Ski Traversing the Lyngen Alps
The Lyngen Alps are a South to North mountain range in the Troms area of Northern Norway. It is 90 kilometres long and 20 kilometres at its widest with the highest peak being Jiekkevarre at 1,833 meters. The area is holds complex and steep terrain but with a road wrapping around the range it had great ski touring access.
Our hope was to ski traverse the entire range over a 2 week period. The idea was to have a few extra days so that we could ride some of the more isolated line.
How the Trip Came Together
It’s been a dream of mine for years now to Traverse the Lyngen Alps from the Southern point all the way to the northern shores. I’ve been lucky enough to have it my backyard minus a 7 hour drive from Rovaniemi, Finland.
My friend Ilkka from Rovaniemi was excited about the idea and we poured over the maps deciding that we would take 2 weeks. This would allow us to take our time and go via a more adventurous route. From there we told our friends Jamie Weeks and Wiggles and asked if they had any interest and like that it was A Finn a Canadian and 2 Americans off on a ski traverse of the Lyngen Alps.
Starting the Ski Traverse in a Storm
From the car we immediately walked into a storm as we had predetermined dates to pull it off. The weather for the past few days looked bad and it didn’t look any better in the future. Instead of waiting around for things to improve we decided it’s better to get a file miles knocked and camp in the alpine.
We skinned until reaching the cloud cap and after finding a few trees for some shelter to put down camp. By now we couldn’t see the massive mountains around us as we would occasionally get out of the tents to shovel off the new snow.
Day 2: Shelter From the StormWaiting for the storm to Clear
Going stir crazy in our tents we decided to build a snow shelter so we could stretch out. The snow didn’t seem to be slowing down but we were happy to eat away some of the weight in our backpacks.
Day 3: Shelter from the Storm
After 2 days the clouds lifted a few hundred meters so we could see further up the valley. Not wanting to miss our opportunity we packed up and skinned another mile North. Arriving in the area where 3 valleys junction together we found a small shelter. Since we couldn’t see into the peaks we decided to wait it out once again and hopefully the weather would be better the next day.
Day 4: Run as Far North as we Can
Waking up to clear skies we quickly packed our bags and got moving. We had already lost 3 days and had barely gone 6 kilometres so we needed to make up for lost time. We needed to make up for lost time.
After climbing up and over a ridge we dropped into the next valley to the north. There were still clouds at the crest of the mountains but the weather was much better on the Eastern side.
Wrapping around to a flat basin we skinned through the sparse trees passing by numerous little lakes.
We noticed what looked like a man made structure in the distance. Getting closer we realised that it was a hut and the door was unlocked.
While it was small it was perfect for a group of four. Each one of us claimed our bunks and were happy that we had knocked off quite a few kilometres.
Day 5: Better Conditions but Far from Good
The next morning we woke up to semi cloudy weather and knew we had to keep moving. We had already lost our spare days during the beginning of the trip.
Packing our gear we started heading for a road that would drop to the town below. Though we were find with food there was a grocery store in the valley where we could pick up random stuff.
It seemed the weather was much better on the Eastern side of the range so we needed to modify our route. We didn’t intend on staying on the lower slopes but it was our only option as there was no visibility in the alpine.
It turned out that the store had shut down the year before so it was time to get back into the mountains. Heading up the Lynsdalen valley we knew that there was a hut we could possibly stay at.
Soon enough we showed up at the Hut only to find that the place was locked. We used the porch for shelter the rest of the afternoon before sleeping in our tents.
Day 6: When Will This Storm End?
The next day was still near visibility but we would be going through familiar territory so we pushed through a white out. Skinning towards a low col to the North the wind raged through the valley.
Fortunately we just had to follow the valley and wouldn’t be going through any complex terrain. Heading down slope the winds pushed agains’t our backs.
Reaching our final hut and final night in the Southern portion of Lyngen we were happy to get back out of the storm. Over the past 6 days we had only had 1 day of good travel but we made the most out of it.
Day 7: Well we Made it to the Halfway Point
For the final day of the South section we traversed below the East face of Goalsevarri. The summit was buried in the clouds as we made our way north. Before long we arrived in the town of Lyngsedit which is the Split between the Southern and Northern parts of Lyngen.
Stopping by the grocery store we set up camp at our starting spot for the Northern Section. Hopefully the weather would be better for the next week or we would have to stop as there was no easy route through the final week.