Presents
Kayaking and Freeride in Norway [March 2007] |
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News News #1 23:42, March 22 Day one: May it not continue as it has started! Never thought I’d I say it, but being in France was easy compared to this. It got difficult the second we hit Geneva airport. Excess baggage issues were followed by lost baggage issues in Oslo. This resulted in almost missing the connection, loosing a bottle of Bushmills finest and half a shovel to the customs ‘Nazis’ and then paying some retarded price for a sausage wrap. Just as we thought it was getting better the flight we ran through the airport to catch got delayed an hour. On take off I thought ‘right lets kick back for snooze’ but I pick the only row in the plane with non-reclining seats. Great. Finally our smiles return in Bodö as we relax with a beer in the Rica Hotel. Tomorrows challenge is to retrieve the missing luggage, which includes among other things Pat’s ski boots, then catch the Hurtigruten ferry to Lofoten. Hopefully things run smoother from here on in! News #2 22:43, March 23 An afternoon on the Hurtigruten ferry from Bodö and we are now in Svolvear, Lofoten. The Aurora Borealis are out the moon is lighting the mountains, so all is good. News #3, March 25 Predicably enough we had trouble fitting gear into boats. Once paddling we passed open water safely then set camp down fjord. News #4, March 26 Skied slush on mid mount got shut down on goal by warm temps. News #5, March 27 Skied a high col. So far an amazing trip thanks to stuning mix of mountains and ocean. Now at camp 2 after evening paddle deeper into raftsundet fjord. News #6, March 28 Today we skied from our first lofoten summit, Trolltinden. Ocean fjords and mountains below and all around. Ice made steep north aspects intererting! But the west and south were sweet corn. Tomorrow we ski again. News #7, March 29 Today the clouds polled in with rain then snow. With skiing not possible and a bad forecast we packed up camp. Paddling into the famous trollfjorden was the highlight of the paddle out. Jann of Lofoten Aktiv collected 4 happy but very wet skiers for our return back to civilization. News #8, April 1 After 5 days in the Lofoten wilderness we have arived safely back in civilization in the islands capital, Svolvear. Its been a special trip to be able to combined paddling, skiing and winter camping in one of the most spectacular setting I’ve have ever been. We have seen the land and ocean from sea level up to 1000m+. Seen the blue skies and distant views of the mainland to the south east and the angry winds and rain with rolling sea’s of west coast storms. The skiing itself was in spring melt\freeze conditions which was both good and bad. The warmth making for some very dangerous conditions but also some great corn skiing. The highlight of which was skiing from the peak of Trolltinden Mountain at 1032m. This is an especially aesthetic peak and over looks the famous Trollfjorden to its east. We did this just in time as the weather turned the next day and our skiing was over. Paddling however is a pleasure in the rain and snow and the kayaking was as much a part of this trip as skiing. So when the clouds descended on Thursday we spent a lazy morning fishing (very unsuccessfully!) before packing up camp and paddling further into and across Raftsundet Fjord to a small hamlet on a gravel road where we pulled the boats out for the final time. The weekend has been spent meeting the locals and enjoying their hospitality during the Skrei Fishing Championships. We tried some deep sea cod fishing (again without success!) and sampled the local beers while some crazy old men told stories of the legends of ‘the goat’, a rock spire overlooking town. The team wishes to thank our sponsors and all those who’ve helped us on this trip, especially Jann at Lofoten Aktiv for his invaluable knowledge of the local ocean and mountains. |
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| Norway 2007 _ Kayaking in the fjords and ski mountaineering in the peaks above in Norway’s famous Lofoten region. In some of the most untouched areas left in Scandinavia we will access the mountains from the ocean to ski area’s rarely visited where roads are few and far between. From the ocean to the highest peaks gives an elevation of up to 1200m with ski decents possible right down to the water. This gives a vertical drop comparable to that of the Alps. This trip will take place from 21.3.07 for 10 days to get the best conditions in this area both for weather and snowcover. _ Kayaks are being used to access these remote places and to put up base camp along the way. Spotting good ski lines from the fjords we will choose the most aesthetic peaks we find. These areas in Norway are seldom skied as the access is too complicated and time consuming to approach by land. We are sking these peaks...
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_ One thing is sure that this place is unique to what we are doing and will get a lot of media cover in magazines around the world. Also the images and film will be no doubt spectacular with the backdrop of Norwegian fjords and the spice of kayaks, skiing and outdoor wellness together with pure mountain lifestyle. With a team of top freeski-mountaineers and renowned photographer Patrik Lindqvist capturing the images this trip promises to be a success. _To find out more about the lives and skiing of team members check out these links
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* all photos are from earlier expeditions |
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