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Skiing: Vargabreen from Finse

Date:
10.05.2025
Characteristic:
Backcountry skiing
Duration:
6:43h
Distance:
24.7km

Three weeks after my ascents of Flakavassnutane and Såtehjallane I was back at Finse for what would most likely be the last skiing trip of the season. After safely crossing to the other side of the train tracks, I started on the marked winter route towards Geiterygghytta before later turning west in Såtedalen and briefly following the marked winter route to Hallingskeid. The final off-trail ascent to the highest point at Vargabreen was straightforward and it was easy to find a route that avoided all of the steeper areas. After a lunch break at the summit I made the short detour north to the only slightly lower northern summit before turning back and descending along the same route. A descent that turned out a bit more complicated than expected given that I at the top had discovered that the soles of my ski boots, which were only two years old, were in the process of detaching from the rest of the >>>

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Skiing: Flakavassnutane and Såtehjallane from Finse

Date:
20.04.2025
Characteristic:
Backcountry skiing
Duration:
5:04h
Distance:
18.9km

Two days after my skiing trip from Hallingskeid to Nyrjuven I was back on the train from Bergen but this time taking the train one stop further and getting off at Finse . After safely crossing the train tracks I put on the skis and started on the marked winter route to Klemsbu . Around 1 km before the cabin I however left the marked route and headed more directly northeast towards Flakavassnutane . South of the summit I shortly reconnected with the marked route before finding my own way to the top, arriving at the large cairn without any difficulties. Excellent views from the summit, even though the sunshine promised by the weather forecast never materialized. A cold wind resulted in a short stay and after a couple of pictures I descended along the same route before following the marked route west to Klemsbu. I had initially considered to also include Vargabreen on today's trip >>>

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Skiing: Nyrjuven/Osaskavlen from Hallingskeid

Date:
18.04.2025
Characteristic:
Backcountry skiing
Duration:
4:56h
Distance:
16.4km

After spending the first half of Easter in Sogndal, I was now back in Bergen and after a night at home I got up early to take the train to Hallingskeid with the plan to ski to Nyrjuven/Osaskavlen . The sun was shining when the train arrived at Hallingskeid and I could put on the skis immediately after exiting the station from where I headed towards the bridge across Moldo . Given the issues I had had with the missing summer bridge during my recent attempt to cross the river south of Mjølfjell (which I later learnt opened just three days later…), I had in advance made sure that the bridge would in fact be there this time around , and could this easily cross to the other side. Safely across the river, I continued west along Buadalen where I pretty much followed the marked summer route to Osa/Rembesdalsseter until getting to the unnamed 1272 lake southwest of Daurmålsvatnet. From there it was simply a matter of navigating more or less directly west towards >>>

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Helleberget

Date:
15.04.2025
Characteristic:
Backcountry skiing
Duration:
3:10h
Distance:
9.3km

Even though the snow was rapidly melting we managed to keep the skis on all the way from Rindabotn to the summit. Limited snow at the summit and almost no snow for the final part of the descent back to the parking lot.

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Skiing: Nordbotnnuten from Mjølfjell

Date:
05.04.2025
Characteristic:
Backcountry skiing
Duration:
9:31h
Distance:
25.5km

I got up early Saturday morning to catch the first train from Bergen to Mjølfjell where I arrived at 09:00. My plan had been to walk south from the station and cross the river via the bridge to Urlandsstølen to start my ascent to Nordbotnnuten . When getting there I however quickly realized that this would not be possible. The bridge had been taken down for the winter ! I therefore had to come up with an alternative plan to get to the other side. I found two options: the bridge to Hagen (around 1.5 km walk to the southwest) or the bridge at Hellene (around 2 km walk to the east). While the former was a shorter walk and definitely included a permanent bridge, I still decided on Hellene as the terrain from there to Rundavatnet (to connect with my planned ascent route to Nordbotnnuten) looked easier. Upon arriving at Hellene I was therefore very happy to find that this bridge was >>>

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Sør for Meinsperro

Date:
09.02.2025
Characteristic:
Backcountry skiing
Duration:
3:14h
Distance:
7.6km

A short backcountry skiing trip with Endre where we started from the parking lot outside Stordalen Fjellstove and from there followed a marked trail towards Rusta (and Gygrebotnen). At first we had to carry the skis but at just below 700 meters we put them on and kept them on until the summit area at Sør for Meinsperro . The skiing conditions can best be described as highly variable but also with several quite nice sections. We had initially considered continuing to Årsdalsryggen via Fjellvassbu but quickly concluded that this would take too long under the current conditions. After a couple of pictures we therefore returned more or less the same way but managed to keep the skis on for a bit longer than the point where we put them on during the ascent. Towards the end we also followed a wrong set of footprints but still easily found our way back to the parking lot.

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"Strafferunde" towards Hardangerjøkulen...

Date:
17.05.2024
Characteristic:
Backcountry skiing
Duration:
2:28h
Distance:
10.2km

Upon returning to Finse after completing Jøkulrunden I now had two choices: forget about the lost climbing skin and simply take the train back to Bergen or make a second ascent towards Hardangerjøkulen in an attempt to locate the skin and take the next train instead. After a short break I decided on the latter and started my "strafferunde" across Finsevatnet. During my ascent to Appelsinhytta I asked several of the skiers coming the other way if they had seen a single orange climbing skin during their descent but none had. Just below Appelsinhytta I spotted something in the distance that looked promising, however it turned out to be a small stuffed animal (more on than later), and my search had to continue. But not long after Appelsinhytta, shortly before the marked route takes a sharp left turn, I again spotted something in the distance >>>

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Jøkulrunden on May 17th!

Date:
17.05.2024
Characteristic:
Backcountry skiing
Duration:
4:46h
Distance:
22.5km

For the first time I decided to have a go at celebrating May 17th (Norway's constitution day) at Finse. I therefore took the morning train from Bergen to Finse where I was ready to start skiing shortly after the train arrived at 10:30. As expected I was far from alone and could simply follow the constant stream of skiers heading towards Hardangerjøkulen . The so-called Jøkulrunden, a roundtrip via the highest point of the glacier, is also marked with wooden sticks during the spring but these were not really needed today. While I had started from Finse in a T-shirt, and many others were skiing in shorts, a relatively strong and cold wind resulted in a change to warmer clothing soon after passing by Appelsinhytta . For the same reason, the stops at both Jøkulhytta and the summit were cut short. Before continuing on Jøkulrunden I also >>>

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Onen from Austdalen

Date:
12.05.2024
Characteristic:
Backcountry skiing
Duration:
7:39h
Distance:
20.7km

For the second Sunday in a row I caught an early train to Voss to going skiing with Voss Utferdslag . This time our goal was Onen in Ulvik/Eidfjord . At 08:00 we were transported by bus from Voss to Osa and then up to Austdalen p-plass at around 760 meters above the sea level. During the summer it is possible to drive much further but today we could put on the skies only a couple hundred meters after leaving the parking lot. We followed the road to Austdølvatnet before taking a shortcut up to Langvatnet. When walking along the dam we briefly had to take of the skis a couple of times but we after a lunch break next to the lake we could put the skis back on and begin the final ascent to the summit. The summit was reached without any issues and provided an excellent panoramic view. After a short break next to the summit cairn we returned the same way, including another >>>

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Skiing from Vikafjellet to Bavallen

Date:
05.05.2024
Characteristic:
Backcountry skiing
Duration:
10:26h
Distance:
34.3km

Sunday skiing trip from Vikafjellet to Bavallen organized by the Norwegian Trekking Association , or more specifically Voss Utferdslag . I started by taking an early train to Voss where I met up with the rest of the group for the bus ride to Vikafjellet. We were dropped off at the parking lot at the start of Sendedalen and were finally ready to start skiing shortly before 09:30. After an initial easy start along the lakes in Sendedalen we put on the climbing skins and began the ascent to Rjupeskaret followed by the first descent of the day to Murane where we had our first lunch break. From Murane we ascended towards Blåeggi where I made a short detour on my own to the summit before rejoining the rest of the group just north of Mykjedalsvatnet for the ascent to Skreieggi where we all visited the large summit cairn. We had our second lunch break northwest of Svartenut, where we were joined by a couple >>>

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