Up on the hill is where you'll find us
Update: where do you go for the finest prop-based comedy of our generation? The newly formed Viking Helmet Exhibition at the National Gallery. And by National Gallery I mean my gallery.
Riksgränsen and Narvik: Awesome.
Here 'tis:
Some facts:
Pia, the walking talking earthly incarnation of serenity, taking a rest at Narvik. I have a lot of respect for a girl who, when the bus stops and we have to buy supplies for the weekend, buys bacon and beer. (lots and lots of bacon...)
They were filming a commercial in Narvik for some clothing brand. This fella was jumping off the railing...
... down to here, doing flips and tricks around the sign.
Lunch break in Riksgränsen, Catrine, like a good Norwegian, asleep in a ditch.
Per begins to regret his chosen route for post-prandial urination.
On the fourth day, some of us hiked up the hill you see in the background here, and skied down:
twas bloody hard work! We climbed up the right side, and skied down the left side.
Pia starting the hike. the path goes diagonally from Pia's head up and to the left. The little dots you can see along it are people.
If that looks steep, it was!
If it doesn't, it was steeper than it looks!
Actually, the steepest part was the first leg, obscured by Pia's body.
Several people had been on previous days, so there were footprints dug into the snow, but in the shady sections, they had gotten pretty icy. and we were climbing up with skis strapped our backs, wearing clunky downhill boots, and using ski poles for support.
At one point on a particularly steep and icy section, my foot slipped a few centimetires, and I just managed to jam my pole in and stop myself, but boy was my heart pounding after that! If I'd lost it I could have slid 100 metres before I stopped.
Per, almost at the top:
Next pic, Per reaches the top
Me at the top. Windy as hell!
People were literally being blown off their feet, strongest wind I've ever felt.
Closeup of me at the top. One word: windswept!
Quick break before the ski down. Down steep and deep.
That was my weekend, and it was a good one.
Riksgränsen and Narvik: Awesome.
Here 'tis:
Some facts:
- Riksgränsen means "national border". The resort is in Sweden, but the border with Norway runs through the middle of the ski fields, so you cross back and forth all day. Narvik is well and truly in Norway, a 1km-high mountain right in the middle of the fjords. beautiful!
- Better than Åre, in my opinion. Åre has 100 runs and 40 lifts, or some such, whereas R and N both have about 5 lifts, but it's all above the tree line, and they just take you to the top of a mountain, and you can choose a different route down every time.
- N and R both have much better scenery than Åre, and less crowds, which is good!
- I reinstated agreements with some of the jubblies I met in Åre, and met several new jubblies, and also a good number of knobs, who will be left by the wayside.
- Arctic: strange, leaving a pub at 1am, and it's still light. Or already light. Or both. The sun was not actually up, it's not quite the time for 24 hour sun, but it was kinda dusky. Still skiing one month from summer, amazing!
- Weather: foggy/snowing first day, almost like Bjorli in December. Second day, in Narvik, cloudy at first but clearing as the day went on. third and fourth days: perfect. Couldn't ask for better.
- Exhausting: bus picked us up at 9:30pm on Thursday night, and drove 10.5 hours, very little sleep, deep-vein thrombosis and all that, go straight to the ski fields and ski all day. 4 days of skiing all day and partying all night, then drive back monday 5pm and get back to Umeå at 3:30am.
- The most entertaining bus ride I've ever had: After dinner one night, driving back from our accommodation into Riksgränsen for party. Music was blaring, everyone singing along, bus driver flicking all the cabin lights on and off in time with the music, disco style. Four stunning swedish blondes dancing up and down the aisle, one grabbing the luggage racks like parallel bars and doing roof-walking backflips and somersaults as the bus weaves along the mountain road! Nice!
Pia, the walking talking earthly incarnation of serenity, taking a rest at Narvik. I have a lot of respect for a girl who, when the bus stops and we have to buy supplies for the weekend, buys bacon and beer. (lots and lots of bacon...)
They were filming a commercial in Narvik for some clothing brand. This fella was jumping off the railing...
... down to here, doing flips and tricks around the sign.
Lunch break in Riksgränsen, Catrine, like a good Norwegian, asleep in a ditch.
Per begins to regret his chosen route for post-prandial urination.
On the fourth day, some of us hiked up the hill you see in the background here, and skied down:
twas bloody hard work! We climbed up the right side, and skied down the left side.
Pia starting the hike. the path goes diagonally from Pia's head up and to the left. The little dots you can see along it are people.
If that looks steep, it was!
If it doesn't, it was steeper than it looks!
Actually, the steepest part was the first leg, obscured by Pia's body.
Several people had been on previous days, so there were footprints dug into the snow, but in the shady sections, they had gotten pretty icy. and we were climbing up with skis strapped our backs, wearing clunky downhill boots, and using ski poles for support.
At one point on a particularly steep and icy section, my foot slipped a few centimetires, and I just managed to jam my pole in and stop myself, but boy was my heart pounding after that! If I'd lost it I could have slid 100 metres before I stopped.
Per, almost at the top:
Next pic, Per reaches the top
Me at the top. Windy as hell!
People were literally being blown off their feet, strongest wind I've ever felt.
Closeup of me at the top. One word: windswept!
Quick break before the ski down. Down steep and deep.
That was my weekend, and it was a good one.
posted by I-Rock at 10:49 AM
11 Comments:
I'm presuming you bought that kathmandu down jacket on sale at half price
either that or he stole it.....
ian, you should send in that closeup photo of you and see of they want it for their catalogue
Frikken sweet!
Brett: of course, I left oz in spring!
Alex: I'm glad that you are finally admitting that I ought to be a male model!
Choc: indeed!
p.s. Brett, I've noticed you only seem to comment when I go skiing. Alex, remember oktoberfest? Was that the first time you met Brett?
That second last photo is pure gold. I want to be that happy one day.
It's remiss of you to omit SVALBARD from your map. It's my new romantic holiday destination of choice, and my address for the purposes of RSL guest memberships.
hmmm, i believe it was oktoberfest and i believe i got dismissed because i'd never been cross country skiing...
and i don't remember writing ANYWHERE that you 'ought to be a male model'!
Oh come on alex, the charade has gone on long enough. You think I didn't notice the way you looked at me in lectures?
Cok: Svalbard is definitely on my list. Looks wild. GuRocknRoll's been there. Some say it changed her. Some say she changed it.
I might go there next summer and wrestle a polar bear.
but Ian, YOU DIDN'T GO TO ALL THE LECTURES!
*stunned silence*
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