Arctic Ski Touring Adventure 2019 Trip Report

Day one of the trip started in our Swedish base of Riksgränsen and finished in Norway. After a couple of fun warm up runs on the reds around Riksgränsfjallet, our guides picked a spot for us all to test our avalanche safety gear and knowledge.

It’s been a while and I’m always surprised at how hard-packed the snow can get when digging someone (or in this case, a buried transceiver) out.

Then on to Nordalsfjall and a bootpack up to the top. From here the views are breathtaking, wild and empty with a fairly steep (and equally empty) sweep back down. Next, as the snow started coming down, our trail crossed over the border into Norway to find the best of the snow for more exploring. The run out led to the Bjørnfjell station from where we took the Ofoten Line train back to base.

This is the same line which is used to transport over 15 million tonnes of iron ore each year and you’ll see the rustic-looking cargo wagons trundling past regularly on their journey between Narvik and Kiruna and on to Stockholm. All in all a very fun day and a happy group!

Arctic adventure day two took us to Narvik for the group’s first ski touring experience. There’s no getting away from the incredible views of the fjord and Narvik town here, a wonderful backdrop while we learnt how to transition from skiing to touring mode, techniques for traversing and kick-turning, and back to skiing mode.

From there, skills mastered, we jumped on the new gondola at Narvik base for a bump start to our hike, then skinned up a further 600 metres to access an impressive ridge, untracked from yesterday’s snowfall.

Our guide picked a beautiful run down, making the most of those views, along with imparting some of the history of the town below. I loved the story of the Sleeping Queen and Narvik's King's Road, the connection between which still dictates today that no high-rise buildings can be constructed which obstruct a clear view between the King and the Sleeping Queen.

We’d definitely earned a beer and all agreed we were up for more uphill tomorrow!

For day three in the Arctic, we chose to explore the backcountry accessed from Björkliden. Just half an hour from Riksgränsen, this is where you get the best snapshot of the stunning U-shaped Lapporten Mountain, known as the Gateway to the Arctic. From here we took a snowcat up to Låktatjåkko Lodge, a cosy wooden cabin, home to Sweden’s highest bar and reportedly the best waffles in the world.

We can vouch for those, and you also get bottomless, and very good, coffee, the perfect refill for the onward tour.

An almost effortless 200 metres skinning up from here provided the goods - a very fun run down to where our van and guide were waiting.

Day four in the Arctic and we chose to explore the area around Abisko - a stunning national park which boasts the best conditions in the world for seeing the Aurora Borealis in all its glory. Naturally there was no sign of the lights in the brilliant sunshine. Instead, after a bump up on a wonderfully ancient chair, we found moose and wolverine trails among some entertaining cruising, the odd steep and, of course, the incredible ever-present view of Lapporten.

Actual moose and wolverine were not the only things we didn’t see this day – there were no people either. Just as well the group is getting along so well, and all agreed earned turns are the best!

Arctic adventure day five brought an extra element of fun as our group decided that snowmobiling across the huge, frozen Lake Torneträsk would be an excellent way to access our touring spot. The journey was stunning! There is nothing like thundering over this great frozen expanse with the wilderness unfolding all around. The contrast once the machines stopped to the perfect serenity as we put on our skins for the tour up was immense. Although this was the biggest vertical we had attempted so far, around 800 metres, the experience was bliss.

Our run back down took us to a little mountain hut where we enjoyed bowls of bouillabaisse and muffins in the hot sun on its wooden veranda.

Day six and a slight hitch in the plans due to a strike at Scandinavian Airlines. This meant that Rich and I had to make a 17 hour journey to Stockholm to catch our onward flight. We were so disappointed to miss the last (and what looked like a very fun) day ski touring in another different area. The train ride was actually beautifully scenic, very comfortable and is part of the experience on our Åre and the Arctic Ski Safari.

A few of our group had to make the decision on whether to travel with us on the earlier train with a sleeper carriage, which would mean missing the last day of ski touring, or take the busier evening train with only seats left, and enjoy the last day of the trip. We're delighted they chose to ski, and many thanks to our group for entertaining us with photo updates of the day, and to our guides for looking after them so well!