Boardmag in Norway -Part III

Retrospective

Looking back at our trip, a great feeling fills me. We met so many warm-hearted people the nature is breath-taking and we could eat all variations of cod for dinner! 

In this article, I want to talk about what we learned about the weather, touring, budget and where to stay around Tromsø and Lyngen.

Weather

We were really lucky with the weather in April 2015. Yes it rained and clouds got stuck in the low peaks, but there where also the good days. Days with 17 hours of touring time and long views to other fjords and mountain ranges. When looking closely, you could almost see Spitsbergen peaking over the northern horizon. I remember when living in Zermatt, where you had to start touring early in the day. Best was to be back down around lunch. In Lyngen we met people starting after lunch, aiming for a nice sunset tour. It took us a few days to adjust, but soon we got up when we felt like it, went fishing and enjoyed Knäckebröd with Kaviar out of the tube and still managed to satisfy our hunger for great lines.

Spring above the Arctic Circle turns the country-side to a fairy tale land. Lyngen is in line with other outposts of civilization as Lappland, Greenland and the Brooks Range of Alaska. Ok, there was no champagne-powder, but always enough snow to get a good ride and draw your lines down to sea-level. The snow report of Lyngen can give you an idea about the conditions, but since it has so many expositions and sides where the weather comes from, it is better to take it as a guidance, but not as a fact. We never had bad conditions. We could hike up wherever we felt like, and down as well!

Touring

First half of the trip we stayed at the northern part of the Lyngenalps,around Lenangen. Russelvfjellet, Storgaltan, Stetinden, Trollvasstinden, Istinden are a few nice ones to start with. Second half of our trip we stayed at Mainland Tromsø and explored the western island Malangen and Kvaloya. We went for Tromsdalstinden, Andersdalstinden, Gorzelvtinden, Storstolpan, Bentsfjordtinden. But we also did a bunch of other tours, that do not yet exist in any touring book.

And this is exactly what is so nice about this area - you can hike up any mountain you feel like, there are hundreds of them, and they are only a short drive away.

Our best companion was the book "Touring in Troms". Thank you Espen Nordahl for putting such a fine book together. 

In case you cannot find it online, you can buy it in the local book shop in Tromsø. The little University town is worth a visit. It has got an old brewery and nice little places to get lost in, as it happen to us in the Bastard Bar.

Links:

touring book: touring in troms

weather Norway: https://yr.no

online maps: https://ut.no

more

--> continue with budget and where to stay around Tromsø and Lyngen.