This weekend I hooked up with my buddy Solve Persen for some serious shredding around Strandafjellet at the Norwegian west coast. Inspired by the fashionable blog-life many of our friends are living, we decided to make a mini-documentary to give our viewers a better insight in our everyday life.. Enjoy the epic seriousness!
The winter had a late arrival here in Norway, a warm and wet autumn made the Norwegians nervous for a long time.. But suddenly the sky opened and spread a massive dump all over the west-coast, winter was on at last! When I spotted the forecast of 70 cm fresh coming up I just had to throw exam-preparations away and live a little:) I shared two perfect days on the mountain together with my good friends Magnus and Robert.
Take a peek at the conditions in this edit made by Magnus Davidsen:
And check out the new main mountain press in Norway www.fjelltelegrafen.no !
Thank’s to the stormsystem called “berit” that have been pounding the coast of Norway the last days, we are finally getting snow. Down by the coast it’s raining seriously hard, but that only means that we are getting loads of snow in the mountains. And hopefully, because of warm weather, we will get a really good and solid base for more snow the fall on if the temperature now gets colder. Haven’t got the chance to ski the fresh snow yet, besause of two upcoming exams. I will hopefully get the chance to ski the fresh snow in a few days when one exam is down and some friends are arriving to enjoy the first real snow this season.
Had my first rando-trip on the 16. with some friends up to Steindalsnosi on Sognefjellet. We woke up early to a really nice bluebird day and started driving. With almost no snow in the mountains at that time the almost only option was the Fannaråk glacier. We had to walk on our feet for 1-1,5 hour in to the glacier, and since the glacier had a hardpack of snow most of us decided to keep on walking on our feet.
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| Sara prepearing to put on crampons with Fannaråken in the background |
The last part up to the top where it is steep we put on our crampons and got ourselfs up the last part. It was a bit windy on the top, but we still had a beautiful view of Jotunheimen National Park with all it’s mountains. We geared up and put on our ski’s. Some decided to walk on ther feet the first steep part, so only me and Eirik skied the exposed top. It was not the best conditions, really hardpack. The good thing is that then you at least know what to expect. We skied down half of the run, and waited for the others. Then we skied the last part of the glacier. We got a really nice suprise on the first part of the flatter part og the glacier, it was actually 5 cm of really nice snow ontop of the hardpack and suprisingly nice skiing. Everyone was happy and we started on the flat part back to the car.
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| On our way up the glacier. Smørstabbtindane in the background. |
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| getting up the last steep part to the top |
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| Happy crew back with the cars after a nice trip |
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| On the top gearing up |
Yesterday it started snowing up in Sogndalsdalen and we tok a little trip up in Frudalen on our feet to check out the conditions. About 30 cm of snow on the parkinglot. 10 min of walking and it was already 10 cm more of snow. And it was still dumping. Have a few pictures taken with my mobilphone, so bad quality. We also built a snowgirl, “Frudalshufsa”, playing around in the snow.
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| Karoline and Sara with “Frudalshufsa” |
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| Not easy to capture the mood with a mobilephone, but it was really nice! |
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| My car at the parkinglot we made with our feet and two boxlids. |
Hopefully I can post some skiing pictures and video soon! Just have to get an exam our two out of the way first.
Have fun in the snow that’s finally here everyone!!
In danger of giving a lot of skiers even more skiing-abstinenses, here’s a clip from one of the easiest accessable powderruns last season. Right under the chairlift in Voss Resort. Very fun run! This day me managed to get two runs there before anyone else. One of my first runs on the new Black Crows Nocta. And one of many of the memorable runs last season in Norway. Looking forward to more runs like that on the Nocta upcoming season!! And if you hear some whistling in the background of the video, your correct, it’s just me having a good time whistling away:-)
After leaving NZ in May it’s been full on flying around the Northern Hemisphere. After arriving in Europe we cut tracks to Curnovo, Slovakia to train on the slalom course here. It was pretty sick actually. Check this vid from the time here.
http://vimeo.com/24276573
From there is was back across the Atlantic Ocean via Washington city to Vail, Colorado for the Teva Mountain Games high up in the Rocky Mountains. This event is super sweet. It boasts some of the coolest competitions in the world for Kayak, Biking, Climbing, “fly fishing”, and a whole bunch of others. We were there mainly for the Steep Creek Race on Homestake River. This is a brutally intense race held at over 10,000ft on a shallow river with sharp rocks that drops 150meters/Km. The race was rowdy with a few competitors ending up with some blood or in hospital. Honza Lasko (CZE) and I managed to tie to the hundreth of a second over this 3 minute 30 course. All good though, some much needed bucks were now in my pocket. 5 more races and a few partys later it was back across the Atlantic to the European Version of this event.
After an epic trip we arrived jet lagged and broken to Ivera, Italy and the host town of the Teva Extreme Outdoor Games an event that was going to crown the Free-Riding team and individual world Champs. This race is one of my favorites. The course is so gnarly. The downriver event is over 6 minutes long down continuous shallow boney sketchy whitewater making it a challenge to even remmeber the line. Plus if you’re in the top 20 you get to race the King of the Falls-taken out this year b Ron Fisher. 5 events later and I took the title of the overall event sharing the podium with Sam Sutton (NZ) and Michelle Ramazza (ITA). In the teams NZ finished 2nd behind Germany and ahead of Czech. Good times.
Now it’s back on the slalom circuit with the ICF World Cup going down as we speak.
Photo’s supplied by Martina Wegman, Glenys Travers, Vail Valley Foundation and Teva Mountain Games
For around 5 days a year the Wainui River turns into a brown mess of flooded rain water and makes an epic playground for the local NZ paddlers. It doesn’t take much convincing to get a crew of 10-15 guys off the couch and out the door in the massive rain storms to fire up this amazing run!!
Maybe the sickest creek in the world!! Huge slides and drops are continually around the corner from top to bottom. Clean rapids, and munchie holes keeping everyone on their toes.
This is the river to get on if you’re lucky enough to catch the flow!! Enjoy the pic’s
A sick edit from Ben Brown to give you a visual!!
I am still on the road with Solve. We`ve been to Lofoten, Tromsø and went south again and back to the west coast, cruising around in the car seeking new places to go board. And we really have had some good shreds, both forestruns and steep colouirs. In the Lofoten Freeride comp I got lucky and placed 2. with the first run of the day in fresh snow and sun. The Xfree comp in Ørsta didn`t went out that well as I almost fell out of the start and got a big crash later in the run as well.. My friend Solve got the 2. place this time so we could celebrate anyways;)
Then easter came which we spent on Asbjørn Hellås cabin in Handeland south of the Folgefonna glacier. Here we both had the sea were we went fishing and the mountains were we went hiking. Put together a little non-serious edit from this. Thanks a lot to Asbjørn and his parents for the accomodation and food.
Now I`m in Røldal for the RFC, gonna be a show!
The west coast of NZ is the epicenter for creeking in the southern hemisphere. The steep characteristics of the Southern Alps, combined with one of the highest annal rainfall per year cause rivers to literately fall off the side of the alps, before reaching the pacific ocean.
The rugged nature of the terrain creates class 5 whitewater only accessible by helicopter. A quick phone call sets the days plan in motion, as everyone scrambles to get their gear sorted and arrive at the heli-pad on time. 
A 25 minute flight brings you to the put in of one of the best creek runs in the world. The Kokatahi drops off the side of the alps twisting and turning it’s way towards the ocean, one day of extreme paddling below. Once the Helicopter leaves you on a sandy beach, you begin to feel your isolation. Deep in the jungle forest that blankets the mountain range, there is only one way out- to kayak.
The river begins with some full on boat scouting to warm up before picking up even more gradient launching into tight gorges, and off huge drops. With some recent rain we caught it at a medium flow, meaning the middle section becomes pretty gnarly. The 7 of us we had a few beat downs, and throw bagging as the river boxed in, with some ghastly hydraulics.
Every corners brings another “dope” rapid before the bottom gorge portage arrives. It’s been run twice, but is a full on commitment with no exit once you enter into it. But as more people begin to run through it, I’m sure it will begin to go more regularly, and no doubt some carnage will begin.
Check out the video http://vimeo.com/21386240
Twelve Productions – South Island Heli-Kayaking. from Twelve Productions on Vimeo.
