“Kayak daytrip to Skarsfjord with beach clean up” May 22 2022

… this was the Facebook event I was invited to some weeks ago. It was an event organised by people from TSI Trulle, the other kayak association, but it was open for non-members, too. The idea was to start a kayak tour in Skarsfjord on the island Ringvassøya, paddle to a beach, clean it, cross the fjord to another beach, clean it, too, relax and paddle back. We were eight people joining the tour from five different countries.

Our tour does not start on the water. It starts with carrying kayaks to a trailer, use lashing straps to fix them there, packing all equipment into two cars and some driving.

After 50 km – one hour drive – we arrive at the parking place by the sea, where we unstrap the kayaks and get everything ready including testing the sprayskirts and the footboards. Things you can do on land as well as you see.

It always takes some time to put on the drysuit, check that everything is packed and working but then we all sit in our kayaks and are ready to paddle to our first destination: The islet Teistholmen.

We leave the kayaks there, take a huge rubbish bag each and start combing the shore of the island. Most of the rubbish is on the northwest side of the island that is most exposed to the elements. Mostly it is plastic from fishing. Parts of old green nets, buoys from small to football size and then of course all the civilisation garbage as empty (or half-full) bottles, styrofoam and some nasty stuff. But it’s not extremely much.

After collecting I take a stroll over the green island. Hard to imagine, that I did a ski tour the day before.

After a while and some lunch we continue our triangular tour, now crossing the fjord Skarsfjorden to another beach. You can see the rubbish bags on our kayaks. We were very lucky that there is no mentionable wind, because with side winds the huge bags would act as sails and turn the kayaks into the wind. But without any wind and waves it was easy to cross the fjord.

When we reach the beautiful sandy beach it turns out that this is not the beach to be cleaned. The location that the organiser has in mind is a bit further away. So we continue a bit to arrive at a rocky shore that looked much less inviting than the sandy beach and a bit more difficult to land.

But it looks like that we would collect a lot of more trash here, and so we do. There is a lot of plastic trash, scrap metal (that we left alone) and driftwood for making fires for months. Some of us are collecting large amounts of plastic. It is obviously too much to be transported on our kayaks. But we are lucky and get help by two locals living on an island nearby. They load their whole boat full with our filled rubbish bags to take care of it. You can hear the motor of their boat for a while after they departed. Tusen takk – thousand thanks!

While others have collected more rubbing some of us have started a fire. Time to tell stories, eat a second lunch or just relax.

Anyhow, it is a day trip and so we leave this place, some of us with extra rubbish bags that didn’t make it on the motor boat. We pass the ship wreck, that we already spotted on the way there. It was washed ashore this winter while the captain was asleep because the anchor did not hold. He was not harmed but the ship was totally destroyed.

We are so lucky with the weather! Not much sun, but hardly any wind, no rain and much warmer than the weeks before. We paddle back to the parking place, the cars are visible as a small grey and a small white dot. The water is extremely clear and of a turquoise colour that makes the sea look Caribbean – until you put your hands into the water and realise how cold it is. This is, why drysuits are a must on such tours even under perfect conditions. Safety first!

And then we are back. Some of us train rescue manoeuvres, some of us relax, some collect trash (oh my, here you could collect for days :-( ). Then we put all kayaks back on the trailer, drive back to the boat house where we put all kayaks back in the boat houses. Then we are ready to leave.

Thank you guys for inviting me, letting joining me and having a great day together. Hopefully I meet some of you again. Would be a pleasure!

A sunny ski tour to Bønntuva May 20 2022

Three weeks ago I made a ski tour to mountain summit Bønntuva. There was a layer of half a metre of fresh snow and it snowed so much, that navigation was quite demanding.

This morning I decided to take a day off and do a ski tour to Bønntuva again, because finally the weather is sunny and warmer. No snowfall, no sleet, no stacked cloud layers, just a blue sky.

Same routine: Park the car, buy a ticket for Fjellheisen, the cable car and check, how much snow has melted away from the swing and the slide on the playground. Well, not much!

The playground at the summit station is still snowed in

But you see the difference. Patches of heather and more rocks are visible. The cabin Steinbøhytta however is still snowed in, too.

The cabin Steinbøhytta is still snowed in as well

The only other skier, that started with me – you see him on the first photo – is far ahead and so I have the mountains for myself.

Thanks to my short climbing skins that you can hook into the skis and the easy conditions I reach the the summit of Bønntuva earlier than expected. Time for a short rest and a photo with self-timer. (To the right the selfie from 19 days before ;-) )

The view is marvellous. It’s mountains everywhere. Some are rocky, some are snowy. Some are steep, some are rounded. Some are by the fjords, others amidst other mountains. So beautiful!

After the break I decide to ski back. I am pretty nervous because the snow is fast and I am a lousy downhill skier. Where other carve beautiful sinus waves into the snowy slopes I walk more zigzag. Anyhow I manage to ski down the Bønntuva (which is not steep at all). Now I start to meet other people. Some on skis, some with hiking boots, because the snow is quite compact. I use one track of a skier to bypass the summit of Fløya – a good track, that slowly leads downwards.

After I pass the cabin I unmount my backcountry skis to walk down a steeper passage. Then I mount them again and all of a sudden I feel a bit more comfortable. I have a bit more control and can even do some bends by ploughing. Nice! Next year I should stand more on my skis! But this I say every spring. We will see what next winter has in store for me.

I arrive at the summit station ten minutes before the cable car goes down. Time to take a photo of Tromsø on the island Tromsøya and the mountains of the island Kvaløya in the background.

Then it’s time to leave the winter, go down by cable car and then stop the parking timer in the app, because parking at Fjellheisen is expensive!

Just a short afterwork mountain walk May 18 2022

19:00 – sun is shining. Too beautiful the evening to stay inside. 19:30 – I park at the lake Finnviksvatnet on the island Kvaløya. It is at 230 m altitude and covered with a thick layer of snow. You see the lake as the foreground on the first photo. Outside temperature +1 °C, colder than in town. The only other person I see comes dome the snowy slope, skis in the hands. I only have rubber boots. Let’s see, how far I’ll come.

Not very far (round 2.2 km and perhaps 200 m in altitude) because walking through old snow is exhausting and I’m still a bit groggy from being sick for some days. But alas, Tromsø and surroundings are so beautiful! At least on the rare occasions where the sun is actually shining – a rare pleasure in Tromsø it seems to me.

17 May aboard the ship Hermes II May 17 2022

Today it is 17 May, the Norwegian National Day. People say “Gratulerer med dagen!” (Happy Birthday!) to each other to celebrate Norway’s Birthday in the year 1814. The rest of the history I won’t tell here, you can read it better in the net, for example on Wikipedia.

While I was in Sweden last year I am in Tromsø today and so I was able to join the celebrations. Last week I got an ad for joining the boat parade on the wooden boat Hermes II, build 1917. That sounded fun and I directly bought one of the extraordinary cheap tickets. Would be nice to be outside on the water this day. And so it was, even in snowfall and sleet and temperatures round 1–2 °C.

Hermes II lies in the very center of Tromsø. I’ve passed it many times, today I entered it at 10 o’clock. Slowly the boat filled up. Some women were clad in bunad. These traditional clothes are very beautiful but I doubt that they provide the best weather protection. Check the video linked below. Other people choose more pragmatic clothes to stay warm and dry. At 10:30 we departed, headed north and met other boats there. In a group of fifteen boats – Hermes II, some SAR boats, the rest private ones – we then headed back to the center. Nothing extreme, just a especially nice way to be outside.

Some photos from today:

Other boats waiting for the parade to start

Also on board was NRK, the Norwegian TV. I can recommend the video, even when you do not speak Norwegian.

Watch it here: 17. mai-feiring på båt i Tromsø (2:44, Norwegian).

Spring day in Tromsø May 16 2022

After weeks of snowfall and cold rain some kind of spring came to Tromsø. Main feature: several hours of sunshine and two-digit temperatures. I take a promenade and see tussilago and primroses blooming almost everywhere.

When you however do not crouch on the ground for taking photos of flowers but go to the beach and look west you see that winter is still remaining in the mountains. At least from the distance their peaks look as white and pure as weeks ago.

This article should have been published on Saturday, two days ago, but I was sick and slept a lot the whole weekend.

Now cloudy weather and temperatures round 3 °C have returned to Tromsø. Business as usual?

Mai snow in Tromsø May 4 2022

2 May – shall it be spring soon?

With melting snow, slush and strawberries (from the Netherlands)?

Yesterday, 3 May – no.

Today, 4 May – definitely no!

8 cm of fresh snow fell over night. Beside the roads there’s even a layer of crusty, old snow.

If the weather forecast is right, a lot of rain will wash the snow away, but not before the weekend. Let’s see, how long you have to read those “still snow”articles, but when there’s snow, I’ll post about snow.

A late winter ski tour May 1 2022

It has snowed the whole week and yesterday I finally took the opportunity to do a ski tour in the mountains. Since I’m not a downhill skier I chose the Fløyfjellet area on the mainland. There it is hilly, but not steep and you can take the cable car Fjellheisen to Storsteinen (421 m). The four-minute ride is expensive but worth it.

I’ve been there several times but never with skis.

I put on the skins and go outside. What are these funny snowed in thingies? The left one could be a slide. I remember the playground here. And behind that? Is it not a fence but a swing!? So much snow?

Note: Yes, it’s a slide and a swing. I found an older photo of mid-October 2020 for comparison.

I start my tour at Fjellstua, the mountain station of the cable car. It has stopped snowing and the sun comes out. I pass Steinbøhytta. It looks quite snowed in, but this cabin is built into the mountain.

Navigation to Fløya is easy when it’s clear because of the huge waymark with the wind vane. The summit itself is marked with the typical stone heap.

It’s just 12 o’clock when I reach Fløya and I continue skiing south. I am completely alone and beside of snow and some small, isolated rocks there is not much to see.

It starts snowing and gradually the snow fall intensifies until the visibility is between 50 and 100 metres. Not much in a snowy landscape. I see a small single rock, but nothing more.

Where is Bønntuva (or Romssavákkivárri), the next summit? I use compass and the Varsom app for navigation but I zigzag a bit anyhow. I realise that I go uphills. A good sign, when you want on a mountain. I’m almost at the top when I see the waymark. It’s a large but shallow pile of stones, almost completely snowed in. Time for a “summit selfie” and a break.

And then – all of the sudden – the clouds disappear and the sun comes out and instead of 50 m visibility it’s 15 kilometres and more.

After a short break I ski further south. Here I meet the first other people, two touring skiers. I enjoy the sun, the calmness, the view, the colours while skiing a long circle back.

Panoramic selfie in the wintry mountains

And soon the next snow appears. As fast as the sky cleared up visibility is very poor again and I have some difficulties navigating again.

I head west and then north again. The snow depth is 50-60 cm in average and my skis sink 15–20 cm into the snow with every step. Visibility has become much better again but everything looks dull in the grey, snowy weather. I’m exhausted. Time to take a break.

Still an hour to go, but at least it goes mostly downhills. Step. Step. Step. Looking up. Step. Step. Step.

Not far from the station I meet three women. They sit on huge camping mats in the snow and are cooking something. Their skis stuck in the snow and serve as a backrest. This looks cosy! We exchange a few words, then I continue. When I arrive at the mountain station I take a souvenir photo of Tromsøya. Ten minutes later I stand in the cable car on my way down. Five minutes later I stand by my car and stop the parking because this is expensive as well.

In the center of Tromsø it is thaw and a mixture of wet snow, soft ice and brown slush covers ways and roads. I’m glad that I had this wonderful day in the mountains though photo motives were a bit rare due to the poor visibility. Now I think it would be a good time for spring!

April snow in Tromsø Apr 29 2022

On Monday evening, the 25 April it started to snow.

Tuesday, 26 April 2022

On Tuesday it was snowing and temperatures were below zero.

Still some flowers peeked through the snow.

Wednesday, 27 April 2022

On Wednesday it was snowing and temperatures were below zero.

Some heavy snow squalls covered everything with snow.

Heavy snow squall in the center of Tromsø

In the evening I took a winter bath at the beach of Telegrafbukta and then took a photo of the snow figure by the stairs.

Thursday, 28 April 2022

Yesterday on Thursday it was snowing and temperatures were below zero.

It was fun to kayak through the snow after work.

Friday, 29 April 2022

Today on Friday it has been snowing and temperatures have been (mostly) below zero.

The snowflakes have become thicker.

This afternoon snow depth was 25–30 cm. The snow figure was snowed in to the neck and the stairs have disappeared in the snow.

Thursday, 19 Mai 2022 …

In 20 days there will be the first polar day. Then the sun does not set for more than seven weeks. Midnight sun!

Summer is near but incredibly well hidden.

The first Thursday paddling in Tromsø Apr 28 2022

Today was the first torsdagspadling (Thursday paddling) of the Tromsø havpadleklubb, one of the two large kayak associations in Tromsø. Now we have enough light in the evening that you can take tours after work and it’s not so cold anymore. Well, kind of …

While it is not my first kayak tour this year – I paddled for example four weeks ago in Sweden– it is my first one in Tromsø and most of all the first one with others. We were nine paddlers today, eight experienced kayakers and me, the beginner. Fortunately the tempo was low and wind and waves were not demanding. So I could follow without any problems.

First everything went wrong. I could not book a kayak in the internet. Then I could reserve it but not pay it. Then one zipper of my neoprene boots was jammed. Then I could not close my drysuit zipper. Then I lost a part of my waterproof iPhone bag. Then I could not find my woollen cap. And so on. And so on. But with a lot of help of my fellow paddlers I finally was on the water. And luckily someone remembered me to attach the spray deck. (In Sweden I hardly use it.)

Oh – so nice to paddle again!

It took perhaps 15 minutes until we were right in the first snow shower. Not unexpected, since it had been snowing in Tromsø for three days now and we have subzero temperatures and at least 20 cm of snow on the ground. It was so beautiful with the sun peeking through holes in the clouds while the snow was falling.

But between the showers the sun came out.

Until the next shower. Now we were quite near the bay Telegrafbukta which is in the direct neighbourhood of my apartment. There I had taken a winter bath yesterday (water: 3.5 °C), now we approached it by kayak. We slowed down a bit – time for discussing paddle technique or to go ashore and re-adjust the footrests.

We did not go on land because the weather was not too inviting. So we paddled back against the sun and through a new snow shower. This time the wind increased a bit and we got even some waves on our way back.

Round two hours and eight or nine kilometres later we arrived at the club houses of the Tromsø havpadleklubb. Time to dry the kayaks, put them back and change to more civil clothes.

Takk for turen – thanks for the tour – I’ll be there next Thursday!

A hike to the Sørtinden between the seasons Apr 24 2022

After a springlike Easter week in southern Sweden I travelled back to my “work town” Tromsø on Easter Monday. Yesterday I was outdoors in the fjell. –the first time since the end of January.

What kind of tour will I go for? Is it skis or rubber boots? Let’s pack both, take the car to the parking place by the road 863 on the island Kvaløya and have a look.

OK. Let’s take boots! I lock the car and start crossing the bogs. Some parts are still frozen, others bounce like a wet sponge when being crossed. The terrain rises and soon my boots trudge through snow. Snow is still deep but so compact that I hardly sink more than 5–20 cm.

I slowly ascent the mountain landscape and leave the trees behind. Soon I reach the top of the hill Skavlikollen.

I continue north. I put off my jacket because I am sweating in the warm sun. I realise that I forgot a sun blocker and take my buff for protection. (It worked – no sunburn the next day!) While the higher mountains are still covered with snow I walk also on rocks and heather. The hilly and mountainous landscape looks beautiful in the sunny weather.

After round about 6 km I reach the top of Sørtinden (471 m). I’ve been there twice (1), (2), but only in autumn.

Here I take a rest and enjoy the view of mountains and fjords. I start to freeze and I’m glad about my down hoodie that fits into the camera backpack. The sun provides warmth but the air temperature is hardly above zero.

I choose another way back but get a bit “photo-lazy”. For the birch at the slope however I’ll take my camera out of the backpack.

Partly it is easy to walk down the snowy hills because you can glide, but parts of the snow has softened by the sun and more than once I break into knee deep snow. After 11.5 km of walking and snow trudging I arrive at the car. From there it’s only 20 minutes by car home.

That’s a good start for #onceaweek– my plan to make a new tour every week. Let’s see what I’ll do next weekend. When I look at next week’s weather forecast it might be a ski tour.