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Vardafjellet, Bjørnafjellet and Storanosi

Date:
20.03.2022
Characteristic:
Backcountry skiing
Duration:
5:23h
Distance:
21.5km

Skiing trip organized by The Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT) , or more specifically Voss Utferdslag , with bus transportation from Voss to the parking lot in Brandset and later back to Voss from Ospehaugen p-plass . We started out in excellent sunny weather that was bordering on too warm, but as we ascended towards Vardafjellet the wind started to pick up, so much that we had to delay the lunch break. Initially we were going to pass just north of the summit of Vardafjellet, but after asking nicely, I was allowed to shortly leave the group for a short detour on my own to visit the summit. I quickly returned to the group and we descended to Prinsabotnskaret for a late lunch break in shelter of the strongest wind. Just as we got ready for the ascent to Bjørnafjellet , one of the participants lost her sit pad to the wind and we saw it tumbling over the ridge to the north and disappearing. After a visit of the summit of >>>

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Småbrekkebukken from Småbrekkene

Date:
06.03.2022
Characteristic:
Backcountry skiing
Duration:
5:42h
Distance:
16.9km

For more than a year, Småbrekkebukken had been my last remaining summit on the Samnanger ≥ 100m pf. list . So when The Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT) , or more specifically Voss Utferdslag , organized a guided skiing trip, I was of course among the first to sign up. After taking the train to Voss, I joined the others at Holbergsplass, from where we carpooled to Småbrekkene to start the real trip. We initially followed the marked trail/road towards Gullhorgabu , but after a short break northeast of Småbrekkebukken, we had left the marked trail and instead continued up the valley northwest of the summit. Here we came across an area where most of the snow had been removed by strong winds, and we therefore had to backtrack a bit to find a slightly different route than planned. This however did not present any real issues and after a large U-turn to avoid the steepest areas we soon arrived at the summit, which >>>

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Livarden from Frotveit via Rambjørgvatnet

Date:
25.02.2022
Characteristic:
Backcountry skiing
Duration:
4:00h
Distance:
17.8km

Initial plans to ski across Vidden with a colleague was changed at the last minute due to strong northerly winds and we instead headed for Frotveit and Livarden . This turned out to be a good choice, as except for the final ascent to the summit we pretty much avoided the cold wind. The snow conditions were highly variable. Excellent along the ski tracks, icy in the areas northeast and south of the summit, and everything in between for the descent. Overall, a very nice roundtrip that can be highly recommended.

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Skiing: Fløyen and Rundemanen

Date:
21.02.2022
Characteristic:
Cross-country skiing
Duration:
3:48h
Distance:
18.0km

Left work early to take advantage of the excellent afternoon weather forecast to go skiing. I started by taking the bus to Starefossen and walked up to Skomakerdiket. The skis came on just below Skomakerdiket and stayed on until the small dam north of Storevatnet. Perfect skiing conditions between Rundemanen and Blåmanen, except for a strong and cold wind from the north. Lysløypen was also quite good. Outside of those areas there was plenty of hard snow/ice with lots of footprints that made skiing slightly more difficult than usual.

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Skiing across Vidden

Date:
19.02.2022
Characteristic:
Backcountry skiing
Duration:
5:31h
Distance:
21.5km

With reports of excellent skiing conditions at Byfjellene in the local newspaper we decided on the usual skiing trip across Vidden. Thanks to Ulriksbanen (195 kr per person), we easily arrived at the upper station of the cable car where we could confirm that the conditions were in fact excellent! After a short detour via Turnerhytten and Byfjellenes høyeste punkt , we followed the standard skiing route across Vidden. The only real challenge being the dense fog accompanied by a snow shower occurring just as we started our ascent from Borgaskaret to Vardegga . But thankfully it did not last long and we could soon again enjoy the excellent condition when skiing down to Øvre Jordalsvatnet. The skis stayed on until the small dam north of Storevatnet. We could probably have continued a bit further, but the increasing number of small rocks sticking out of the snow made this less appealing. Overall, a close to perfect skiing trip at Byfjellene!

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Skiing at Fløyen

Date:
11.02.2022
Characteristic:
Cross-country skiing
Duration:
4:09h
Distance:
17.8km

The first skiing trip of 2022! After inspecting the weather forecast for the coming weekend it was very clear that if the recent snow at Fløyen was to be enjoyed at all before it would most likely disappear, it would have to be on the Friday. I therefore pushed all my planned work to the rainy weekend and instead headed for Fløyen via the bus to Starefossen (given that Fløibanen was currently getting an upgrade and not operational). The skis came on just below Skomakerdiket and stayed on until just above Munkebotsvatnet. Except for the last stretch, the skiing conditions were close to perfect! Too bad that most of the snow will probably all be gone after the next couple of rainy days...

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Gullbotn to Espeland via Gullfjelltoppen

Date:
24.04.2021
Characteristic:
Backcountry skiing
Duration:
6:10h
Distance:
20.4km

I was dropped off at the parking lot at Gullbotn , from where I carried the skis up to the actual Gullbotn where I could finally put them on. The conditions for skiing were not the best though, with at times more ice than snow, and along the ridge southeast of the summit of Gullfjelltoppen there were also short stretches without any snow at all. My initial plan had been to descend north via Gullfjellhalsen , Vossavardane and Hotten , but given the limited amount of snow covering the mentioned peaks, combined with a strong cold northerly wind, I instead turned south and followed the normal descent route to Redningshytten , only making a short detour to Hausdalsgullbotntoppen on the way. Note that Korketrekkeren already had several areas without any snow at all. I could however still keep the skis on until getting to Redningshytten. Here I decided to take a detour via Austefjellet , mainly as I was told by a fellow skier >>>

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Skiing: Steinskvanndalen

Date:
11.04.2021
Characteristic:
Backcountry skiing
Duration:
4:04h
Distance:
14.6km

More or less a repeat of our skiing trip in Steinskvanndalen just over a year ago . (Although this time struggling much less with trying to find out where to start skiing from.) Overall excellent conditions for skiing, with freshly made ski trails that could be followed all the way to Øvre Kvanndalsvatnet. Before starting our descent, we made a short off-trail detour in relatively deep snow to the summit of Rundehaugen (the only reason why this trip is labeled backcountry skiing and not cross-country skiing), which provided great views towards the bigger surrounding mountains and a good place to enjoy our lunch. In summary, once again an excellent trip in an area that can be highly recommended for skiing!

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Skiing: Fløyen and Rundemanen

Date:
10.04.2021
Characteristic:
Cross-country skiing
Duration:
3:47h
Distance:
17.5km

We started from the top of Fløibanen and first followed "lysløypen" before heading up to Rundemanen . More snow than expected and overall very good conditions for skiing. Especially for mid-April. Surprisingly we could even ski all the way down to Munkebotsvatnet before the skis had to be carried.

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Trengereidhotten

Date:
13.02.2021
Characteristic:
Backcountry skiing
Duration:
2:40h
Distance:
9.7km

After initially failing to find any free parking spaces at Gullbotn (on either side of the main road), we ended up parking next to the road only a couple hundred meters to the south where there was room for maybe a dozen cars. We then returned on foot to Gullbotn and from there followed the skiing trail west. In order to stay in the sun, we ditched the option of ascending to Kråfjellet and rather headed north to Trengereidhotten , enjoying excellent skiing conditions and next to no wind. The wind however picked up a bit at the summit and we therefore did not stay long before starting our descent and rather taking our short lunch break about halfway back down to Gullbotn. To shorten the walk along the main road we did not return to the main parking lot, but instead passed by Kløverhytten on our way back to the car. Overall, an excellent >>>

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