may well be the result.

Apropos to nothing really beyond that I was listening whilst wandering around Brussels after finishing my meetings today, the BBC has a really interesting programme about religious tensions inside Iran and how the version of Shia Islam that President Ahmadinejad follows is increasingly being seen as heretical and anti-clerical by the Shia establishment putting them at odds with the authoritarian government and in league with the democracy protesters who took to the streets this summer after the stolen election.

Now out for what Belgium is famous for. Beer.

Sea kayaking Mallorca

A few more pictures from Mallorca, this time from sea level but still featuring the imposing 300 mtr high north face of the Caval Bernat Ridge. I would be fascinated to hear if it has been climbed from the sea. I don't know enough Spanish to try googling this though.


We hired kayaks from Atemrausch in the lovely village resort of Cala Sant Vicenç. Atemrausch is a small company recently started by Caroline and Stephan that organises various outdoor activities and hires outdoor sports equipment.


Caroline guided us on our trip showing us some local points of interest and chatting generally about island life.


The hour and half trip cost €22 each which struck me as ridiculously good value considering we both got a kayak and guide in the form of Caroline for that. So if you are holidaying in Mallorca and want to try something different, go and visit them or check out their website if you are interested in kayaking, diving, snorkelling or just hiring a bike. They can organise kayak trips for you whether you are an absolute beginner or have some paddling experience. Caroline even took photos of us whilst we paddled and the email with them attached was waiting when we go home. It was a great touch - I wish them all the best in making a go of their business, especially in a year when tourism is down on the island due to the economy.


Caroline told me she had the day previously whilst out leading a trip bumped into the the German mega-star climber and adventurer Kurt Albert who was kayaking around Mallorca for his holiday.



This struck me as superb idea, and will be added to the long list of other improbable things I must try to do one day.

Mallorca #1: Serra del Caval Bernat

Mallorca for me has always brought to mind drunk, loud British people in bars. Of course this is great fun when you are one of the drunk, loud, English people (or indeed drunk and loud but of some other nationality), but it is less attractive when you're not. Hence, Mallorca had never really made it on to my list of potential holiday destinations. But for reasons of family harmony I found myself heading that way last week.

Sunrise over Cap Formentor (click on any photo for bigger version)

In actual fact the island is beautiful with some stunning mountains across its entire northern half. By the power of Google I quickly discovered that there appeared to be plenty of climbing possibilities and further research also turned up what looked like a rather remarkable scramble - the Caval Bernat Ridge above Port de Pollença on the east of the island. Being there in August, it soon became apparent that dealing with the heat would be the crux, so a rather un-holidayesque 5 am alarm call was set and we were parked and walking by 6 am.

The rising traverse to the first high point

The ridge rises straight from the sea on its north side, and most start at the eastern end - approaching down the valley to its south. A beach marks the end of this valley and from there you take a rising traverse up to the first high point on the ridge. We had been told stories about a tricky step and took a rope as a precaution, but this stayed packed at the bottom of my bag, and we found ourselves on the ridge after some fun but not very tricky scrambling. Looking down the vertical north side of the ridge, the exposure is sickening as it falls at the highest point 350 metres down to the waves. In some points the peaks on the ridge actually overhang the north face - and I couldn't help thinking it would be a very safe base jump - except the obvious problem of there being nothing but water to land on.

Starting along the ridge proper

The south side of the ridge isn't too exposed...

The north side is.

Despite the rapidly building heat after sunrise, a strong breeze made things ok on the exposed crest. The limestone of the ridge is amazingly rough and spiky - superbly grippy on our hiking shoes but a bit rough on your hands. Fingerless leather gloves wouldn't be a bad idea at all (although avoid black ones if you don't want to look like a terrorist/counter-terrorism operative). We took a quite exposed direct line to the highest point on the first half of the ridge (we were told it looks like an eagle with spread wings from Port de Pollenca - so this would be the eagle's head). This was probably as close to needing a rope as we came - but like most of the other summits along the crest, an easier way could be contrived by taking a less direct line.

The eagle's head

A col marks the halfway point along the ridge and allows and easy descent down into the valley. We bailed at this point as even at 10 am it was getting ridiculously hot when out of the breeze and despite having brought three litres of water I was down to my last half litre plus, we suspected, we would soon be running out baby sitting credits with granny and grandad. There looks to be some fine scrambling on the peak immediately after the col, but after that the ridge appears to eases off a little with less steep up and downs, although still with the remarkable exposure on the north side.

Looking back from the halfway col

So in retrospect, early August might not be the optimum time for doing the route, especially for pasty and un-acclimatised-to-the-heat-and-sun northerners. Nevertheless, it still beats hanging with my tattooed, lager-lout fellow countrymen in Magaluf.

The frequent flyer's lament

It is probably just an etiquette or perhaps aesthetic matter, but camera phones means that often we now find ourselves in places where a few years back we would have never thought of photography. So yes, the following was snapped from a toilet cubicle wall at a busy international airport. But the writer remains, oh so right.