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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    750

    A 2 week Traverse of the Lyngen Alps, Norway [100pics]

    t's been a dream of mine for years now to Traverse the Lyngen Alps from the Southern point all the way to the northern shores. I've been lucky enough to have it my backyard minus a 7 hour drive from Rovaniemi, Finland and have been visiting the zone for late Spring the past 5 years. In 2016 I was planning on going at it solo but with a low snowpack decided it was best wait until the conditions were prime and it all lined up in May 2017.

    My friend Ilkka from Rovaniemi was in immediately and we poured over the maps deciding that we would take 2 weeks allowing us to take our time and go via a more adventurous route. From there we told our friends Jamie Weeks and Wiggles and asked if they had any interest and like that it was A Finn a Canadian and 2 Americans off on a Traverse of the Lyngen Alps.

    From the car we immediately walked into a storm as we had predetermined dates and decided it's better to get a file miles knocked off compared to waiting for who knows how long in hopes of a solid forecast.



    We skinned until reaching the cloud cap and after finding a few trees for some shelter put down camp with the intentions of moving the moment viability improved. Well.......this lasted for 2 days.



    After a full 12 hour in the tent we built a snow shelter out of boredom and so we could all freely move around



    After 2 days the clouds lifted a few hundred meters so we skinned another mile and found a shelter. Since we couldn't see into the peaks we decided to wait it out once again to the next day.



    Finally the weather broke the next morning so to gain ground that we had lost due to the storm we skinned all day until the last rays. In total we did half the southern portion in a single day.





    Until we made it to a hut to call home for the night.



    Once again the weather deteriorated so we had to make a decision, stay on our original route our stick to the Eastern portion which is mainly benches but had the benefit of better weather via the rain shadow we went to the east which allowed us to ski to a small village in hopes of resupplying at a store only to find the local shop shut down a year prior.



    So it was time to get back into the mountains



    The weather hadn't really changed and visibility in the high country was still a white out so that night we slept on the porch of yet again another sweet Norwegian Hut




    The next day was still near visibility but we would be going through familiar territory form me so we pushed through a white out with the wind of the high country valley roaring past us.




    Reaching our final hut and final night in the Southern portion of Lyngen, out of 6 days we really only got in 1 good day of travel.




    The next day we pushed along the dismal weather all the way to the town of Lyngsedit which is the Split between the Southern and Northern parts of Lyngen.






    Where we picked up our food cache, stopped by the grocery store and slept next to a cemetery while we laughed off the horrible weather we had experienced and hoped we wouldn't have to do the whole route in such dire conditions.

    Shameless spam: Trip reports and Gear reviews and if you want to support what I do follow me on Instagram @KyleMiller411

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    750
    The Northern Portion of the Lyngen had been my backyard for the previous 3 years so I felt quite familiar with most of the terrain and was happy to see that the weather forecast was final going to change in our favor so a week into the trip we finally had the first real rays of sun.



    After skinning about 7 miles we made it to a hut and decided it was best to stay here instead of possibly getting stuck in a tent in the high alpine.




    While Ilkka and Jamie rested Wiggles and I decided to go out for a lap in the local scenery with another person who was staying at the hut.



    We boot packed up the NE ridge of Skidivarde and found that the storm had dropped off well over a foot of solid stable powder.





    After a run in perfect conditions we decided to climb the mountain right next to the hut so we could ride fall line down to it compared to skiing the flat valley and once again found perfect conditions.







    After the runs we were very excited about the conditions and made an early morning departure so we could go for Tvingsdalen, one of the most aesthetic peaks in Lyngen.







    It was my third time on the peak and it was obvious it would be the best conditions I would get to ride it in. We were all stoked!!








    Perfect conditions on a perfect face......maybe the first week of pain was worth it.




    From there we climbed up to a high col than rode a beautiful 1400 meter run of open glacier all the way to the valley 200 meters above sea level.






    From there we set up camp and soaked in the last few rays of sun before the temperature dropped.





    The next morning we woke up to flat light but it was much better than we had previously experienced so we climbed up and over two high cols and made our way down to Ilkka's favorite camping spot







    The spot was beautiful but it was also really cold as we didn't get any sunlight. It was nice to have running water though


    Last edited by Kyle Miller; 11-22-2018 at 07:20 AM.
    Shameless spam: Trip reports and Gear reviews and if you want to support what I do follow me on Instagram @KyleMiller411

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    750
    On our 4th day of the Northern portion we climbed the steepest of the cols and our final real hurdle and from there on it became obvious that we were going to make it.





    After a sweet descent of the glacier we rode up to a hut that was so nice we debated back and forth about staying there and in the end called it home for the night.




    The 5th morning we woke up excited. It was sunny, we were close to the end and as far as we knew the conditions were still good. So we traveled up toward Storgalten





    Knowing that the area was going to be warming with people we wrapped around the western side finding a great line heading the direction we were interested in....north!!




    After one final climb we stood across from our final summit of the traverse.






    And descended to our last camping spot on the traverse





    Our final morning we rode down to the road and walked to meet up with our friend David who had set up a camp spot waiting to join on on the climb up the North side of the peak.



    Shameless spam: Trip reports and Gear reviews and if you want to support what I do follow me on Instagram @KyleMiller411

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    750
    Our final summit was a thing of beauty before us stood nothing but small peaks and open ocean. We were all excited and happy that everything worked well in the end. The smiles were quite contagious.





    From than it will as down hill for one final run all the way to the beachfront.









    From there we ditched our boards and hiked out to the Northern point of Lyngen as we had already gone that far it seemed like a shame to stop there.






    It was a wild traverse with the first half being terrible and the second half being amazing. I guess in the end the wold likes to have a sense of balance.
    Last edited by Kyle Miller; 11-22-2018 at 07:23 AM.
    Shameless spam: Trip reports and Gear reviews and if you want to support what I do follow me on Instagram @KyleMiller411

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    750
    And then there was 2.....or actually 3

    David was a savior as he had dropped us off at the Southern section as well as picked us up from the North without his help it wouldn't have been possible. The next few days Wiggles and I stayed at Davids farm house and Ilkka and Jamie said goodbye and found us back at it the next day.



    This is what you look like after two weeks in the mountains




    Since life is weather dependent we had a fun mellow climb followed by a locals favorite straight to the Fiord






    The next day we got stormed out and celebrated Norways independence and waited for the next weather window. By now the midnight sun was almost there so time really wasn't an issue. We saw a small weather window starting at 6p.m. and lasting until noon the next day so we filled up on calories and made a traverse around Skidivarde tagging 4 big lines along the way.









    It was a soul crusher of a trip with 18,000 vert in a single day but it was cool getting out there and exploring some beautiful mountains.

    Our final trip was a glacier basecamp with David and his son Elias which had become an annual camping trip



    In typical Lyngen fashion our main day on the glacier was in white out conditions so we waited on a summit for hours hoping the weather would break.....it didn't



    On our last day we had a cloud deck once again and decided to go for one of the lower elevation peaks. Maybe it wasn't the highest but it had one of the best views




    Here is David with his house in the background


    Our final descent was to the northern side of the glacier where we had a boat bring us back to our car. If there is a perfect way to say goodbye to Lyngen this was it!!



    I hope you enjoyed reading this and thanks to both David and Wiggles for contributing amazing photography as well as the crew (Ilkka, Jamie, Wiggles and David) that made this possible. It was great touring with 4 full competent people on the trip, sure our bootpack sometimes went 4 ways but we were solid against any potential mishap and it showed in our group dynamics.

    In case you weren't well aware LYNGEN ROCKS!!!!



    and I look forward to more of this in the spring



    If you want to help support what I do check me out on Instagram @kyleMiller411 and/or share this story with your friends. Sorry I had to write this but SM is what companies care about these days
    Last edited by Kyle Miller; 11-22-2018 at 08:18 AM.
    Shameless spam: Trip reports and Gear reviews and if you want to support what I do follow me on Instagram @KyleMiller411

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
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    1,064
    Awesome! Some friends and I are looking to ski up in that area of the world in 2020. Thanks for the stoke.

  7. #7
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    Mar 2008
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    It's a awesome zone. Mid March to mid April is the best time. I just like May because it is less crowded.
    Shameless spam: Trip reports and Gear reviews and if you want to support what I do follow me on Instagram @KyleMiller411

  8. #8
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    Sep 2016
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    A+


    Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

  9. #9
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    Dec 2015
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    16,337
    dang nice work! i will have to spend some quality time to take it all in.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Kilpisjärvi, Finland
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    933
    Nice trip! Stop by at Kilpisjärvi next time you pass by, let's go ride something

    Sent from my FIG-LX1 using TGR Forums mobile app

  11. #11
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    Mar 2008
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    750
    I would love to visit. Just need to persuade my wife that we should move there
    Rovaniemi is too big for me!!
    Shameless spam: Trip reports and Gear reviews and if you want to support what I do follow me on Instagram @KyleMiller411

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
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    base of the Bush
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    14,870
    Very well done TR, thanks for sharing. Looks like it was an amazing time.
    www.apriliaforum.com

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  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
    Location
    Kilpisjärvi, Finland
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    933
    Quote Originally Posted by Kyle Miller View Post
    I would love to visit. Just need to persuade my wife that we should move there
    Rovaniemi is too big for me!!
    Yeah, Kilpisjärvi is nice and small with 120 people year round

    Sent from my FIG-LX1 using TGR Forums mobile app

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Albany, NY
    Posts
    848
    Thanks for posting the TR and the teaser in the main forum. May not have seen it otherwise.

    Great shots. Some of them remind me of Turnagain Pass and the Chugach in AK.

    This should be a big poster hanging on your wall.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Posts
    750
    Thank you very much for the kind words! I think all the mountain photos on my wall is driving the wife crazy!!
    Shameless spam: Trip reports and Gear reviews and if you want to support what I do follow me on Instagram @KyleMiller411

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Spokane/Schweitzer
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    6,741
    Crikey...that's a great TR. Too bad, like you said in the main forum, no one seems to come the TR forum anymore, myself included. I think maybe it's time to reintegrate the TRs into the main forum again so they get the appropriate traffic. And I say this as a former proponent of them having their own.... I was wrong....

    Anyway, way to kill it! That looks like a damn miserable time

  17. #17
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    inpdx
    Posts
    20,197
    Reading...gonna take a little while btwn food prep cycles ...

  18. #18
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    Oct 2003
    Location
    9,300ft
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    21,938
    stellar!
    Quote Originally Posted by blurred
    skiing is hiking all day so that you can ski on shitty gear for 5 minutes.

  19. #19
    Thanks for posting this TR!!!

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Posts
    750
    Thank you for the kind words! Happy to have pulled off the traverse and actually be able to see the second week
    Shameless spam: Trip reports and Gear reviews and if you want to support what I do follow me on Instagram @KyleMiller411

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
    Posts
    321
    Damn Kyle, what an awesome effort! I love seeing major endurance efforts like this that still manage to combine the mileage with some great downhill riding!!

    What's the hut system like there? First come-first serve? We might be heading to Norway for a wedding later this year and I would love to get a short 2-3 day tour in!

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Tahoe-ish
    Posts
    3,141
    Thanks for going to the trouble. I do TRs on ADVRider after bigger trips, so I know it's a lot of work.

    Sent from my VS996 using Tapatalk
    ride bikes, climb, ski, travel, cook, work to fund former, repeat.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Posts
    750
    Yeah the hut system is first come first serve but some huts you need keys to get into. With that being said they have a great hut system with her.
    Shameless spam: Trip reports and Gear reviews and if you want to support what I do follow me on Instagram @KyleMiller411

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Tahoe
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    1,095
    Fantastic. Thanks for putting this TR together.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Posts
    61
    That is one incredible journey, man! Nice

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