Lyngen Lodge : May 2010

Recap:

Day 4

It’s Wednesday already today and I haven’t written anything since we got here. Lodge life takes over all the senses and time. A beer or two in the sauna after ski touring all day has a way of slowing motivations to post to the net.

What can I say about Lyngen Lodge? (http://www.lyngenlodge.com/) First of all the location is incredible. As I write this I’m staring across a 9km fjord at a big peak called Reindanstinden, which probably one of the easier names to pronounce around here. It’s a sick clump of mountains that has a big line I can’t take my eyes off that falls straight to the sea. It reminds me of the Morrain Lake, 3-4 couloir near Lake Louise in Canada, except this one has another big face above it. It’s a view that never gets olds, especially when it turns purple in the midnight sun glow. 

The skiing here is world class and about as authentic as it comes. But I’ll get to that in a bit because I want to rant about the food for a bit, which has been a big treat. I’ve eaten well at a lot of operations around the world and Lyngen Lodge holds its own against the best of the best. When you consider the size of the kitchen, our chef Kris, is pretty much a magician. We eat a lot of local foods like freshly caught fish and lambs that graze the slopes nearby. The wine selections consist of suggested pairings which keeps it simple and completes the meal with perfection. Suffice to say, there is a lot of incentive to push hard during the day because we know we get a culinary pampering when we return.

OK, the skiing. Put it this way, there is about 10 lifetimes of big lines here to go ski. The snow may not be as deep as Canada, but that’s not why you come here. You come here because the experience and views are mind blowing. How many other places can you take a boat ride to an island, skin right from the beach up and over the mountains and then ski down the other side for a pick up in a van that drove under a massive tunnel? That’s about as genuine as it gets especially when you consider that you’re the only group on the whole island. In fact, it feels like we’re the only group in this entire range; I know we’re not, but let’s just say, this is a remote wilderness experience that offers modern, luxurious and invigorating living.

I’ve joined a production group that consists of a majority of people from Innsbruck Austria. Innsbruck is in the heart of rad mountains and so it’s a group of inspiring people that are setting a remarkable pace considering their ages and abilities. Sylvia, for one stands out to me. She’s 65 and as strong as I am on the up track. I learned only yesterday that she was actually in the ocean diving in Thailand when the Tsunami hit. They ended up having to live on the boat for 10 days until they could make it to a pier that was still in service: pretty core…

I have to hold my tongue a bit on the way down because skiing top to bottom is not an option, but I can hardly hold it against Paul our guide. I’ve learned a lot from him already and there’s something refreshing to hang out with a European guide. The Euro guides are not just skiers but mountain climbers too; as opposed to Canada where guides specialize in skiing or climbing and very few do both. Maybe I’m just stoked that Paul is a good guy. Guides have such a way of making or breaking a trip and Paul’s making it fun but still running a pretty tight ship, which is the real skill of the profession.

There’s a good chance that I’ll get to break away with another guide later this week if the weather holds so I’m holding out for that. The variety and number of incredible big lines here almost blows my mind. One could only set a goal of attempting to ski in every cluster of peaks in a lifetime. 

Lodge Arrival DAY 1

I walked the streets of Tromso in the morning while waiting for the 1:30 pick up at the Raddison hotel by the Lyngen Lodge staff. There was an alluring culture downtown as people were out on the streets for multiple reasons. The first of May is traditionally a celebration day in Norway, which brought out choirs performing in the street among other attractions. There is also an anticipated football (soccer) match on the weekend, which had many people wearing the city team's colors. Apparently they clear the snow off the field so that they can actually hold the match. Seemed a little chilly for football if you ask me but the players might actually have legitimate causes to flail with cramps and injuries in that kind of cold weather. Sorry to diss football but it’s NHL playoff season and cheering for toughness is a way of life. Piggy backing on the traditional gatherings was a demonstration by Amnesty International and some Palestinian rights groups who are protesting against Israel (in general) and I’m assuming their push to develop houses in Gaza. It’s PR campaigns like this one that will push the global community in favor of the Palestinians. I wish they could all just get along, but if history is any indication, they won’t.

After loading our group in a branded Lyngen Lodge van, we travel across roads then take 2 ferries to the lodge, a.k.a. paradise. Most ski touring lodges that I’ve traveled to are in the heart of the mountains and have limited amenities. We have no such limitations.

Tromso (pre trip) 

It’s 5 am and I'm wide awake. I better take the time and write while I can. 24 hour light isn’t exactly the best way to get over jet lag, it can really have it’s way with you. It was a major journey to get to Tromso. Planes, trains and automobiles to say the least. Yesterday's 5 hour bus ride from Narvik to Tromso was an exercise in patience. The bus was hot and packed with army dudes as it swayed back and forth in the curvy roads. There is basically not a straight piece of pavement in the whole country of Norway, it’s just mountains exiting to the sea and you have to follow the coast line. There is of course a better way to Tromso, as in flying directly in to the airport, but my circumstances were different and I had to take a train from Kiruna, Sweden to Narvik, Norway and then take a bus from Narvik to Tromso.  It was cool to see the country and it wasn’t that bad.

It's beautiful here and cold. One would expect the temps to be cold, considering I'm at 71 degrees north latitude but the weather here is usually milder than this. I take it as a good sign though, because I'm here to ski. More specifically I’m headed to an operation called Lyngen Lodge, which specializes in boat assisted ski touring trips in the Lyngen Alps: a mountain range north of Tromso. A good storm has just rolled through and there are reports of good powder in the mountains. I can't wait to get out there. 

Things are expensive in Norway. I paid $36 for a plate of lasagna and a small beer at a cafe. It was really good but I don't think I could survive here for long on my ski bum salary. The people seem very social and very fashion conscious. They call this place the ‘Paris of the North’ for a reason I guess. The women love to dress up, with tight pants, long boots, scarf’s and long sweaters under small leather jackets. They ware a lot of make up and definitely look like they are ready to be seen. The guys seem scruffy and snowboarderish, that or very urban. Either way, they all seem a little out of place in such a northern latitude fishing town. But that’s just Norway, very spread out and very modern. The same latitude in Canada would see nothing but Atco trailers and snowmobiles.

The architecture here is alluring. The 2 structures that dominate the skyline are the Church and a bridge that joins the lands separated by a fjord. The church resembles a triangle that has been folded out of itself. I’m not sure why, but it reminds me of the neck garment of an alien on Star Trek. But it’s really quite magnificent, especially at night when it’s lit up. The bridge, is quite remarkable even by Norweigen standards, who have a knack for building such things. Very tall and very long, it serves a link for the city traffic but it’s big enough to let huge cruise ships underneath it. 

Warren Miller Segment on Lyngen Lodge