Arctic dreams

I'm entering the final stage of the trip now, and I have a solid plan with trains booked and stops scheduled, before I fly out of Norway on Thursday morning. That gives me 3 more ski days to try and immerse the recycled pine of my Idris skis in as much snow as possible and link the forest back to the mountain.

I have also got lucky with a reasonably priced hostel, next to the railway tracks, which means that I can spend 2 nights up here and relax a bit.

Urban session in Trondheim

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This is about as close to skiing as I got over the weekend. Welcome to my monday to friday office, where the weekend is a break!

The Chamois skis were really eager to get on the snow, despite the rain and the extended travelling time, so I was able to find them a snow bank in the port town of Trondheim, waiting for a train on the way North.

I am now at a town called Narvik, in the Arctic, above 68 degrees North, and thats as far North as I am going to go. That only leaves 22 degrees until I get to the North pole, or 2407 km!

Imagining it as a mountain, I am now on a pitch that is 68 degrees steep in relation to the 90 degree angle between the equator and the polar line.

It feels like way North, too. It was pretty dark at 3.30pm, and there is still over a month to go until winter solstice.





The sun didn't climb very high in the sky, and wasn't around for very long, although there was quite a lot of daylight either side, especially this morning at 8am. Here is the sun at its zenith around noon today:

There was some incredible light, though:

Trondheim Saturday Night

 After forfeiting yesterdays skiing due to the rain in the South, I had a really long journey, through Trondheim and the slim section of Norway between the ocean and the Swedish border, arriving at Narvik at 1.30pm today.

This should have given me some ski time after arrival, but apparently it has been warm here the last couple of days, and the conditions are not great. I decided not to ski Sunday too, especially as it was nearly dark by the time I had found somewhere to stay. I will be able to get up early on Monday and check out the ski hill, which rises just on the edge of town!

Night train

Trondheim harbour

Arctic Dawn, heading North from the Arctic circle 66*

The journey was pretty amazing, especially after I woke up and the sky was brightening as the train sped Northwards. After that came a couple more bus rides along snow covered roads, between scrub trees and larger forest, with some small farms too.

Its not really very cold around here at the moment, though I'm sure it can be at times. The ocean has a real moderating effect, even way up here.

I found some salmon farms, surrounded by lots of snow!

The mountains here are incredible, just like Alaska, and with snow down to the oceans edge. This may be why Vikings were so tough, as they had to survive in these areas, like the Haida warriors, maybe, in the North-East Pacific.

Looking across to Lofoten Islands

Ferry across a fjord, in between several more tunnels!

Successful snow search, though quality better high up.


Narvik town: someone built a kicker for an urban rail session,
someone built a Swedish church,
and someone built a ski hill...!

 Once in Narvik I learned that the ski hill had been opened last weekend due to good snow cover, but it hasn't snowed much since then. If it had been good today, I would have made it a priority, but the skis agreed that we need a rest, so I will go and see tomorrow.

It is currently snowing lightly this evening, with wet flakes, so maybe it will be nice in the morning. It looks like there may be a front crossing from the West tomorrow day and night, so lets hope for snow! That means, of course, that the sky is cloudy, so I can't look out for the Aurora Borealis, and probably not tomorrow night either...


Narvik is a neat town, and I would like to spend more time here. It first struck me as Prince Rupert meets Nelson, with a touch of Whistler (lifts from town).

It would be neat to find someone to go touring with on Tuesday, especially if it clears after the weather front, but I may just have to be content with exploring the ski hill area with skins. I might find someone else up there too.

Lunch time dusk!