Ski Touring Above The Arctic Circle

Every year in April Mountain Spirit Guides spend a few weeks ski touring in the Lyngen Alps in northern Norway. We love the calm solitude and unexploited nature where you climb peaks surrounded by the sea on all sides.
Who are you 
Eva Eskilsson

The Challenge
Ski Touring Above The Arctic Circle

How long did it take
6 full days of ski touring

What was the distance 
700 – 1800 height meters ascent/descent per day

How much did it cost
For a group of 6 persons an all-inclusive week costs 1230€ per person

Who was the organiser

What was it like
Every year in April Mountain Spirit Guides spend a few weeks ski touring in the Lyngen Alps in northern Norway. We love the calm solitude and unexploited nature where you climb peaks surrounded by the sea on all sides. There are no lifts, we reach all the summits we want to ski by skinning or climbing on foot. With the number of peaks to ski and the very few mountain guides operating there, crowds are nonexistent. The spring in northern Norway usually offers excellent snow conditions, nice weather, and frequent chance to admire the mystic beauty of Northern Lights at night. It is a very unique location for ski mountaineering.
Skiing Terrain The Lyngen Alps and its islands offers an amazing ski terrain, typically 1000 – 1400m vertical of skiing from the summits back down to the sea. The peaks are perfectly shaped for skiing; some look like hand made ski slopes on smooth glaciers, and others offer more technical skiing down winding gullies and steep couloirs. 

The Lyngen area is an expansive playground for all levels of off-piste skiers and ski mountaineers. Our daily decisions of ski descents and which summits to climb are based on group ability, avalanche safety and snow conditions. 
How did you train

Cardio-vascular endurance training such as running, biking, cross-country skiing etc., is good to get you fit for ski touring (if you do not have the possibility to actually ski tour for preparation). You also need to be a confident off-piste skier. To get the best your ski touring adventure in Lyngen you need to be able to ski off-piste in all sort of snow conditions, also with tired legs. Train both aspects, ascents and descents!


Any other useful hints / links

For ski touring, the Lyngen Alps are most pleasant to visit in the spring (mid March to 1st week of May) when the days are long and the snow cover is good.

Thanks to the Gulf stream the fjords never freezes and temperatures stays mild at sea level (zero to -5 degree Celsius wintertime), but it can be considerably colder on the mountains. Precipitation is plentiful along the cost line throughout the winter. In the end of March the snow is typically powdery and later on, in April, you get good chances to ski creamy corn snow. In early April the Northern Lights are still regularly vibrant at night. By mid-May Lyngen gets the midnight sun, but then the skiing season is really coming to an end.

If you plan a trip to Lyngen, we recommend you to plan ahead. We usually fix our dates for these trips already during the summer in order to get the best accommodation available.

Abisko, Sweden
Abisko town is located close to the Riksgränsen and Björkliden ski resorts in northern Sweden, 400km north of the arctic circle. Skiers are hearty welcomed at the local lodge, which serves as our base for ski touring and heli skiing adventures.

This high alpine environment greets you with barking of dogs, nature-loving people, and also here the Northern Lights shines at night. In the vast area of skiable peaks (including Kebnekaise Swedens highest summit) many are reached by helicopter, some on skins from the huts. On a day of ski touring you might cross the paths of reindeers and encounter elks and grouse. This week we even spotted a wolverine!
If a day does not allow the heli to fly, alternative activities are tours with snowmobiles or dog sleighs.

Abisko is a remote, genuine place that offers a very different skiing experience from what we are used to in the European Alps.
For more information contact Mountain Spirit Guides