A few reindeer loose in the top paddock

I don't know these people, but I think they fit with the general theme of this blog. A bunch of crazy Norwegians doing "tree jumping"



In other news, I'm still sick as a dog, got the worst cough I've had in years.

Was chatting to a girl yesterday who was subsequently to attend one of those stair-power classes at the gym. I said something along the lines of "You're gonna be so good at walking up and down stairs, that's really great, I think its an important part of life, and easy to overlook with the busy schedule we submit ourselves to these days" and she took it completely seriously and just said "yeah, but its really tiring" or something.

Note to self (for the thousandth time): deadpan humour doesn't work in Europe. Even if it's solid gold material like the above.

Other news: got another big deadline for a conference this Friday, so busy week ahead. Also just had an offer to help Guro's dad sail his newly purchased yacht from france to Norway this spring... 'citing!

Holding content, by popular demand

Super busy at work at the mo, and kinda sick, but here's some videos from Hemavan

Being a small ski area, we did all the groomed runs in about an hour, then went off exploringh through the forest. Here's Ansu and Vince boarding down one such section:



Also, there was a substantial amount of tomfoolery. Here's Garnet and Michael nailing Ansu with XXXL-sized snowballs:

I got that chilly will

It seems that there's something about the alps that makes draws me towards seasonally inappropriate activities... long-time readers may recall my summer glacier skiing in the Austrian alps. So I finally go to the alps in winter, and what do I do? Scuba diving under the ice of a frozen lake, of course!

Some pics (thanks to Eyal and co):







It was AWESOME.

My first time in drysuit - buoyancy was difficult - but I'm a survivor (geddit?).

Unfortunately (silly me) it didn't occur to me to take my underwater camera on a ski trip, so no underwater pics, I'll just have to describe it.

Diving under ice, alpine seasonal reversal - it follows that you lean back and look UP - opposite of normal diving. Exhaled air hits the ice ceiling and sprays everywhich way in kaleidoscopic patterns. Bubbles of air - or anti-water - fall up and collect in reverse-ponds, in which you can form mini-whirlpools with a quick flick of the wrist. We turned off our torches at one point and could only see a faint alien green glow of light filtering through skylights of thin ice.

Relax upwards, head suspended against the ice ceiling examining it up close with a torch, seeing all the tiny little air bubbles which formed there in bizarre patterns months ago at the first freeze.

It was totally surreal, if normal diving is like visiting another world, then this was like visiting another universe. And it is and this was.

Meanwhile - 3.5 days at home is long enough, I'm going skiing again this weekend at Hemavan, a resort near Umeå.

Ruff Rydaz 4-Evah

(the hyphen above should be a lighting bolt, but I can't find a button for that on this keyboard)

Update: I've decided to put a text file on the web containing my travel plans, possible plans, and vague ideas. Partly for my own benefit, partly for anyone trying to coincide with me. I'll try to keep it updated as plans are confirmed or abandoned.
Now, Some pics from Tignes.

The "eye of the needle" (on left):




Tignes village from the top of one of the mountains. The peak on the distant horizon is Mont Blanc, highest in Europe, 4800m:




Another mountain scene:




My ski class group:




Off-piste with Eivind:




Taken from our balcony, the blue sign on the right is the entry of a chair lift:

• Tignes was sensational. I don't think I can ever ski in Australia again.
• Now killing time in Stockholm, photos NOW.
• Unlike most of Europe, which is having a pretty shit season, Tignes is high up, and on a glacier, and it had plenty of snow.
• We could literally ski from the balcony of our apartment, 20 metres down a slope to a ski lift. There were zero queues at 99% of the lifts - longest wait experienced was a couple of minutes.
• I took lessons, and learnt how to do proper turns in powder - a skill which for some unknown reason I never developed in oz.
• French people speak funny - I got accused of immaturity by an English schoolgirl in my ski class for saying "Oui oui, poo poo" all the time.
• Eivind has an insatiable Norwegian desire to leave the groomed (and avalanche-safe) pistes, and make his own path through the wilderness. I followed on a few such ventures, and survived to tell the tale - just.
• The one day I was too hungover to attend lessons it was snowing like buggery and shit conditions anyway - couldn't have planned it any better. That was after a very high-speed pub crawl, where for each beer you bought you got a free shot, and had about five minutes to consume both before moving on. Messy.
• English guys on holiday in France like to dress up as girls to a degree I've not seen in any other situation.
• I have no idea what the dot at the bottom of my blog is, and quite frankly I'm deeply concerned about the parties that noticed - and subsequently discussed - it.

Tignes

A resort built on a glacier 3km up in the french alps.
One of those little black dots will be me in a couple of days.
Noice.