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| Lofoten, Norway ski touring |  |
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6 days skiing Maximum
Group Size See also: |
Lofoten has become a popular ski touring destination, with good reason! Otherworldly beauty rewards the effort of every climb. The vast and complex terrain offers a wide choice of aspects, steepness, and length and difficulty of each day's tour. The comfort and support of our "base camp" at the Lofoten Ski Lodge, makes every day a true vacation from start to finish. We offer this trip as visiting guides, at the kind invitation of Seth Hobby, owner and operator of Northern Alpine Guides. His support and hospitality at the Ski Lodge make this opportunity possible for us and our guests. We propose 6 days of skiing in our standard itinerary, but as it is also available as a private trip, it can be be shortened or extended as desired. That said, 6 days is probably the minimum one would want, to explore and enjoy what this area has to offer, and to compensate for the long trip (for most North Americans at any rate) required to get there! We target late March or very early April for this tour. Days are getting longer and warmer by then, yet typically still cold enough that good, wintry snow conditions remain likely. For more detail and to get a feel for the character of this place and this trip, scroll down to view the "Lofoten Logistics" information, and/or click on the link below to see pictures from our previous trip. Also, please don't hesitate to contact us for more information, we would love to hear from you. We hope you'll consider joining us in Norway next season!
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| The Northern Lights, as seen from Cabin 8. | |
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| The lounge by the bar, Lofoten Ski Lodge | |
| Skills Required |
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This trip requires a good level of fitness and very good skiing abilities. On a number of days the total elevation gained is over 3000 feet. Being in good shape will ensure you have enough energy to manage (and have great fun as well!) on the long descents which follow. The reason that skiing skills must be at an advanced to expert level has more to do with the conservation and expenditure of energy over a long day than the absolute technical difficulty of the skiing. There are a few steep sections, but for the most part the slopes are not overly steep. The challenge comes in managing poor snow conditions (heavy wet snow, crud or breakable crust) and not losing too much energy or risking injury in the process. Great skiers look like they are hardly working, and this is in fact the case. If your skiing is not up to par you will spend far, far more energy than a better skier. Ski skills required;
Skiers who regularly enjoy black or double black runs in most western American ski areas should do fine. If you like to get off the piste and into the crud, ski the trees, and in general look for the steeper shots, you'll probably have a great time on this tour. If you tend to stick to the groomed slopes and find the wild untracked a bit intimidating you should think twice about this option. We will likely encounter all different kinds of snow, from the best to the worst, and you need to have sound, energy-efficient strategies to cope with them. A good gauge of your ability can be found in mogul skiing. If you are good in the bumps and seek them out, then you most likely have developed the rhythm and balance needed for steep or difficult snow. You must be able to ski moderate bumps in good conditions, skiing rhythmically and fluidly, following a line near the fall line with good speed control. If you have any doubt about your ability to manage the skiing on this tour, please contact us to see if we can answer your questions. Previous ski touring or mountaineering skills are useful, but not required. If you are a good skier, you will not have difficulty picking up these new skills, as you will already be comfortable on steep slopes. |
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| Skiing down the final slopes to the Morfjorden. | |
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Kathy Cosley &
Mark Houston AMGA Certified • SNGM
members All images, layout and text ©2015 Cosley & Houston Alpine Guides, All Rights Reserved |
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| Skiing on Varden. | |
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| The fishing village of Henningsvær. | |
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| The Lofoten Ski Lodge | |