Between Monday 22nd and Friday 26th of February we had a week off – winter vacation. Our tasked for this week were student self organized field trips in local area as preparation for our mountain safty trip in end of March. Stella, Michael and I had the dream to go to Tromso to see the Northern Lights there, visit the city and go skiing in Troms. In consultation with Len we were allowed to move our local area above the arctic circle and fulfill our plan. We took a plane from Kristiansand via Oslo to Tromso and stayed there from the 22nd to the 29th of February.

On Monday my alarm clock rang at 4:30, I got up had a shower and breakfast and packed the remaining items in my backpack. At 6 o’clock I met Stella and Michael in front of my accommodation and my flatmate drove us to the airport. There, check-in and baggage drop-off was done quickly and boarding started without delay. After the airplane was cleared of ice we started shortly after 7 am to our stopover in Oslo. In Oslo our connection flight to Tromsø was delayed two times which was a loss of time about an hour. We used this time to catch up on our sleep. After we arrived in Tromsø we picked up our baggage but unfortunately our ski bag was missing. Luckily it turned out, that it was in the bag of the conveyor belt. Two busses and a 10 minute walk later we finally arrived at Tromsø Camping. The weather was very sunny but everything was covered by an ice layer whereas it was not funny to walk around. Nevertheless, after moving into our little and cosy hut, we preferred to walk the 2km into the city centre instead of taking the bus. On top of the bridge that connects Tromsø with the mainland we had a nice overview of the city and the surrounding. It was a beautiful scenery with all the yellow-orange mountain tops due to the declining sun, the only thing that was annoying was the high fence and the traffic. It was a never ending line of stinking cars. In town we were collecting information like e.g. the avalanche risks and good spots where you can catch the northern lights. Moreover, we bought a DNT key as well as a map of Troms and last but not least groceries for the two days at the campsite. After these errands it was dark and we went back to cook dinner. The whole evening I was checking the sky for northern lights but nothing happen. Looking up was nearly a kind of reflex after leaving a building.

The next morning there was heavy snow which was good because the slippery ice layer was now covered by snow.  After breakfast Michael, Stella and I walked to the city centre again. This day, we wanted to sightsee the city in a combination with geocaching. I brought my GPS with me and asked if it is okay to pick up some caches. The first one was found by Stella on top of the bridge. At the end of the day we found ten geocaches and of course there were some we did not find but at least we were shown beautiful places in town you normally won’t go to. That’s one of the things I love geocaching for.

We walked around for one and a half hours and I was a little bit surprised of the city due to all the traffic and the people. Instead, I expected Tromsø to be quieter and not so modern which was in retrospective stupid because it is the biggest city in north Norway with a lot of infrastructure. Nevertheless, Tromsø is a lovely city with all the wooden houses and it is one of a few cities I visited that created a harmonized combination of old/traditional and modern buildings. After our city tour we had lunch in the library which is one example of such a modern building. There, we also made a list of food we need for our six day tour in Troms. Following, I did some sightseeing-geocaching again and Michael and Stella stayed in the library to write postcards and solve credit card problems. My GPS guided me to higher-laying places from where I had a beautiful overview over the city. Luckily it stopped snowing and the cloud cover thinned out. One and a half hours later, after walking to the theatre and back we met at the library again and went to a supermarket with our six day plan. As we finished grocery shopping it was dark and we split up again. Michael and Stella went back to Tromsø Camping and I wanted to become an impression of the city by night. My target was a more or less 500m landing stage in the harbour that was going out into the sea and turning into a 45 degree ankle back towards the city. There, of course, two geocaches were hidden and both of them are my favourite ones in Tromsø. One the one hand because I had to climb under a house that was built into the sea. So, this was a difficult one with a burst of adrenalin while searching and on the other hand due to the spectacular view over the harbour with all the wooden houses and the city. Unfortunately all the pictures I made are blurred.

My way home was in some kind of an odyssey because I was exhausted of the day and had to carry a heavy backpack. First, I lost my GPS on the bridge but luckily a noticed and found it. Second, I walked a different way back to the campsite with the aim to discover Tromsdalen.  At Ishavskatedralen I turned right this evening and walked up a long road that was going up a hill. I knew that I should keep to the left but I had no chance to do so. After a long way straight ahead I finally got the chance to turn left. A few minutes later I could see Tromsø Camping about 300m as the crow flies in front of me. In between was a deep snow slope and a lot of trees. I decided to walk the direct way because there were footprints through this central reservation. Against my expectation that someone took a short cut to the campsite the footprints ended in front of a river I couldn’t cross. So, I had to turn round and had to battle my way through the wood up the slope again which was no fun at all because at every step I sunk into the snow knee-high. Luckily, the ski track I followed afterwards was no long detour and I arrived in time because Michael and Stella just finished cooking. As a reward we saw the northern lights.

The next morning we got up early, had breakfast, cleaned the cabin and returned the keys. At half past eight we took the bus to Snarby and about an hour later we stood in front of a parking lot in the middle of nowhere. We prepared our skies and went off to Trollvassbu which was about 5km ahead of us. Normally, this is no distance but with skis under my feet, a 20kg backpack, deep snow and a way that was slightly going up all the time this was an exhausting journey. Luckily, there was a frozen snow layer under the 10cm of fresh snow which prevented us from sinking very deep into the snow. In spite of the sunny day and the beautiful nature there was no time to enjoy all this because I had to concentrate all the time. During this 5km I tried to ski as energy saving as possible. Nevertheless, I was glad to reach the cabin and to get rid of the heavy backpack.

After lunch we tour to Trollvatnet which was 200 meters in high above our new home.  Skiing down this long slope was a lot of fun. After returning to the cabin we enjoyed life in front of the chimney. There was no WIFI, radio, television, mobile phone signal or electricity. Only candles, a chimney and silence. I love this kind of atmosphere! You can let your mind wander and think about so much things you normally would not spent a second on. In these situations I start thinking about life and family and my biggest desire is that I can do this with my children and my wife as well.

In contrast to the sunny day, the sky was clouded the whole evening and night. As consequence, we were not able to see the northern lights again. I set the alarm for 0:30 am but even at this time it was clouded and we had no chance to see anything.

On Thursday (25^th) we did our first day trip. We got up at 8 o’clock and the weather was very good but as we started to climb the Varden we noticed that clouds were behind us. It was a wall of white ones whereas we were continued our way up to the top. As I noticed that this white wall is coming towards us I started to be worried but I was not sure if I am overestimate the situation. At the beginning of our tour I was a little bit worried in general because it was the first ski trip I did in my life. Of course I was thinking about avalanches, the weather and white out but at the same time I felt well prepared due to the lectures. Nevertheless, while going up I was thinking that it would be interesting how Len would evaluate the position. Half way up the hill the clouds reached us and we not able to see the hut or far behind us which was a new and unusual situation for us but we decided to continue. The whole time I tried to not think about a white out. Luckily, close to the top of Varden the clouds stopped following us and we were suddenly above the clouds. The view about the cloud-cover was spectacular and it was sunny but really cold. Therefore, we decided to ski a couple of hundred meters to the twin peak to have lunch there. While eating I noticed that the clouds are in the valley in which the official DNT path is going, the valley west of Brattjellksla was not covered by clouds.

After lunch we skied down in the direction of Skittenelvfjellet and to my surprised the clouds started to disappear. After arriving at the southern pike, we skied to the northern one in order to see the coastline or even maybe Tromsø but unfortunately the clouds were gathering again and we were surrounded by them. As consequence, we decided to ski around the mountain and started our way almost parallel way down at the west slope. Soon after we entered a birch forest. For me it was a lot of fun to ski around the trees like in a slalom competition. Corresponding the clouds disappeared again and the sun was shining all the way back. We even found tracks of foxes and some birds. During the approximately 5km way back I got really tired and hungry. Lunch was at around twelve and we did not make a 2^nd break before going back which was around 15-16 o’clock. As a result, the last kilometres would not end and I was really happy after arriving at Trollvasbu again.

In front of the chimney I was thinking about the day and in retrospective it was a really good one! While downhill skiing I tried to make curves which worked well. Only the turns to the right still made some problems. Moreover, regarding to the lecture of winter injuries I was checking my body temperature more often than usual. Immediately after noticing that my toes are getting colder I started moving them all the time while skiing. Last but not least, we had a great teamwork because we rotated with leading.

The rest of the time before going to sleep I was making new candles out of old ones. A fact I smile about because in huts without any (electronic) gadgets I become creative. Unfortunately, we were not able to see bright northern lights. It was only a slightly grey stripe from horizon to horizon that did not brighten up during the night.

The next morning we packed all our stuff and skied to Nonsbu which is about 9km away from Trollvassbu. The decision was made last evening because we did not found a good route for another daytrip. The conditions were perfect this day! It was sunny, there was not a single cloud at the sky and about minus 10 degrees. Moreover, we could follow tracks which were made by people who left the hut before us this morning.

Most of the time we had to ski uphill which was in this case good because a long period the sun was hidden by Trollvassnova mountain, whereas it was noticeable colder. Due to the physical exertion I did not freeze and the last one to two kilometres we had sun again after reaching a plateau. From there we had an amazing view over the landscape and a fjord, so we decided to have lunch here. During the break I put my gloves inside my jacket to keep them warm because I had problems the day before with freezing fingers after lunch time (moisture in my gloves froze). The last part to the hut was downhill which was fun and worked well even with the heavy backpack.

After arriving at Nonsbu Michael and me packed a daypack with a little bit of food and hot drinks and left the hot around 15ish. We climbed a 2km slope in front of the hut and decided after reaching a plateau to climb at a hill which was next to us and just some metres higher than the spot we were. Dusk was falling and some clouds appeared after we were on top of the hill. Unfortunately, everything became less clear and we were just able to see white. We were able to differ between sky and snow we were not able to see it is going uphill or downhill. To minimize the risk we decided to use snowballs to assess how step the slope is. Referring to the lecture at 15^th of March we acted well. Nevertheless it was quiet difficult to judge the slopes in front of us because we could see the rolling snowball for 1 meter maximum. As result, we moved really slowly but we finally reached the slope we climbed up. There, it was no white-out-problem. During my way down to Nonsbu I found out how to turn right, so from now on I was able to do turns in both directions. Carving down to the hut was a lot of fun and a great feeling.

In the evening we were cooking and talking about outdoor life and its beauty. All three of us were just wearing a base layer because our room was very small and the oven was very hot. For me it the sauna feeling really relaxing but especially for Michael it was too hot. From time to time he had to air the room. Like yesterday, there were no bright polar lights and I set my alarm clock for nothing again…

During breakfast of 27^th March we were planning a big day trip which was finally about 20km and 800 meters of altitude that we skied up. We wanted to start 30min after finishing breakfast but we did not. Instead of 9:20 we started at 10 o’clock and I washed all dishes to do something practical while waiting. First we skied 8km to Blakollkoia where we had lunch. In this hut we met seven Norwegians who studied friluftsliv at Folkehøgskole. We had an interesting conversation about friluftsliv and the Norwegian education system. After lunch we skied up across a birch forest to Blakollen and suddenly two reindeers appeared in front of me. We saw some days ago at Trollvassbu but now there were just 3m away from me. I looked at them and they looked at me and I noticed collar so they are not wild. This explains why they were so trusty. A couple of pictures later we passed the high plateau in direction to the coastline because we tried to catch a view over Tromsø. We were able to see the last bit of the island but unfortunately we were not able to see the city. As clouds appeared we decided to go back. We skied downhill trough the birch trees which was a lot of fun again but this time we turned our back on Blakollkoia and aimed straight in direction Nonsbu. We had to pass two arms of a river which was quiet difficult but in the end we found a good spot to cross. Moreover we had to pass some kind of cliff. Suddenly this edge appeared in front of us which was about 5 meters deep. Finally we found a good spot to go over the edge and ski parallel to it down. In front of Øverheia we had a second break with hot drinks and some food to refill our energy. After that a situation happened that I was thinking about all way home. Stella and Michael got ready before me and waited for me. So far so good but as I was ready they did not move and we stood still for maybe 5 to 10 seconds. I started to lead again and they followed. In retrospective this is very interesting. My explanation for this behaviour is following: it was me who was leading most of the time and moreover I had the map with me in my pocket. Maybe this was a nonverbal “he is the leader” for this day. The same happened at the way from Snarby to Trollvassbu but there Michael was leading all the time. This is very interesting with the background of the group dynamics lessons.

Just in the moment of returning to the hut a Norwegian couple arrived. In the evening they invited us to self-made ice cream and we shared a bottle of hot chocolate with them. All in all this was a very nice evening, we were talking about Germany and Norway, their school/university systems and the governmental support for (young) people and a few more things. It turned out that their parents are living close to Kristiansand. Before going to bed we made the plan to leave the hut around 9ish with the aim Skarvassbu. There, in comparison to today, we were planning to have lunch and afterwards we wanted to climb Blamannen.

The next morning, we stick to our plan, had breakfast, cleaned the cabin and started at half past nine. It was minus tree degrees it snowed and everything was white in grey. The first couple of kilometres were the same like yesterday. Short before Blakollkoia we entered a lowland and turned left. There it was very windy and started to snow heavily. Due to this conditions we were not exactly sure where we are. Normally there should be a ski track but as we realized later it was covered by fresh snow. We used my GPS as support and turned it off after we determined our position. We had to go on about 1 km in this lowland and then turn right up a steep hill. The following 2km have been awful. I was tired, my backpack became heavier and heavier and this slope won’t end… In addition the wind was blowing permanently in our faces which made it even worse. After a third of the hill I started to talk to myself and motivate me. I forced me to continue and to focus at reaching the hut which worked. At a certain point I was in a flow and everything that mattered was reaching this hut. I forgot the wind, my heavy backpack and I were not discouraged after passing a hilltop without seeing the hut.

Finally, the hut appeared but this maybe 800 metres felt like 8 kilometres. I could not believe my eyes as I realized that a snowmobile is parking in front of the hut. It turned out that it belonged to a man who is responsible for the hut. He told us that the hill we climbed up was called “the killer”. There is nothing to add, believe me! After lunch and tea my energy returned but we were forced to stay in the cabin for the rest of the day because the strong wind became a snow storm. To be honest, a part of me was glad about staying and relaxing inside.

Monday, the last day of the trip, started as usual. Breakfast, packing and cleaning. We left Skarvassbu at 10 o’clock, so there was enough time to ski to Tromsø camping have a shower there and go to the airport. Our plane departed at 18:40. Overnight the snowstorm was blowing all the time and it fell a lot of fresh snow. At some spots we stood knee deep in fresh snow. Luckily, the snowstorm calmed down but it was still windy with a little bit of snowfall. For me it felt like yesterday’s battle men versus nature goes in the second round. The good thing about this conditions was that I now know that I bought the right equipment.

For a long time we followed the official trekking path but as it crossed the valley we stayed on the right side of the hill because we did not want to make a detour. I expected a birch forest but not that tight as it turned out to be. There were just 30-50 centimetre distance between the trees. Skiing trough this forest was not fun like the two before. I tried not to become very fast because it was very difficult not to hit a tree. As consequence, I skied a couple of metres, stopped, checked the area in front of me and chose a way for the next 20-30 metres. It took us a lot of time to do this for about three kilometres whereas I regretted that we did not follow the hiking path but after a third of the way I got used to the circumstances. It seems like Stella did so too but Michael had big problems. I tried to help him but there was not much that I could do for him. Unfortunately he lost his skis several times whereas it took us a long time to get through the forest. First we tried to ski down in a zigzag way but we changed plans after a while and kept on going down in a nearly parallel way to the hill. So descend by making distance was the motto.

Suddenly, Stella who was leading through the forest found a ski track. I was very glad about that because it made us reaching Tromsø camping in 30 minutes. The first shower after 6 days was amazing and it was the 45 NOK totally worth it. On our way to the airport we stopped at the city centre bought some groceries there. In the next bus we met Manu, Eli, Theresa and Beatrice who are also Erasmus students at UiA. It world is so small, it is unbelievable!

My summary for this week is totally positive. It was an amazing week with a beautiful, lovely city and following six days of ski touring that were even better. In retrospective I did not want to miss these experiences because they showed me what I am loving about being outdoors. From now on I know that not only hiking in summer is something I want to do because ski touring is also a lot of fun, too.