Europe 2018 Trip Report – Lyngen Alps, Norway

The Lyngen Alps in northern Norway is so perfectly suited for skiing it is almost like it was designed as a 600 square mile ski mountaineering amusement park.  There are roughly 145 peaks ranging from about 3,000′ up to 6,000′ and most of them have runs on every aspect and can be done as a day tour.  Being located right on the Norwegian Sea, the area features a series of deep fjords and peninsulas, many of which have roads running along the coast line which gives great access from multiple sides by car, and then other areas are more suitable for boat access.  On one day, we drove for two hours only to find ourselves a mile away from where we started but on the other side of a bay. In retrospect, Lyngen reminds me of a European version of Alaska.  Both are far north, have great spring skiing, close to 24 hours of daylight, lots of mountains, northern lights and serve as season extenders for the continents they’re on.

Lyngen has a few glaciers with crevasses, but by far and away avalanches and brittle cornices are the main safety concerns.  On a clear, sunny day in mid April, we saw thundering wet slides starting at around 10:00am on east facing slopes, 2:00pm on south facing and then still running at 6:00pm on west facing slopes as the sun clocked around. But in general, like Valdez Alaska,  Lyngen has steep slopes with a maritime snowpack, which is generally a good combo.

Although the area was new to me, people have been climbing and skiing here for over a century, including one of my favorites, Elizabeth Main from England who went on a bender from 1898 – 1900 and scored first ascents of many classic peaks.  I love this photo of her – not only are the hat and skirt rad, but extended middle finger draped over the ice axe is classic.  Any questions you punters?

In the last twenty years or so, Lyngen has seen a surge of ski mountaineering activity, which most recently was due in part to a new guidebook, The Lyngen Alps.  There are other guidebooks for the area as well which cover touring, but The Lyngen Alps is more about ski mountaineering, skiing off of summits and more technical descents.  We were lucky to hook up with Ode Siivonen and Morgan Salen, both of whom are recommended guides up there and knew the less traveled terrain, but on other peaks we shared slopes and summits with many other people.

The terrain itself is almost anything you want from classic connect-the-col touring to super cutting edge steep descents.  One of the things I was most impressed with was the open access of the area, which is similar with many parts of Europe.  We started numerous tours by skinning through gates or stepping across fences, which in the US is likely to get you shot just as a matter of principle.

I’d heard about Norway’s cabin culture, but as a cabineer myself, it was great to see it in person.  A “town” in the Lyngen Alps area often consists of about five houses and a drastically reduced speed limit.  Endless summer cabins line the road and a common plan is to rent one of these for a week or month and fill it with skiers.  On average, we drove about 15-45 minutes each day to get to a new objective, so you want to find a cabin which is centrally located to the type of terrain you prefer.  They are all over.

Travelling for skiing is really just a fun way to experience different cultures and meet new people and I always come away with a better understanding of the world.  Although I had an incredible time skiing in Norway, my cultural take home was:  HOLY SHIT THIS PLACE IS EXPENSIVE!!!!  I haven’t skied in Manhattan, Mt. Carlo or Moscow, but I bet Norway would crush them all.  What is interesting is that it is not like everyone is driving around in Lamborghinis and eating caviar, but just the opposite – it all seems fairly normal, but the price of everything is elevated.  The unofficial minimum wage is about $16 -21 an hour, but the cost of living is also very high.  A hamburger was $25, a tank of gas $120, a single bag of groceries $80+.  This is great for Norwegians traveling abroad, but a shocker for visiting tourists.  For the future, I’d seriously consider bringing as much food as possible and tent camping in a strategic valley somewhere, plus trying to ditch the car.

Tromso is the gateway to the Lyngen Alps and is a travel destination in its own right.  They’ve got a great polar museum, lots of shops and restaurants (if you can afford them), plus endless tributes to one of my all time adventure heroes, Roald Amundsen, who started many an epic journey from here.

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Tags: backcountry skiing, Lyngen Alps, Norway, Ski Mountaineering, trip report

Category: Trip Reports