Build My Own FeedBD athlete Tor Eggbøe reports on a New Years ski trip in Norway
Black Diamond athlete Tor Eggbøe ventured back to his home turf of Norway and sent us the following report of looks to be like a perfect way to ring in 2011.
I figured out I have been skiing abroad on New Years for the last 10 years, so it was really due to take it back to Norway! Some friends invited us to their house in Digermulen, Lofoten, and what a time we had!
The southeastern storm started bringing in snow the day we arrived, and after one evening of settling and acclimatizing we went touring the following morning. That is, after saying hello to three elks just outside the living room-window, surprising me with their presence when I fired up the oven early in the morning.
Above the Arctic Circle, the polar night (winter version, and really the opposite, of midnight sun) occurs in Lofoten from 7th of December to 5th of January (i.e., the days are short but not as dark as one should believe). We skied from 10 am to 2:30 pm every day, and standing on the summits experiencing an amazing horizon of pastels is hard to imagine without being there!
The highlight of our Lofoten trip was really the climb of Geitgallien. This is the second highest mountain in Lofoten, raging 1085 meters above sea level, and you can ski all the way from summit to sea. Me, Asbjørn Eggebø Næss and Eivind Drivflaadt climbed the western route on best conditions thinkable, making both axes and crampons excess. I tried the combination of Drift skis/Quadrant boots and G3 Onyx for the first time, which made the ascent even easier (I can get used to that...). The top section is roughly 50 degrees steep, and on top there is a tiny ”dance floor” with the best 360-degree view achievable. We got first tracks down the southern gully this year, and got to ski 50 cm of fresh pow all the way down to shore!
The same night we ate day-fresh monkfish from the local fisherman, and enjoyed the Northern Lights for dessert. Voilà!
— Tor
[All photos by Asbjørn Eggebø Næss]
United States / English 
