The snow is melting May 14 2025

Fifteen days ago: 98 cm of snow in Tromsø, measured at an elevation of 100 metres. Yesterday – two weeks later – 31 cm of snow are left. And so my walk home also looked like. Somewhere between the winter still hesitating but spring approaching anyhow.

Tomorrow the summer working hours start and till September I’ll have to work only seven hours a day. Yay!

The following day my car will get summer tyres.

And on Sunday – four days from now – the time of the polar days start where the sun won’t set before 26 July.

The first Thursday paddling in Tromsø 2025 May 8 2025

End of April winter in Tromsø Apr 29 2025

When I woke up yesterday morning (28. April) and looked outside the window of my living room I was pretty surprised. I didn’t rain in the night, it had been snowing.

Round 15 cm of fresh snow had fallen within the last six hours and everything looked wintry again. In the centre of Tromsø however, 88 metres lower in elevation than my apartment only five cm of snow had fallen and the cars had smashed it to brown slush. What a difference!

Home again I watched a ptarmigan in the back yard. First it picked on a twig of a tree, then it dug itself into the snow and rested there for some hours. Couldn’t it see me behind the window pane or did it just ignore me? In the night it was gone.

Today I took my skis to work so that I could ski back home from the lake Prestvannet. This time the forecast was correct: we got a blue sky, the sun was shining at temperatures round +3 °C. At the harbour in the centre the view was quite spring-like.

Taking the bus from the center up to Prestvannet takes only 5 minutes, but there it is still winter season with snow depths round 90 cm. It’s astonishing what a difference in altitude of less than 100 metres can do.

Time to ski back, preferably not on the tracks but through the forests. After four kilometres on skis and 840 metres by foot I was home.

Two promenades on Tromsøya Apr 25 2025

Easter Monday – from Sydspissen to home

On Easter Monday we got surprisingly fine weather in Tromsø. The sun was shining and the sky was blue. I took the bus to Sydspissen – the southern tip of Tromsøya – because it has been ages since I’ve been there. A lot of snow has melted away and tussilago was blooming everywhere. I passed the beach at Telegrafbukta and the pier at Folkeparken came into view. I know the this area well, because I lived nearby for quite some time.

I went on, enjoying the sun and ignoring the chilly wind. Don’t let your eyes fool you, the max temperature was about +2 °C. I passed the old boat house Engenesnaustet, saw a lonely winter kayaker and passed the small lighthouse.

I was not alone. A lot of other people took the holiday to take a promenade, sit side by side or do some barbecuing. I took the liberty to remove some people from the photos.

I wondered if the old, abandoned boathouse was still open? It was. A bit away from the shore there was some leftover snow. The tussilago flowers didn’t care, they were blooming anyhow.

Now it was not far away to the boat houses of the two kayak clubs in Tromsø. TSI Trulle and Tromsø Havpadleklubb. Here I start all my kayak tours in Tromsø, because my own kayak is in Obbola in Swede, so I use to hire one here. Season has just started and I want to paddle a lot this year!

At the bus stop Giæverbukta I missed my bus. 28 minutes of waiting or two kilometres of walking? Easy decision: I walked.

It was fascinating that the coast was mostly free of snow, while MET, the meteorological institute inside the island measured a snow depth of about 80 cm that day. At an elevation of 100 metres. And so the walk became snowy in the end. But spring showed up here as well: some willows had started to bloom.

Intermezzo – more snow

Yesterday afternoon it started snowing. Some snow showers were pretty dense. And sometimes I got one of my favourite weathers: snow flurry and sun at the same time. So beautiful. I tried to take pictures but the result became quite ugly, because the snow against the camera looks dark.

This morning ten more centimetres of snow have fallen, even in the lowland areas. All Scilla flowers in the centre were covered in snow and for the photo I had to look to find some flowers not being completely buried.

Friday (today) – from Prestvannet to home

I use to walk home twice a week after work. Then I take the bus to the lake Prestvannet to skip the boring (and steep) parts. Today I do the same. Additional snow showers have increased the snow depth to 92 cm, but it has started clearing up, when I begin my way home at 15:00. The fresh snow gives the lake an untouched appearance and the first lifebuoy is snowed over almost completely. Could it be January? No, the light is different.

I follow the ski trail a bit then I follow the smaller paths. They have hardly been used today, mostly by a single skier or pedestrian.

But then I come to an area where the snowy paths are completely untouched. No one has used them today. Imagine that: You are on a island with 43000 inhabitants. Many of them are enthusiastic skiers and outdoor maniacs. It is Friday afternoon and the sun is shining. And I trudge through 15 cm of untouched fresh snow. This is absolutely brilliant; I’ve never experienced anything like this before!

Statsraad Lehmkuhl Apr 20 2025

Shortly before nine I stood on the shore of southern Tromsøya and looked southwards. There she was – the three-masted barque Statsraad Lehmkuhl.

This ship left Bergen nine days ago where it had started the one-year One Ocean Expedition 2025–2026. Today Statsraad Lehmkuhl arrived in Tromsø from where she will sail on to Reykjavík in two days.

I have started loving ships more and more over the years, especially as a way to approach the Arctic. Today there was the opportunity to visit Statsraad Lehmkuhl and so I boarded and looked around. What a beauty!

There is one part of the expedition that I would love to join, but it is chartered by UiT, the Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø. In August Statsraad Lehmkuhl will sail from Nuuk, Greenland through the Northwest Passage to Cambridge Bay, Canada. By friend Chris will join this cruise and I have to admit that I envy her. What an adventure!

On board, I met one of the organisers from UiT. To my surprise it wasn’t entirely impossible to join the cruise. However, my excitement vanished in an instant when I heard about the costs, that were far beyond my budget. Well, one can always dream!

Watching birds and enjoying the sun Apr 19 2025

Today my friend Chris and I took a road trip to the island Kvaløya, Norway’s fifth largest island. It was snowing, but the weather forecast was promising. Our first stop was “Eidehandel” – a local grocery store – in Eidkjosen. The second stop was Tisnes to check for migratory birds. They weren’t many, it may be still too early, but we saw small groups of greylag geese and some Eurasian curlews. The latter ones are recognisable by their large bent beak. When I took some photos I realised how beautiful they are when flying.

We continued following the southern coastal road where we spotted a flock of smaller birds. Two friends on Facebook confirmed it: These are snow buntings.

We saw Eurasian oystercatchers on different places. At the bay Austeinvika I used the opportunity to take some photos. The forecast was correct. It had stopped snowing and the sun had came out.

From there it was not far to the island Sommarøya where we took a lunch break eating the food we bought at Eidehandel. The sky was blue but in the wind it was still chilly. I was glad about wearing a woollen sweater plus a winter anorak. When we were full we left the rest of the food in the car and took a stroll over the hills. Sommarøya is incredible in all seasons because of the combinations of shallow bays with turquoise water and sandy coral beaches and the view of the high mountains of Kvaløya and the islands around.

And if you send your drone into the air and take a photo from above you see, how ridiculously turquoise and clear the water is. Like in the Caribbean as long as you ignore the water temperature.

When I came home in the late afternoon it started snowing again.

Translations:

English	German	Norwegian
graylag goose	Graugans	grågås
Eurasian curlew	Großer Brachvogel	storspove
snow bunting	Schneeammer	Snøspurv
Eurasian oystercatcher	Austernfischer	tjeld

Looks still like winter – mostly … Apr 17 2025

Yesterday I was working from home in my flat in Tromsø when an outside movement caught my eye. A ptarmigan was passing by in the snow covered garden. It went to a birch tree, picked a bit at the branches and continued its lunch walk. That was a nice work interruption.

In the afternoon I was out for a walk. The small bog pond looked quite wintry but I wouldn’t cross it anymore.

The cross-country ski trails seem to be in a good shape. People are still skiing there but some wet areas beside the trails start thawing.

I passed the ski lodge – now closed for the saison – and went down the gravel road. The snow on the road looks grey and is no real snow anymore, but pure slush.

Today it was warm and rainy and more rain is to come tomorrow. Then we may get some snowy days again. I adore snow, but I also love spring. I’m curious when the snow will have melted away in Tromsø this year and when birches start getting their green leaves.

I can’t ski, but I do Apr 12 2025

Let’s face it. I am a lousy skier. My technique is mediocre when I ski uphills and reduces to ε > 0 when I ski downhills. With the lack of technique there is empty space for panic that settles in when I’ve got too fast. But I do love skiing so I do it anyhow. And that’s a thing I’m slightly proud of.

Today I wanted to used the beautiful winter day to do something with skiing. I take the car to the neighbouring island Kvaløya with two destinations in mind: Kattfjordvatnet or Finnviksdalen/Krabbelvdalen. On the bridge to Kvaløya I make up my decision: Finnviksdalen/Krabbelvdalen. More possibilities. So I turn right.

At 10 o’clock I start my tour from the car park by the road 863 and head in the usual direction. Well, that didn’t work, the mountain stream is open. So let’s take the bridge by the car park. That works. I have to cross another mountain river but that is easier, since it is covered with ice floes easy to cross.

I realise, that I already have made up my mind: Going up the mountains to Kraknesaksla (335 m) or to the Jerremaš (467 m). It’s the mountains massif behind these trees:

I check the avalanche situation in the Varsom app. Looks good! So I continue the tour although I am surprisingly bad prepared: I have forgotten the sun blocker and something to drink. The sun has come out and I use my anorak hood to protect against the radiation although it is a bit too warm. And water I can drink from the next stream, although I do not get a lot using only one hand for scooping.

The terrain descends a bit, I cross a ski trail. Then it ascends and I am skiing uphills. Mostly I zigzag because I do not have climbing skins with me either. That is working better than excepted. When I look down behind me I get a bit nervous. Every metre I climb up I’ll have to ski downhills later. Did I mention, that I am a lousy skier? I think so.

But I feel always so rewarded when I am above the timberline leaving all trees below.

I pass the small cabins by the two small lakes whose name I do not know …

… and head to the mountain top Kraknesaksla. Since I have been above the timberline I have beautiful views on the sounds east of Kvaløya. First Sandnessundet, then Kvalsundet. That’s so fascinating, this together of sea and mountains. Down there – the island Tromsøya where I have my “work home”.

At the cairn on the summit of Kraknesaksla I have to put of my skis. Too icy and too many rocks. But what a view!

I continue my tour. For a while I can see the Kvalsundet, …

… then I leave the eastern slope behind and head to the next mountain. While I have been alone for a while I now can see some other skiers in the distance. The weather is constantly changing and so the light. Sometimes it is cloudy that the snow is without any contrast at all. That makes it impossible to tell if the ground slopes up or down. And then, minutes later, the sun comes out, the sky is blue and I can “read” the snow again.

I reach the top of the Jerremaš (also called Austeråsfjellet) but here I’m not alone. Three skiers are sitting by the cairn enjoying the sun. So – no photo here. Anyhow I’ve got quite thirsty again and decide now to take a break. Now comes the part where I have to ski down and it wouldn’t have been so hard because the slope is not so steep and there is plenty of space. However more clouds have been gathering and it even started snowing a bit. Visual terrain information: not available. Colours neither.

Hmm, I don’t like skiing downhills in these weather conditions. When I finally reach the first sparse birch forests I am relieved, because now I can estimate how steep the slope is. Slowly I continue skiing down, passing another stream that is mostly snowed over.

After more zigzagging down I reach Finnviksdalen, the other valley. This looks pretty different from Krabbelvdalen because of the prepared cross-country ski trails. There are also more people around. From now on it is a bit more about skiing and less about taking photos. The last ones I make show the trail and the hexagonal cabin where skiers use to take breaks.

Cross country ski trail in Finnviksdalen

I however am very thirsty and quite exhausted and so I continue to the car park where a bottle of water awaits me. 17.5 km skiing and – according to the Runners app – 603 metres in altitude later todays skiing has ended. As always: I’ve never regretted being outside and this was another example of having a great day.

The following events: buying sushi and a coke · driving home · eating · taking a hot shower · taking a nap · being pretty lazy · talking to Annika on the phone · editing today’s photos · writing this blog article.

Blowing snow Apr 8 2025

It looks like winter has come back to Tromsø. At four o’clock the temperature fell below zero, at 17:30 the first heavy snow shower arrived and at 22:00 we got wind gusts up to 18 m/s. It’s not a lot of snow that fell, but the wind gusts take the snow from the ground and blow it through the streets in metre high clouds. Winter parka time, at least when I took this photo.

Blowing snow in front of my door in Tromsø

Visiting Kronprins Haakon Apr 6 2025

Last Thursday I visited the icebreaker Kronprins Haakon in the port of Tromsø. Not to join an expedition but only for a couple of hours. I wanted to check some code that is supposed to run on the ship later this year. This is part of my work as a software developer and data manager at the Norwegian Polar Institute. When I run code in the office I always have to simulate the systems running on the vessel and I was glad that the software actually worked with the real ship’s system as intended.

“Takk for sist” – thanks for the last time – you say in Norway, when you haven’t seen each other for a while. I’ve been on several cruises with Kronprins Haakon and so I know part of the crew and they know me. “Takk for sist, Roy”. “Takk for sist, Ronny”. “Takk for sist. (I forgot your name, sorry.)”

This year, the budget is far too tight to allow me another cruise and no one knows next year’s budget. But three expeditions I’ve done already. Since I’m a software developer I wrote some code to create the ship’s tracks from these expeditions as “GeoJSON”, a file format that you can easily load in the open source GIS software QGIS. Here is a Screenshot I made. Greenland to the left, Svalbard to the right:

Tracks of Kronprins Haakon on the cruises I joined.

Arven etter Nansen JC3 · Arctic Ocean 2023 I · Fram Strait 2024

Just now (2025-04-06T19:31:54Z) Kronprins Haakon is in the Svovelbukta in southern Spitsbergen. I however will continue office work in Tromsø tomorrow and improve the code I’ve written. Hopefully I can try it out again when Kronprins Haakon is in Tromsø again. There are several opportunities.

Older articles >

Easter Monday – from Sydspissen to home

Intermezzo – more snow

Friday (today) – from Prestvannet to home

Links

Translations: