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Lofoten Islands April 2014 - By Cod it's Good

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
A year on from one of the most incredible weeks of skiing I've been lucky enough to experience, we're back! A group of 7 of us, led by the Codfather himself offpisteskiing, are out for the next 9 days or so. After some unfortunate delays due to some fog, half of us arrived nearly a day late. However, not to be outdone by the weather, we jumped in the car and set off for a warm up lap at a local couloir.

The skin in over some boulders:



Turns out it was a bit more gnarly than we were anticipating. This is the boot up. We skied down the same line. A sustained pitch of 40 deg or thereabouts:

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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Oh dear cod. Not fish puns already.... rolling eyes
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Sharkymark, you could have found another plaice to visit this year.
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Hells Bells, dolpinately. It looks brill-iant but I'm herring that there are batter plaices.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Custard the Rabbit, I always find that fish puns give me a porpoise in life.
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Awesomes!
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
meh wrote:
Awesomes!


It's a very cool place to ski Cool

Or were you thinking of the catfish in its anagram, seas o' mew ? Toofy Grin
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Really looking forward to the full report Smile
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Day 2:

Plan A was to climb Geitgaljern (1100m) and ski down it's southern flank. The top section is fairly spicy so crampons and axes were packed. Typically, the Lofoten weather put in several appearances with the usual strong breeze, zero vis and gravity-defying heavy snow. The skin up was fairly brutal as a result, with the Austrian team hot on our heels:





There was a lot of new snow so the summit (and the south couloir) was out of the question, unfortunately. However, having skied part-way down the ascent, the weather cleared so we skinned back up to the col and headed into the couloir. It wasn't steep but by Cod was it deep...deep fresh powder...in April...at 900m above sea level. The only consistent chest/face shots so far this winter (and that includes the infamous Arraba week!). So, so, so epic; made more so by the view ahead:



Finished off the day with a rather spectacular dusk:



Tomorrow is wet and windy and we're hoping the mild temps and high winds don't strip the higher ground. We're planning on heading to the cod museum (no, really) after (hopefully) a short ski in the morning.
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Wow. What a magnificent setting.
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Is there a fish called drool?
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
The storm rolled in but before it did, we managed a couple of cheeky laps of Blatinden, just north of Svolvaer. Conditions were snowy, windy and flat light (classic Lofoten) but the snow was fresh and creamy (albeit only 6ins deep on this face). A couple of shots of the ascent (Svolvaer's in the background), featuring offpisteskiing and a cameo from Arno:



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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Thanks to the mild SW winds, yesterday the snow turned to sleet and eventually rain by early evening, accompanied by a F6 strong breeze and a rapid rise in temperature to a balmy 4 deg.C. However, by 8am the wind had changed towards the NE and the snow was falling. Fortunately, the rain had fallen as snow between 100 - 400m throughout the night and the mountains were now white. Game on. As well as the 18-strong Austrian team, we were also sharing the entire island of Austvagoya with 30 skiers from the Lofoten ski camp, which is running this weekend. offpisteskiing devised a cunning plan and having found out where the other groups were heading, we chose to ski Rundfjellet (806m) and explore the various aspects it presented. We began the ascent in classic Lofoten conditions and soon caught the other team who'd chosen to ski the same range:







Following a short descent in 8 ins of windblown powder on the east face, we ascended to the ridgeline...and then, for the first time in 4 days, the sun appeared. At the top, there was plenty of time to pimp our kit:





This is a view of the unmarked south face that we proceeded to lay trenches down snowHead Svolvaer is in the distance:



...and yes, a foot of powder; that'll be 4 days out of 4 then snowHead snowHead snowHead snowHead snowHead

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You know it makes sense.
Noice Smile
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Mike Pow, thanks snowHead

...and then this. No words needed:

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Poster: A snowHead
How about one?

Magical
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Nice to see you on the Ranger CL's, myself and OH invested, love them in all conditions. Trip looks awesome.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Spring arrived for the first time in 5 days: 1 deg.C and wall to wall sun. We took advantage by touring up to the col below Geitgaljern, ditching the skis and summitting with axes and crampons required on the steep upper slope. Having downclimbed and for the 5th time in 5 days, we skied a pitch of untracked powder on the east face before hitting the sun bleached south face. After a significant degree of bush wacking we dropped out next to a lake for a 2km skin back to the cars.

We've moved houses and now have no wifi so only one pic tonight. This is the view from the col below Geitgaljern looking north. The terrain around Geitgaljern is remarkable and resembles a mini Alaska:



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I'm not suprised offpisteskiing wanted to go back:

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=100131

Must have been tough though.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Absolutely...most of us were here with Simon for the preceding week last year snowHead
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Wow, just WOW. And the Northern Lights too. Gosh, the rewards are certainly there if you're young, fit and a good skier/climber. Sadly, I am none of those things.
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pedantica, it's certainly pretty special here.

Spring has finally set in and the snow on slopes was/had transformed. We planned to ski the north face of Langstradtinden, where the snow was still cold. However, on the lakeside skin in we saw a group of skiers (who turned out to include Kristin who we helped out last year) trigger a sizeable slab. Plan B was the Troll Saddle on a south facing slope. The ascent involved a combination of skinning with couteau and boot packing with axes. The wind had stripped and transported a lot of snow and the top section of the descent was 6 ins of soft wind pack. The middle section was transforming snow and the bottom was a bush wack. Due to internet access issues, just the one photo today of a typical Lofoten peak across the fjord from the road to Svolvaer. These peaks are generally less than 1000m.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Sharkymark, da man posted some pics up on fb (search: offpisteskiing). Not sure if this hotlink will work but:





Looks rubbish wink
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NOW THATS PROPER Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy
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For those of us into couloirs, today was as good as it gets. A repeat of last year's view-laden tour of Stornappstinden on one of the westernmost islands; the difference being an ascent and descent in the south couloir. 20 vert and 40 deg or so in very good spring snow. Crampons and axe for the ascent and balls out fun for the descent. We finished the day by driving to A (pronounced 'Aw' as in 'awesome') which is the equivalent of Lands End for the Lofotens. Bleak and very impressive. Lots of photos that will appear over the next week or so. For now, here's the lunch spot.
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Looking forward to seeing the final video edit Happy
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
[quote="SharkymarkFor those of us into couloirs, today was as good as it gets..[/quote]

Wow, that looks great, I would love that........ Very Happy If only I could get away in April Sad .......
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
inspark, it was definitely your thing. Just got home so the pics from later in the week and a more coherent trip report to follow...watch this space
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
I went there last summer to do some snowshoe walking. Also very cool. I used the official website for hiking to find my tracks. http://www.hiking-lofoten.net
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