Training Log Archive: Carbons Offset

Drove from Narvik to our cabin near Senja this morning. The guys loved the corny hunter-cabin decor; the girls found it creepy. It's a great place with a big common area, three bedrooms, a big drying area downstairs, a large deck and great views of the water less than 100 metres away.

Did just a short drive from the cabin and found a good mountain (Keipen) to ski. The snow seemed decent on the way up. I was hurting a bit due to catching the bug that is going through a few of our group. C-Bass saved my day with some ibuprofen that kicked in on schedule after 45 minutes. Again, the views up high were incredible, better than expected with more amazing views to water in multiple directions and some really dramatic peaks and faces. Chatted with a couple of slightly older Norwegian guys at the summit, one of whom had just recently bought a second home on Senja.

The ski down the uppermost bit was wind hammered and wind scoured but the next pitches were incredible, much much better than expected. The first pitch was quite deep and super soft. Sooooo good! The next pitch was long! We skied one at a time and it seemed to take a while to see the person come out at the bottom. We were expecting it to be a leg burner but the snow skied soooooo easily that it was effortless all the way. The angle was great. That really might have been one of the best runs ever!

Continued onto the lower pitches which were a little softer but still stayed in good condition all the way down to the bottom at about 90 metres elevation. We were able to keep doing nice turns right to the road, where our van was parked. Awwwwwwesome!

The skiing is so easily accessible, so good, and there are so many plentiful options. I think Canadian backcountry skiing may have just been bumped down to second best!

C • Wow.... 2

Håkviksdalen, near Narvik.
We were able to drive to about 300 metres elevation, so we had nice coverage right from the parking area. Chatted briefly with a local guy out walking his dog who really wanted to chat (well, Carbon chatted on behalf of the group). Then across a cute little bridge and then up through a lightly forested area of small trees. When we got up higher, it was quite windy and we had a 3 km traverse to get to the next climb. After a little group chat, we decided that there was no need to suffer into the wind for so long. We ripped off the skins and headed down. Found some snow to turn in, but it was a bit shallow and a bit wind-affected. Still okay enough that we decided to go back up partway for one more short lap. Finished with a fun slalom ski down through the light forest.

C • Narvik 12

Strandtinden.
Again, a bootpack through snow-free lower elevation but this only lasted about 100 metres or less and then we had the skis on. The lower snow seemed like firm styrofoam so I don't think a lot of us were optimistic about the snow conditions we would be skiing in; we would joke about the powder when we uptracked through a wind-loaded section that had a few centimeters of fresh snow to sink into. This didn't last long and soon the snow was getting better. As it turned out, we had good condtions, making nice tracks in the snow and doing our usual pretty, spooned tracks. Decided to head back up for another lap.

Early in the hike up, LittleFish lost her phone which gave everyone a scare, especially her - that thing is her baby! She dropped back down and followed her route back up, and found it. Phew.
Met a couple of local guys on the way up and chatted a little. Kind of interesting to see them decked out almost head to toe in Canadian Arc'Teryx gear while some of our Canadian crew was wearing Norwegian Noronna.

Hung out on the summit for quite a while. The views were beyond incredible (today could be tough to beat) and there was no wind. So many mountains, you could play here for a long time. And of course, the beautiful views of the water and the islands in multiple directions. Some cool fish farms below, a navy ship cruising into the inlet, and then a cruise ship later. The Norwegian guys explained to us that helicopters and snowmobiles are not allowed.

Took a different route down and were able to keep the skis on pretty far. LittleFish kept them on really far, opting to ski over small patches of grass between snow patches. She is her own wax technician, so she doesn't seem to mind. The route down was easier than the route up.

On the drive back, we didn't let James plug his iPod into the stereo. The tunes on the morning drive were definitely varied, jumping from "Old Man River" from the musical Showboat, to Cher, to Wilson Phillips, Bryan Adams, Celine Dion (wow, we forgot how slow My Heart Will Go On is), Belinda Carlisle, George Michael and Elton John.

Took a day off from skiing to do some touring and sightseeing. Drove all the way to Å at the south end of the Lofoten Islands. Some suuuuuper scenic harbour villages with incredible mountain backdrops and some nice sand beaches along the way too. Lots of bridges and tunnels connecting everything, shortcutting over or under the water. Å was quite pretty, as were many villages along the way.
Snowing heavily for a short period of time in the morning before we left our rorbu and then a snow squall or two during the day. We'll see what that does for skiing tomorrow.
Scrambled up Reinebrigen. Revy says we have to exercise everyday :)
For a scramble that is top-rated, it was surprising that the trail wasn't more established. The snow and wet vegetation in spots added some extra challenge. Got to the col at the top and had an incredible view of the town of Reine and the water on the other side. Should have brought a race passport: there was an orienteering control punch at the col! Revy continued on to one of the summits.
On the way back, stopped at place for their famous fish burger. Really tasty, hit the spot, and just a little over $20 ;). Having Scandinavian food seemed to settle Carbon's stomach.

Oh, I forgot to include the short rap that jumped into my head yesterday while we were skiing. They come to me in Scandinavian (Swedish) while I'm here.

Vi ska åka skidor på semester,
Men Courtney kan inte sväng till vänster!

C • For FB 2

Checked out Varden, a popular place near Svolvaer. Not much snow down low (we started right near sea level) but we were able to follow a closed road that was still covered with packed snow and enabled us to ski from the van and get up to snowier stuff. Had one bootpack section where the coverage wasn't good enough to ski up. Coverage higher up was fine but fairly firm - probably got warm previously and then cooled off, but fortunately it wasn't too icy - it skied like a groomed run, staying on top rather than punching through.
Skied up to the col, then hiked up to the summit without skis. Cool views out to the water and other islands. Did a run down the back. Nice views to the water off this side too. Pretty awesome scenery all day. Had some okay turns down the back if you stayed away from old frozen tracks. Then did a run down the front and traversed to the skier's left into another drainage. Again, some okay turns on firm snow. Back up again to the original front bowl for a finishing run down, and then picked our way through the lower section and connecting the patchy coverage at the bottom. LittleFish still looked like a pro while the rest of us struggled. The harder the condtions get, the better she seems to ski. So graceful.
Out for just over 5 hours.
Then went for a drive to a cute fishing village, saw more of their huge drying racks full of cod. BigFish bought some dried cod at the supermarket and temporarily stunk up the condo.