Euro Mini @ Stryn Summerski, May-June???

[hemas]

17th of May is also the constitution day of Norway...

Double whammy.

I'll hopefully have enough time to heal up and make it there... It would be such a drag to start setting things up and then end up being homebound 'cause I'm a gimp.

[hop]

Is April too early to head up to Narvik/Lofoten/that area? I got a fever, and the only prescription is Norway.

[hemas]

Is April too early to head up to Narvik/Lofoten/that area? I got a fever, and the only prescription is Norway.

Nope, but busy.... Quite a few peeps are skitouring at that time (ie. Easter).

Actually atleast Narvik should be great in April... Still enough snow down low to ski to the road and also they should be running the lifts. Can't say for Lofoten, as I have never been there, but going to guess that the time of the year should be about spot on... Enough light to do long days and still a lot of snow.

Oh, but as far as I know, there are no lifts in Lofoten... But a lot of really nice lines, some of which have never been skied.

Enjoy, and take a lot of pics...

Oh, and if you have any idea on how to read/understand swedish, check this out: www.topptur.nu

They have a really nice guidebook with touring / ski-mountaineering routes around Abisko-Riksgränsen-Narvik, plus a few others (one for whole Norway and so on).

If you want, I can scan you a few pages from the Narvik-guidebook and area.

[Howie]

Im probably gonna make this. Never been to summerski before. Do you have to hike to get to the best lines? Im not a hiking person

[hemas]

Im probably gonna make this. Never been to summerski before. Do you have to hike to get to the best lines? Im not a hiking person

Some of the nice lines are just a short traverse from the top lift... Others demand ~30 mins to 1 h of skinning / hiking (the best, ie. Nuken). Basicly, unless it has dumped heavily... You better be prepared to hike some, to keep it interesting for longer than a day.

Numerous other nice lines nearby, but no lifts to assist.

Read the few TR's I linked on the thread.

[Howie]

Oh well. Some hiking dosen't matter. I've been to Norways highest mountain (Galdgøpiggen, 2469Meters) And that took 7 hours.. so i guess i'l be fine.

Sucks that i only have a pair of Salomon streetracers though... They are great skis, but not too good for freeskiing. Can you rent any good twintips there?

[hemas]

Re: renting...

I'd say your best bet would be to contact the guys at www.powdercafe.com and ask them...

I beleive there was a rental in the resort... But never bothered to check what they carry as I already had a few pairs in tow .

[hemas]

Time to bump this thread back up... The opening is on the 25th of May.

Are peeps still thinking of heading there?

After getting my new knee, I most likely won't be skiing... But it is not complitely out of the question that I won't be there to shoot some pics and drink beer...

[Telepath]

FWIW Stryn is currently recording snow levels that seems to approach best ever levels. Yep, lifts are few, but the possibilities are endless.

I would gladly swap 2 months of great La Grave winter skiing for the two best months of Stryn season in the best years. Stryn is not really a resort/place but an experience, complete with burning shit, beer, sheep, fishing, best scenery ever, sooo many nice (in lots of ways..) people and some quite ok skiing

[Teletori]

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!

[geo039]

June? I am in Ripz?

20-30 hours? what is the trip from Oslo to Stryn like? and how does Stryn compare with Narvik/Riks?

[hemas]

For the record, getting from Stryn to Narvik, is easiest done by booking a cheap flight from Trondheim (for which it's a ~4 hours bus ride from Stryn) to Narvik/Fagerness (or something like that) Airport and then ~1h bus to Narvik... Riksgränsen is ~1 to 2 hours bus-ride further.

Geo, you got a PM.

[Tri-Ungulate]

You know, I was checking www.norwegian.no and it looks like the flight from Trondheim to Harstad/Narvik is gone. Does that mean I'd have to go all the way back to Oslo? Flights between Oslo and Narvik are pretty cheap though; as low as €50 or so, if you hit it right.

[hemas]

Scotty gave you (and others) another option on getting from Stryn to Narvik/Riksgränsen:
http://www.telemarktalk.com/phpBB/vi...=453673#453673

[Tri-Ungulate]

Against my better judgment, trigger=pulled. Arriving in Oslo on May 24th, and can only stay 'til the 1st of June. Trying to figure out the best way to hit both Stryn opening and Narvik/Riksu for a few days. Any suggestions or hook-up plans?

[ulty_guy]

Just spotted this, was thinking of making a run for the great north on the first wknd of may (make a long wknd of it) for some touring with the gf. Anyone else around then?

[hemas]

Just spotted this, was thinking of making a run for the great north on the first wknd of may (make a long wknd of it) for some touring with the gf. Anyone else around then?

I'm sure there will be peeps...

But Norway is a pretty big country... It's like saying, I'll be flying to USA in April, anyone wanna hook up for some turns?

And Stryn won't be open, so no point going there... And almost all other resorts will be closed.

[Teletori]

Against my better judgment, trigger=pulled. Arriving in Oslo on May 24th, and can only stay 'til the 1st of June. Trying to figure out the best way to hit both Stryn opening and Narvik/Riksu for a few days. Any suggestions or hook-up plans?

Cool! See you in Stryn

Not sure when I will get there, but with all the people coming, I might have to squeeze in some extra days...

[Ville]

I'll try also come there

[Telepath]

Against my better judgment, trigger=pulled. Arriving in Oslo on May 24th, and can only stay 'til the 1st of June. Trying to figure out the best way to hit both Stryn opening and Narvik/Riksu for a few days. Any suggestions or hook-up plans?

Well, to Stryn just get the express bus if noone is driving up that weekend. If it opens this weekend I probably know a load of people driving up; make sure to remind me later to try and find a free seat in someones car for you. I don't think I'm going myself though - will probably be at a windsurf racing camp that weekend.

Honestly if the season shapes up like it seems to (and provided the road authorities manage to find the road under the snow somewhere so the resort can open) I would suggest to just hit Stryn for a week. Opening weekend if people everywhere, a bit of a line and generally a little bit stressed out (though GREAT too) - but the real $$$ days tend to be Monday to Thursday after opening weekend when 70% of the crowd are back at work. Hitting Narvik/Riksgränsen too will mean a lot more travel and stress and cost you at least two days of skiing I guess.

[horizon]

I'm interested in this, and I have a friend (new maggot) who might also be.

Since there has been quite a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, just to clarify:

Is this happening on opening weekend and the next following days?

Anyone else coming from London?

Since I'm a Norway jong, I have no idea what snow conditions we could expect (though I saw the comment in the thread about this being a good year) and what kind of terrain there is - a Google search comes up with precious little. I presume that the stuff is much better than normal Europe glacier skiing (i.e. flat and finishing by midday) - can anyone confirm?

Thanks a lot!

[Telepath]

I presume that the stuff is much better than normal Europe glacier skiing (i.e. flat and finishing by midday) - can anyone confirm?

Terrain (with a bit of skating or walking from top lift) should be compared to a winter resorts, not a flat and soggy glacier in the Alps. There are definately lines that require you to bring your A game. Everything from open glaciated areas to steep and technical couloir skiing. A lot of the skiing does not happen on the actual glacier; due to the massive snow coverage (there are rumours of levels approacing 15 metres on the glacier; the two storey building with antenna on roof at the base is gone) a load of terrain is skiable. Many lines start out as open fields at season start only to melt into couloirs and tech stuff later on. Snow can be anything from powder (happens in June every now and then) to perfect creamy butter. No, it's not like skiing is over come noon. On the contrary, certain tours and road runs are perfect when the lift has closed and one has rested a bit. I've done quite a few tours at like 8-11 PM over the years.

Some random Stryn pics:

Annte is a happy camper


Grandmaster Johan entering the Short Backside


The Speedski area


The Nuken area


Random Folven staff off Nuken onto the glacier


Me entering the Nuken couloir


Me in the Nuken couloir


Grandmaster Erik off the Nuken onto the glacier


Grandmaster Erik in the Long Backside couloir

[irbis]

I am the new maggot Horizon was mentioning and I am definitely interested. Have been to Norway a couple of years ago in the summer (Trollenheim, Lofoten, more) and I am drooling already thinking what some of the terrain I've seen covered with grass must look now that it's covered in snow. I am watching this space

[hemas]

Anyone else coming from London?

Thanks a lot!

As Telepath said, the snow can range from pow to spring-snow (corn) to perfect slush cruising medium.

As fopr other Londeners going... I think Ms. Roo showed some interest, as her thesis is eating her skiing days this season.

For some stoke, check the 1st post and the TR's I put links to.

[horizon]

I just realised that there's a Bank Holiday in the UK that weekend, that increased my chances of coming by about 50%.

And since they were at 50% to start with, that means I'm certain to be there!

Oh wait, back to maths class...