The Mountain and the Wave

"Anyone who has ever heard the voice of the mountains can never forget it".  Tibetan proverb. The view from the summit of Glittertinden, the second highest peak in Scandinavia. This is on paper quite a big day: traversing the two highest mountains of Norway in a single day. In normal conditions we should be quite excited about it, but after going to sleep at around 4AM yesterday we are having breakfast at 11AM in Glitterheim cabin and rather discussing how to quit this adventure. We are still quite tired from yesterday and to face a stage like the one we have planned for today we should have been out skiing already hours ago. With the map in hand we discuss our options and come to the conclusion that turning around is not a much better option, just a safer one. The way back to the car is very long and it would be mentally very hard to go back following the fjellski tracks with the feeling of failure on our shoulders. Instead, we decide to go for it and start skiing at 1PM. Cl...

Bessheim-Besshø-Surtningssue-Glitterheim                                                                         “Make friends with pain, and you will never be alone” Ken Chlouber, creator of the Leadville Trail 100   - I think this was the hardest day of my life… - says Achim from pure exhaustion.  I think all of us share the same feeling. It is 3AM in the Glitterheim DNT cabin. We are having dinner next to the fireplace trying to get warm and dry, still digesting what we just did; 41km distance, 3000m positive elevation gain, and 17 hours out. All with not the lightest skiing gear and our backpacks could also be lighter (12-15kg). Legs are burning, backs hurt and the feet… better to not look at them. A nice collection of blisters that are gonna be our inseparable ...

After a rather cold May with a number of snowy days even in town at only 200masl spring weather is finally here. Warm weather in Hordaland at this time of the year is synonym of snow melting and water discharging into the rivers. Nothing special about it right? Or yes? For most skiers, the snow melting marks the end of the skiing season and is kinda sad. For me, it means increased chances of surfing close to Bergen. There is no regular ocean surfing in Bergen and it is usually a minimum of 5h drive from here. But we do have river surfing when the conditions are right so I actually get excited about the snow melting in the mountains. View of the line-up from the bridge I am a dedicated surfer (not good at all but dedicated) from Basque Country where we are very lucky to be able to surf almost every day of the year within 20-30min drive. That is perhaps what I miss most about living in Norway. Not the warm days, not the sunny days... but the ocean. An ocean with surfable wa...

Lander enjoying the pow in the forest. 02/02/2020 kinda curious date but nothing special in principle. As any other regular Sunday during Norwegian winter, we head off from Bergen on the hunt for a bit of powder. It is a shame that this is gonna be the first day of good snow for me this season. The forecast is looking very good and I am quite excited to finally make some turns in decent snow. But not everything is looking pink... The avalanche forecast is not so good and after quite some discussion in the car, we decide to go to one of the safest option around here: Bjørndalskamben. I have never been there myself so even if I heard it is a donkey field it is always exciting to hike a new mountain. Nad skinning up in the forest in the lower part of the valley. Bjørndalskamben (1402moh) is the highest mountain in Myrkdalen and lies on the east side of the valley right in front of the ski resort and the popular Finnbunuten (1358moh). We park right at the ski resort and s...

                    Stine and Nor getting ready for the climbing.                   Amelia looking at them. "Finally man! Finally! I´m going ice climbing this weekend!" This was the message I sent to Plablo (see https://katuoinekin.blogspot.nl/) before heading to Golsjuvet, 5h drive eastward from Bergen and situated directly south of Hemsedal. This is my 3rd winter in Norway and for my climbing buddies in Baskerland is kind of a shame that I haven´t done any ice climbing yet. "WTF does people do there!!" as Pablo would say. I was totally convinced that this winter would be the one. It took some time to convince some folks to join but finally I managed. Friday afternoon Nor, Seb and me start driving from Bergen in Ameliatheadventurevan. At our arrival in Gol Stine (Seb´s local friend) gives us a really nice welcoming at her place. We drink some beers and tal...

This weekend we drive north from Bergen to one of the most beautiful regions in Vest-Norge, Sunnmørsalpene. The weather forecast looks quite promising for the 4 days that we have estimated to complete our trail running trip around the whole fjord: Hjørundfjorden rundt - 120km and ca. 6000m of positive elevation gain. We bring light backpacks and intend to sleep in the DNT cabins on the way. On Thursday we started running from Barstadvik around 17:30 under a light but persistent rain. 20km and 1500m elevation gain ahead of us and only 3-4h of light to reach Standalshytta. It gets dark when we are only half way. It is quite challenging to find the way because there are no clear trails in this section of the route, but thanks to the GPS (and Tom’s knowledge on how to use it) we manage. It’s already 11PM when we finish the last climb of the day. It has stopped raining and the perfectly full moon is strong enough for us to continue in the dark and enjoy the beauty and the silence of ...