Norway: Shredding Fjords And Fjells With Molly Baker

Molly Baker enjoys apres skiing on yachts in Norway.

Words and photos by Brigid Mander.

We put skins on in the drizzle on the side of the road, between the mountain and the fjord in Tromsø. Thick fog was above us; more than anything, I did not want to go skiing. There were no excuses, though — on a trip to Norway to ski with Molly Baker, we were going skiing.  

Having seen the pictures and the edits and the movie segments over the last few years, we still didn’t know exactly what to expect when we first arrived in the Lyngen Alps. We were on our own program using topographic maps to find lines, climb mountains and ski. 

If you lived in Tromsø, Norway, you'd ski that mountain after work. Five bucks if you know how to pronounce the ø in Tromsø. ... Alright, it sounds a lot like saying Tromso, except say it like you're getting punched in the stomach by a viking.

Norway’s continued appearance in ski and snowboard media over the last few years highlights its powder, pillows, AK-style descents and universe of accessible big mountain lines jutting up from the fjords. Here, in the land of ski touring and 24-hour sunlight, we learned you get what you give.

What you get might be the unexpected. A few hours after our rain soaked start, Molly and I were sitting in an apres-ski bar in Tromsø, relishing $12 beers 200 miles north of the Arctic circle, new friends, and were utterly stoked: our gamble in the rain turned out be a unforgettable descent in powder, under pink light at nearly 11 p.m.

Skiing off summits around midnight is pretty standard in Norway.

Of course, despite surging skier interest in the country, skiing is not so much a pastime in Norway as an intrinsic part of life and heritage — this is, after all, where people have been skiing for thousands of years and modern skiing originated. Every day we were blown away by the ski tracks slathered, up, down, all over so many peaks, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, there are many,easy to reach peaks to get after it on, and always fresh lines. 

With no resorts to speak of nearby, and heli-skiing not allowed (unless by special permit), fitness and motivation are the keys to getting the goods.  If you have a good crew, you can just slay peaks and couloirs, as many as you have energy for — one reason why Molly, fresh off a busy couple trips touring in BC for some magazine stories and filming at Icefall Lodge with Sweetgrass, was a perfect trip partner.

The ski route down to $12 beers.

We had spent the first week crammed into a cabin on a 46-foot sailboat by Boreal Yachting, which dropped us at icy beaches under peaks we wanted to ski. Access by boat can be key — the fjords reach in and snake around so much spectacular terrain. It explains the growing popularity of the ski/sail trip, by companies like Boreal in the Lyngen region or Ice Axe Expeditions on Norway’s Svalbard Island.

After the boat, we hit the road, driving to our starting points. Near the end of our trip, we found ourselves on top of a quintessential peak, Storstalpan, with an ethereal blue sea stretching north, spiky white peaks to the sides, and, under us technical summit descent followed by a couple thousand feet of fresh powder to a beachy finish.

In Norway, life's a beach.

“When you get a good day, the way the terrain is set up, and the views, a bluebird powder day is almost better than anything else – it’s so unique,” observed Molly, as we discussed a return trip before we even left.

You get what you put into it in Norway, indeed.

Getting embedded in the local culture, Molly Baker enjoys a dried fish stick in Norway.

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stash member Brigid Mander

All things skiing, fun lines, off the beaten path adventures, skid life, telling stories, and obscure vocabulary words. brigidmander.com