Easter

This is the week when we usually go touring in Norway. Sadly, that is not possible this year. Instead I find myself picking wild asparagus on Luban, one of the hills above Rijeka, Croatia.

Wild asparagus are not easy to find. How many can you spot on this photo?

Another bonus is that I may have found an unexplored ski touring area for next Winter...

A Sad, Premature End of the Skiing Season

Sad family events forced us to cut short the skiing season and rush to the village of Drenova, on the hills behind Rijeka, Croatia.

Monument to the Partisans of Drenova, Croatia.

Let the boat maintenance season begin.

Discovery of a New Area: Klewenalp

The start of the planning was very easy: open Google Earth, centre on the ecologically devastated bit of West Europe we are unfortunate to live in, and look for the closest mountains over 2000m. We homed-in on the area south of the Vierwaldstaettersee, across from Luzern. Just under 800km away, they are a feasible destination for an extended weekend.
After many hours of perusing over maps and internet searches, we had a plan. The opportunity came last weekend: we could depart on Thursday early afternoon, intending to return Monday late. That gives us four days on the mountains for 20h return journey including breaks. Not a bad ratio.
And so it came that on Thursday evening we found ourselves in the soulless bar of the Ibis hotel of Kriens, an industrial suburb of Luzern, nursing a beer before sleeping.

Day 1, Friday the 20th of February: Attempt on Arvigrat (2002m) from the W.
In the morning we opened the curtains to be dazzled by the spectacle of Mount Pilatus in full sunshine.

The spectacular view from the hotel room: Pilatus in bright sunshine.

Over breakfast we decided to go for the easiest of the option of tours for the day: Arvigrat from the West (ZS-/S3). The other option, Widderfeld had an uncertain access and a section 40 degrees steep though forest. Little did we know what Arvigrat had in store for us...
We had thought we could start the tour right from the town of Kerns, but there was much less snow than we expected, so we tried to drive further up and found an ideal spot to start the tour: the little church at Halten (Swiss coordinates 665.048 - 194.446, 706m).

The Halten church where our tour started.

There are a few parking spaces near the church, signs indicating the start of the path, and even a clean, public toilet.

All this and free parking, all you need at the start of a tour.

There was another couple starting at the same time, but they seemed so well prepared and going at such a pace that soon they were out of sight. Are we that unfit or we just like to take it easy?

Another view towards Pilatus.

As we had seen from the valley, there were many bare patches and for a short section just below Chlingen we even had to carry the skis up a very muddy path.

First-Mate carrying the skis up a muddy path...

...and the Skipper negotiating a difficult bit. Saarnersee in the background.

At Ruedlen (1269m) we had a break in the sunshine before tackling the crux of the route: the steep ascent up a forest clearing towards Eggi. After a hard struggle we declared defeat, looked for a safe spot to remove the skins, and skied back down. Funnily enough, what was a struggle to climb was a breeze to ski down. We definitely have been practicing skiing to much and climbing on skis not enough...

View to the North. Here we are at the end of the Alps. No other high mountains until Norway

The rest of the descent was a game of avoiding bare patches and looking for snow to ski as far down as possible.

Close to the end of the descent.

Trying to find snow to ski as far down as possible.

The dat finished at the Ochsen Hotel and Restaurant, in Wolfenschiessen, Engelberg valley, our base for the next three days.

Day 2, Saturday the 21st of February: A Round Tour to the Brisenhaus.

Unfortunately the weather turned for the worse. In the grey morning we drove the short distance to the cable car that took us past steep terrain up to Niederrickenbach. This is a small village and a convent. The only ways to get here are a narrow, steep, winding path or a cable car. We had initially planned to take the chair lift to Haldigrat and ski down an old ski run that is now free-ride terrain. However, the poor visibility put us off and instead we headed for Brisenhaus, along mostly easy and well marked trails.

Approaching Brisenhaus. Left the cliffs of Schinberg, and Brisen to the right in the distance.

After a break at the Brisenhaus, we started to climb towards Glatte Grat. Soon thick clouds started to rise from the valley and we decided to give up and ski down, cutting across under the cliffs of the Schinberg, towards the Klewenalp ski pistes. Unfortunately the cloud caught-up with us and by the time we reached the saddle point (Saetteli) the visibility was down to about two meters. In front of us we had very steep terrain that we could not see. What to do? Plunge into the unknown or return the way we came? At this moment a local appeared and generously guided up along a traverse that took us right to the ski pistes. Even along the pistes the descent was difficult enough, and then we had to take a steep, marked ski itinerary. At the steepest mogul field, just as I planted the pole for a jump-turn my skis slid sideways, hit the vigorously planted pole and sent me head first down the slope. It took two, more-or-less controlled tumbles, before I could get my skis downhill from myself to stop the fall. First-Mate was scared frozen, seeing me tumbling down the steep slope.

But all ended well, with a fun descent than finished on thin, mushy snow all the way down to the village of Beckenried by the lake.

The marked ski itinerary took us all the way down to the lake.

From there it was a bus and train journey back to the base of the cable car where we had left the car.

Day 3, Sunday the 22nd of February: Glatte Grat in the Fog.

Overnight there were about 15cm of fresh snow, but it was still overcast. We decided to try the Glatte Grat again, this time from Klewenalp. After shovelling snow from the car we drove to Beckenried and took the cable car to Klewenalp. From there we followed first a flat walking route and then climbed along a ski run to below the saddle where we had been lost in fog the day before. The short climb up was not easy, as the new snow kept sliding over the old, hard snow. It was two steps up - one step down. Once we reached the saddle, the traverse towards Brisenhaus was easy, especially since there were already fresh traces of snowshoes.

Just before Brisenhaus.

After a break we started the climb towards Glatte Grat for the second time. It was already traced and it was easy going, but as the day before cloud started rising from the valley. We do not agree on who decided to press on, but press on we did, and soon we were again in a whiteout.

By following ski traces we did eventually reach the Grat, despite protests from First-Mate.

On Glatte Grat, getting ready to descend.

For the descent the snow was a dream: some 15cm of fresh powder on a hard base. Unfortunately the visibility was so poor we could not enjoy any decent powder turns.

The descent.

First-Mate took the lead and managed to find the Brisenhaus, even if we could only see it when we were 10m from it.

Another short break and back to Klewenalp. At the saddle the visibility was again very poor, but this time we had the confidence to take the steep descent, knowing what was below. In the meanwhile the ski lifts had closed, probably because of the fog, so it looked like a ghost ski resort. As we descended towards Beckenried, the visibility improved a bit and we could enjoy skiing the varied terrain on fresh snow.

Visibility getting better as we descend towards the lake.

This is as far as we could ski: 100m from the car.

Had it been sunny it would have been a perfect ski tour.

Day 4, Monday, 23rd of February: Klewenalp Using the Lifts.

Last day. We shouldn't leave too late and the weatherman says it will start raining in the afternoon. So we drove to Beckenried, bought half-day ski-passes, and spent the morning exploring this ski-area. Soon we had done all the groomed slopes and started exploring the variants. There are some really nice ones. The half-day finished with the by-now familiar descent from Klewenalp to Beckenried.

Klewenalp to Beckenried... Take 3.

As we were packing to start the drive home the pouring rain started.

Vosges Again. Getting Better.

Saturday, 7th of February: A Short, Classic Tour.
After a lack of snow, it came down in loads. Even on low lands! The High Vosges have now a decent amount of snow, so here we go again for a weekend in search of the white, magic stuff.
After the usual short night at Ibis Colmar, we drove into the Munster valley and up to the small ski resort of Le Gaschney. The road was clear but the lifts are still closed, making it more interesting for ski touring. There was indeed a lot of snow, although a bit worked by the wind, and it was sunny but very cold with a piercing NE wind.
First on skins up to Le Petit Hohneck, roughly following the ski lift.

Skinning-up towards Le Petit Hohneck. Plenty of snow, but the wind has worked on it.

Sometimes creating interesting effects.

From the summit, a short descent to the Col de Schaffenhausen and then up to the Hohneck summit. It was really cold, and it was only possible to have a tea-break in the sun and in the lee of the restaurant. The initial plan was to go to the top of Le Kastelberg and ski down for lunch at the Breitzhousen. After walking up to the Haut de Falimont almost being blown off our feet by the cold wind, we decided to cut across directly to the restaurant.

Traversing on wind-hardened snow, Le Hohneck on the background.

The restaurant was grossly crowded. The queue for food and drinks was at least 100 person long. On the other hand nobody objected that we sat at a table and took out our tea and cereal bars.
We returned the same way, with the highlight being the descent from Le Petit Hohneck. By roughly following the trace of the ski run we could find reasonable show with a base.
We arrived back to the car with wide grins on our faces.

Sunday, 8th of February: Le Tanet on Nordic Skis.
For the night we stayed at the modest Hotel de Gerardmer, which despite the name is in Soultzeren. Nice restaurant but the typical French breakfast (mostly sweet stuff) was not much to our taste. It was a good base for the start of our Sunday tour: drive up to the Col du Wettenstein and from there reach Le Tanet with the idea of checking the ascent to the Gazon du Faing, by the pistes or otherwise. The distance is rather long and until the Lac Vert not steep at all, so we opted for Nordic skis.
It was not so cold as the day before, but also very little sunshine to be seen.
The first bit was narrow, a bit steep and on snow pressed by skiers and snowshoers, forcing us to use skins. But soon it became mild undulating terrain, mostly following forest roads, and often pressed by  the snow scooters of the occupants of the houses scattered in the forest.

Easy going towards Lac Vert, perfect for our Nordic skis.

The ski resort of Le Tanet was very crowded and the restaurant fully reserved. Luckily the good people of the local ski club were selling soup and sausages outside, so we could have a break and some warm food. After that we thought it was a bit too late to try the ascent to the Gazon du Faing, especially since the visibility was poor and crowds were coming down the pistes. So we returned back, making an extra loop via the Lac du Forlet and Altenkraeh. On the way we came across a large group of alpine skiers, with a guide. They all had the most modern (and expensive) gear, which somehow seems a bit out of place in this terrain. Then we came across two kids on old fashioned Nordic skis and leather boots who seemed much more confident of what they were doing.
Talking about confidence, the descent from the Altenkraeh to the Col du Wettenstein was a bit of a struggle for me even if I was trying short, wide, profiled skis with full edges. Almost like alpine skis but with double camber. I really am not very good in hard snow. First-Mate on her Madshus Glittertind was fairing much better.

Beginnings of Winter

This winter is not getting to speed. Hardly any snow, skiing competitions being cancelled or moved to Scandinavia... not good.
Finally this week it started to snow on the hills. Not a lot, and anyway we can't spare more than the weekend, so we decided to just head for the nearest hills (600 km away) and see what we get.
Friday night at a standard Ibis hotel in Colmar and in the morning drove up Munster valley. The hope was to go up the Petit Ballon, but there was hardly any snow to be seen. So we continued to the end of the valley, to Mittlach. Here it looked a bit more wintery, but nothing to write home about. We decided to take only snowshoes on our packs and head towards the Schnepfenried. The navigation on the forest paths was a bit tricky, especially since the loggers often leave piles of discarded branches obscuring the path. It would have been easier to take the forest roads, certainly if we had been on skis.

Le Kastelberg and the Gazon du Faing from the south. Wintery feel but not enough snow for skiing.

Eventually we made it to the Deybach farm and "auberge" where we had a break. We descended back to Mittlach, again using a mix of roads and forest paths. We arrived back to the Mittlach without even using the snowshoes.

After spending the night at the charming hotel Val de Neige, we headed to the other side of the valley to follow the Wormsa trail.

Start of the Wormsa trail.

A big, fallen tree blocking the path caused some difficulties, as we had to abandon the path and scramble on steep, forested terrain, but eventually we rejoined the trail and were rewarded with a beautiful path, mostly following waterfalls.

One of several bridges over the waterfalls.

The trail finishes at the beautiful Schiessroth lake where we had a break in a new shelter made by the local Club Vosgien.

Schiessroth lake.

New shelter by the Schissroth lake. The local Club Vosgien are taking good care of this place.

From there was getting to late to go all the way up to the Hohneck, so we opted to take the easy road towards Le Gaschney, with the aim of exploring future tours on skis. With the same purpose we descended by the East side of the valley, using skiable roads that lead to Metzeral or Mittlach.

A pleasant weekend in the Winter landscape but we badly need more snow.
 

Opening of the Skiing Season

Horrible Autumn is finally over! Time to head for the mountains in search of snow and real Winter.
As usual, we open the season with resort skiing. The crowds and pressed snow are a necessary evil to get prepare us for touring. This year we decided to try Graubunden, in east Switzerland.

First, four days in Davos/Klosters. Since we want to get the most skiing for our money and don't care much for expensive bars and restaurants we stayed at the village of Saas, which is well connected to the resort by buses and trains and where we could get affordable accommodation.
The resort is divided in several parts connected by buses and trains, as is typical in Switzerland. Plenty of open spaces for variants, but this early in the season there was not enough snow to make the most of them.

View of Saas from the Klosters ski area.

Than we moved to the large resort of Laax. This is a modern, connected resort in the "French style".
After the first day there it started to snow loads. It also meant we had several days of rough weather with low temperatures, strong winds and poor visibility. Such is high winter skiing, but in between there were plenty of sunny breaks to allow us views of this part of the Central Alps.

Magnificent alpine landscape.

An inversion: cloud over the valley and sunshine in the mountains.

Weird rainbow as the afternoon sun came out of the snow clouds.

A snowboarding ghost?

Ready for action.

Let the touring season begin!

Crossing the Hardangervidda

Hardangervidda, Norway. The largest mountain plateau in Europe. 6,500 km2 of barren landscape, covered in snow for half of the year. Roald Amudsen and Fridtjof Nansen practised for their polar exploits here.
I used to have the dream of crossing Greenland, but as it starts to look that will never happen, I settled for crossing the Hardangervidda as a consolation prize.
In the Spring of 2014 we made it: we crossed Hardangervidda on skis, from Haukelisetter to Eidfjord. This is a short diary of our tour.

Saturday, 29th of March: Turnhout to Bergen. 
The first challenge Hardangervidda presented us was how to get there. On Saturday we flew from Amsterdam to Bergen. It is always strange to arrive in a city you know but not that well. Fortunately Bergen is small and we could remember enough of the city to find the way from the bus station to our lodging for the night, the delightful Steens hotel.

Steens Hotel is an old house of the old Bergen gentry. Just the breakfast room is worth a visit.

Sunday, 30th of March: Bus Ride to Haukeliseter

Beautiful scenery along the fjords of Western Norway, including a ferry crossing.

Beautiful fjord view on the way to Hakelisetter.

Suddenly the road becomes steep with switch-backs and immediately the landscape changes from fjords to snow covered hills. We are arriving to Hardangervidda.

We have very fond memories of Haukeliseter, where we spent a week eight years ago, when we were just staring to discover Norway. It was a pleasant coincidence that we were lodged in the same building as before.

Photo of the building where we were lodged... taken in 2006. 

Sunday afternoon was spent enjoying the sunshine skiing around the lodge.

Warming up for the tour about to start.

Monday, 31st of March: Haukeliseter to Hellevassbu (25km)

The first leg of the tour was one of the longest. To make it worse, it starts with a steep climb on icy snow to which neither skins nor edges seems to grip. We had to carry the skis for a while.

At the top we started to follow the marked path... until it turned west and we saw the road in front of us again. So, go back and find an unmarked route. We were not the only ones to be fooled: two Brits who were doing the same route made the same mistake.

More steep climbing (now the skins held) and we find path markings again. All is well, the terrain becomes easier and the snow softens under the warm sunshine.

Short break on the way to Hellevassbu

At Hellevassbu we were welcome by four Norwegians who had arrived earlier from the North.

Cosy Hellevassbu

Tuesday, 1st of April: Hellevassbu to Litlos (20 km)
Another bright, sunny day. After the initial climb out of the lake the terrain was easy. Except the descent to a lake just before the hut, which provided the Skipper the opportunity to perfect his technique of head-plant.
On the way we crossed some skiers going the opposite way who told us that there was no gas in the cabin. However, when we approached Litlos we saw the guardians were already there preparing for the opening of the staffed lodge next day. They changed the gas bottle and also allowed some people to sleep in the main building when the small self-service cabin was full to capacity.

Wednesday, 2nd of April: Litlos to Sandhaug (26 km)
Thanks to the glorious weather, the tour is going well... too well. If we continue heading North we risk reaching the end too early. So we decided to make a little detour to the West, to Sandhaug.
For the first time in this tour the day started cloudy, but dry and with little wind. The day starts again with a climb, before it becomes easier.

Around here, ptarmigans seem absolutely unafraid of people.

Tea-break.

It is 21 km to a closed, private lodge (Besso) and then five more to Sandhaug. At the first hut we were starting to feel the distance, so decided to stop for a break before continuing. As we went around the lodge to find a sheltered corner we noticed there were people in the lodge. Then we saw the writing above the door: Sandhaug. Hey, we're there! We seem to have missed Besso and almost passed by our destination.
The lodge was staffed, so we could have shower and proper dinner and breakfast.  Utmost luxury!

Thursday, 3rd of April: Sandhaug to Hadlaskard (21 km)
The bright sunshine has returned and we had a beautiful, easy tour to Hadlaskard, with the perfect shape of Hårtegen always in view.

On the way to Hadlaskard, with Hårtegen in the background.

The final descent toward the cabin was marvellous, with soft snow, gentle incline, and plenty space to traverse the steep bits.

View from Hadlaskard to the South.

We seem to be a bit off the beaten track, so we had the cabin for ourselves. The draw back is that we had to do all the work of carrying wood and snow, keep the fire going, clean, and all the other chores of staying in self-serviced cabins.

Cosy evening in the cabin

The night was clear and cold. When I went out, the sky was so full of starts that almost made me dizzy from looking into the infinite. So sad that living in a crowded, light-polluted place I had forgotten what the night sky is supposed to look like... 

Friday, 4th of April: Hadlaskard to Garen (26 km)
A chilly SE wind and mare's tails in the sky announce a change of weather. Anyway, it is our last day as we are heading to Garen on the road.

Passing Hedlo, on the way back to civilisation.

The route was not marked and having to find our way added interest to the tour, which was easy until the village of Vivelid. After that it goes steeply up (skins) and passes near the end of the incredibly steep Eidfjord.
Than steeply down for a while along a snow-scooter track with switch-backs and icy snow (we walked most of this bit), up again and finally a looooong flat stretch before the final descent along the groomed loipe.
As we were 50m from the road the last bus connecting to the train to Bergen passed in front of us. Good thing that we still had a reserve day!

Back to civilization
We called a taxi to take us to Eidfjord twon, which turned-out to be another scenic ride down the steep fjord, including a descent by a spiral tunnel!

Eidfjord town in the evening light.

In Eidfjord town we enjoyed the luxury of a hotel, and on Saturday we only had to make our way to Bergen, by bus and train. Just in time as the weather changed and it was windy and raining. It wouldn't have been fun on the mountain.

Leaving the mountains behind as the weather closed.

The whole tour was magic, and already on the way back we started making plans for a return to Norway next spring.