5. maaliskuuta 2016

A kind of magic - part 2


Is it really just a bit over two months we returned from our magical Lyngen trip? I have to say it feels much much more longer time we left one of the most beautiful places on earth. Maybe its also because of the reason that I'm so happy and exited to get back there - at least for a couple of days in the end of this month!

Our Magic Ski Team

After driving back from Tromsø on our rest day we went chilling in the Magic Mountain Lodge's communal kitchen. It was kind of a funny feeling that there were again a lot of new people around. Somehow it gave us the feeling that we had stayed there for much more longer. It was time to make the plan for those two skiing days that we had left. And yes - as I already mentioned in the part 1, the plan was to go on Kåfjord side and take a tour on Giilavarri. After hanging around in the kitchen we ended up chatting with some climbers and skiers from Finland and soon there was one more Finnish split-board fellow to join us for the coming adventure. 

Six o'clock, how come it is so easy to wake up so early on a holiday. Well it isn't always like that... At least our dog was acting like we are totally crazy people. We decided to have some breakfast before taking the ferry at 7:20 am. It was again pretty nice to just click your skis on in front of the Magic Mountain Lodge and take the road or off-road down to the harbor. We even had time so fix the climbing skins ready before the ferry was about to go. But well well well... There was no ferry going as we were in Norway and it's never normal timetables running during the holiday times although for Finnish people is was just a normal Wednesday. The first ferry would be going around midday or something and it would have a way too late for us. Thanks to the small printed time-table with a tiny note in which was telling the information on the wall of the small harbor cabin we were brought to the reality. So we were more than lucky that we had made a plan B just in case if something with the plan A goes wrong... Fastdalstinden.

Roope probably ran to take the car from the lodge and picked us up. It was only a short drive to the starting point so we were counting to have enough time to be able to reach the summit and ski down most of the way in a kind of daylight. We started hiking up the already familiar track for us in the "powder slope" we had been enjoying couple of days before. Unfortunately it wasn't in so perfect condition anymore. The wind had been visiting the place. But it was so amazingly beautiful and peaceful morning out there.



Morning light on the way up.
The summit of Fastdalstinden is on the right side.

Fastdalstinden... It was looking to be so far away but that was exactly what made it so tempting. In some parts the snow was feeling so perfect and just after couple of meters there was this super annoying crusty surface, "knäckebröd". I was trying to concentrate my mind on the softer parts and convince my self that the skiing down would be super good and fun. I was also trying to figure out and keep in my mind how the surface of the "good parts" were differing of the "bad parts" so I could try to make my turns on the right spots when skiing down. Hahhah... guess if I remembered any of it when I was making my turns.  

There was also a quite long traverse to do before getting on the ridge which was the safest and less steep part to go up. In those places I always try to just to live inside my bubble and not to look or think the whole big wall beside me. When we started to reach the ridge we stopped once to check how the snow layers were and meanwhile the others were digging and checking me and Jussi made a story of a snow ball or a snow lump...

Oh man it was a long way to the top. It felt it was never ending track. I was trying to eat some chocolate and promising my self to have good rest, warm juice and everything up there. During the last meters I realized it would be pretty fast visit on the summit. For the first time on this entire trip the wind was blowing like hell and I was really missing my super warm wind-stopper down jacket. But still it was so beautiful scenery, light and everuything. Nothing was bothering or making my mind worried. I was feeling happy, warm and free inside.

Happy skitouring fellows

The skiing down was way much better that we thought it would be. We split in two groups as I was feeling much more confident to ski down the same way we had hiked up. Well no one of us decided to take down any of the steeper couloirs which were for sure looking super tempting. There had happened a huge avalanche on the big wall of Fastdalstinden on February 2015 where one guy died. So it's never stupid to play it safe, too safe some might think, and enjoy the skiing next day too.

After skiing down the Fastdalstinden walls there was quite a flat area to ski and it was better to have the skins on again. And then the last part... It was getting dark, I was super tired and having a huge troubles of coming down as it was partly ice, partly snow with this super annoying "knäckebröd" surface. Well thanks to my patient skitouring fellows I made it down safely and even enjoyed the last turns as there was luckily soft snow left in some parts. This was once again a super teaching and kind of relaxing although a tough day out. I was just hungry to ski more so it was time rest your muscles in the sauna and decide the program for the last day for this tour and year 2015!

THE SAUNA


Once you get the taste of a soft snow you are ready to even drive a bit further away to get more. Its for sure would have been nice to go and hike some new mountain for the last day of year 2015 but as we knew that the wind had been blowing really hard, it would have been almost impossible to find even that nice snow than we had on Fastdalstinden anywhere near by. 

Good bye 2015 - welcome 2016!

We ended up a plan to have a new tour on Sjufjellet in Tamokdalen. And suprise suprise- there where some other Finns too. This time we were on our way a bit earlier so the plan was to ski down on daylight this time. And wow, it was so much more better weather compering to Lyngseidet too and for the first time we really saw the scenery up there! We were also lucky that the other visitors on that day were skiing already down when we were still hiking up. They hadn't even went to the real top and there was a whole untouchable powder field in the upper part of the mountain waiting for us to ski down. Not a bad way to finnish the year 2015!  

The only thing we had been missing on this trip was more powerful headlamps. And what was quite close to happen would have been maybe already too much... Skiing down while northern lights were dancing and a whale jumping in front of us in fjord. Well as Simone Moro told me... Pauliina - Never stop dreaming. And I won't and I can honestly say the start of year 2016 has been more than a dream to me. I feel alive again after suffering of quite bad tiredness during year 2015 and more balanced with my life - maybe ever. Happy ski! 

Thanks to all our gear too for a great trip!
And then one teaser...
Happened in January 2016 - Coming soon!




Pictures: Pauliina Sjölund, Robert Sjölund and Timo Laine