Looks can be deceiving... Lyngen vs Lofoten

After a week of rain and even more rain a small weather window appeared up in Lyngen. A friend of us owns a house there and our faithful Tiguan took us safely to Kjosen where the casa was located.

Abseiling on Stortind, Lyngen

We did two days of alpine climbing (with endless approaches) on Nordre Jægervasstind (1235 m) and the north-west ridge of Stortind (1512 m). The conditions was the usual Lyngen stuff, 3-4 cm of fluffy snow on dry compact rock. Really frustrating when it looks so good from distance. Ill never learn... Still, two days of sun and gorgeous views and even some powder skiing made the trip worthwhile.

Back in Lofoten again the weather was still mediocre. Southwest winds brought rain and snow with zero visibility. But as always, a tiny weather window appeared to our relief.

Brettviktinden (836 m) is a fortress-like mountain located to the west of the Higrav fjord and just south of the ferry-port village of Fiskebøl, north of Svolvær. We set sight for the south ridge (FA Dean & Spilsbury 1937) but after a 10 minutes of plowing in waist-deep snow we lowered our ambitions. Emma found a nice route directly up the east face including lots of snow, cornices and a grand finale with tricky mixed climbing on frozen turf. Abseiling in whiteout with heavy snow showers made the day complete.

Lille Reka (628 m) is located in Vesterålen and actually taller than its neighbor, the more famous Reka. A small weather window appeared in the area and we set off for the peak at early morning. The approach was straight forward with our new setup, short Hagan skis with Silvretta bindings and mountain boots. From the notch south of the peak we climbed a few pitches on the south ridge but the conditions were not the best. Dry slabs and rather compact slabs made the progress slow. We decided to traverse into the south face and found an ice packed turf-chimney leading to the summit. We had a long break at the cairn, watching the sun disappear in an ocean of clouds. The mountains in Vesterålen may be lower and less steep than Lofoten but they have a calming effect on both body and mind. Mindfulness at 628 m.

One 60 meter abseil and some downclimbing took us safely back to the notch. The decent was brillant with lots of snow, cheering and pillow jumping. Skiing in mountain boots is quite challenging and the birch may be a bit affected as we had some minor crashes but arrived safe and sound at the car.