Photo: Snowy traffic jam as rental car is pulled from ditch after sliding off the road near Vareid, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. March 29, 2022. 15:47

After an unusually warm and mild first half of March which saw Lofoten looking more like spring than winter, the snow finally returned in a series of passing storms. Along with the snow, an unusually high amount of road chaos also occurred, mainly in the form of cars in ditches and semi-trucks stuck on inclines. It must be the combination of sun shining on the snowy roads, as even to me, they seemed to be slipperier than normal winter roads.

Tuesday afternoon, on my way to Reine for a conference I didn’t get far from Leknes before I encountered the first car off the road. The weather was pretty terrible, and I even though of turning around myself, but there was a large amount of traffic on the roads, about 1/2 of which being rental cars. It wasn’t fun driving conditions, even for a local, so I don’t understand why so many people were out…

A short while later, I passed another car in the ditch just after the Fredvang bridges. Just before departing the conference in the evening, I saw that the E10 at Nappskaret was closed, as 3 semi-trucks had gotten stuck. And finally just before getting home there was a van sitting deep in the ditch at Kilan – where 2 semi-trucks found themselves partially off the road on Thursday, closing the E10 for several hours. Busy days for the tow truck drivers…

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6
460mm
ISO 640
f 5.6
1/1250 second
WB Daylight

Photo: A (very large) rock on the road near Storsandnes beach, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. March 16, 2022. 09:39

The unusually warm temperatures since the beginning of March have begun to thaw out the frozen mountains of winter. But as the sun comes out and the temperatures go up, ice and rocks come down. This particularly large one fell on my road on Wednesday morning – also cutting the internet cable to my village in the process. It’s big enough that they’re going to have to get out the heavy machinery to move it, or perhaps even blast it apart.

As of Thursday, the 815 was also closed near Valberg, on the southern side of Vestvågøy, due to another rock fall. And with heavy rain and wind due all weekend, more rocks will likely be falling from the mountains of Lofoten. To paraphrase one of the guys from the Norwegian road agency about the rockfall on Lofoten: the roads (of Lofoten) won’t be safe until Lofoten is as flat as Denmark…

With that in mind, the road signage on Lofoten, and Norway in general, is quite understated. You can see in this picture that quite appropriately placed rockfall sign just beyond the boulder. While this rock is on the bigger side, rocks large enough to smash through the roof of a car fall along this road on a monthly basis, more or less all year long.

Yet, it is just a few of these tiny signs to warn you of the quite substantial rockfall danger of Myrlandsviein. And these tiny road signs do little to stop the dozen or so tourists in vans and motorhomes camping on the the road each night throughout the summer. Perhaps if they knew the reality of what waits in the mountains above them, they would choose a safer spot to sleep for the night?

Considering how much emphasis Norway puts on road safety, it seems strange that consistent rockfall in a highly touristed area only receives a small notice.

Which brings me to my next point. From a Norwegian perspective, small signs like these do mean something! And yet, I think this translation is lost among the continental European visitors whose countries are often covered in an endless amount of signs that they become subconsciously ignored. If the road was dangerous, it should surely have more than a small sign, right? Not in Norway…

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 24-200 f4/6.3
24mm
ISO 100
f 10
1/1000 second
WB Daylight

Photo: Sea eagle in flight over Nappstraumen, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 5, 2022. 11:34

Sea eagles are more or less a daily sight on Lofoten. Photographing them, however, tends to be a little more difficult. Although perhaps that is because I don’t consider myself anywhere near any sort of competency with wildlife photography, and usually only make any attempt when a seemly easy opportunity presents itself. Which in the case of sea eagles, happens on occasion.

Usually, they can be seen sitting on coastal rocks as one drives around. But as soon as you come to a stop, they’ll quickly fly away. The best opportunities I have is a rock they frequent on the road to my house, where I can drive past and park out of sight around the corner, then do my best to sneak up without being seen. Sometimes I’m successful, but usually not!

Driving home on a windy day last week, I noticed one eagle sitting on a small rock and another coming into land as well. I stopped my van and waited for a second. They didn’t fly away. Not having my camera prepared, I had to reach to the back of my van to grab it, and put on my 200-500mm lens, which was even further back in my van.

By now the first eagle had taken off, but the 2nd was still hovering almost parallel to me, fighting against the strong southern wind coming up the Nappstraumen. Rolling down my window, I was able to shoot from inside my van, as the eagle floated up and down in the wind. It soon landed for a second, but I think then decided the rock wasn’t really that nice of a place to rest, and took off again, this time slowly flying off around the corner.

Overall, I had maybe 3-4 minutes of being stopped with at least one eagle present, which is quite a long time! Unfortunately, I wasn’t prepared – I’m usually more watchful during the spring time when they are sitting around more often – and half that time was getting my camera setup. And it was quite dark and cloudy overall, so I needed and ISO of 1000, and really should have gone higher, as even at 1/800 second, there is still a bit of motion blur in the shot, as the eagle was bouncing around in the turbulent wind gusts.

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon Z7 II
Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6
500mm
ISO 1000
f 5.6
1/800 second
WB Daylight

Photo: Difficult winter road visibility in flat light and fresh snow, Flakstadøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. March 5, 2021. 15:59.

With Norway remaining essentially closed for last winter’s tourism season on Lofoten, the snowy roads in 2022 will likely be somewhat busier as photographers begin to travel again. Photographers and tourists that often are not experienced with winter driving conditions. So this weeks post is a bit of a safety post, which I do from time to time, for all the people chasing snowy beaches and northern lights over the next months.

Even in somewhat decent visibility as in this photo: no fog, sideways snow, its daylight, etc. You can see it is quite difficult to distinguish the right side of the road, even with the aid of snow poles. And what looks like plenty of room to pull over slightly will actually immediately see your car into a 1 meter deep ditch which begins just outside of the snow poles.

The flat light and lack of roadside objects of contrast make driving in these conditions quite demanding of attention, even more so in busy traffic or when the numerous large trucks heavy with fish are speeding towards you in the opposite direction down a road that is already uncomfortably narrow in summer.

For a more detailed article, see: Winter Driving

But for now, a few brief tips to keep you and others safe on the roads:

• Never attempt to pull off the side of the road unless you are 100% sure of what is below the snow. Nearly all sections of road on Lofoten have drainage ditches immediately outside of the snow pole line. The road plows do an okay-ish job of cleaning out the roadside parking areas, but not always after a fresh snow storm. However, unless you have seen the roads in summer, I do not suggest pulling out into unknown depths of snow. This is a good way to get stuck.
• Let other vehicles pass. With the above said about pulling off the road. If you are traveling especially slow, be polite and pull over at the next safe and visible pull out area. Signal clearly before doing so.
• Do not park on the road! Especially so in regards to the E10. There are some nice roadside views, but unless there is a proper pullout, you cannot park on the road.
• Be very careful of driveway and parking lot entrances. Driveway entrances are not always well marked, if at all, from the surrounding roadside ditches. The Parking at Haukland beach is a particularly treacherous one that always catches cars after a fresh snow.
• Double any travel time Google maps give you for driving to a location in good weather. Triple the driving time in bad weather or darkness.
• Stay home when its the best choice. There are several days each winter where it is simply unsafe and irresponsible to be out on the roads.
• Be careful of side roads in periods of heavy snowfall. Especially so in early mornings or late evenings. When the snow is falling, all roads plows are out just to keep the main roads of Lofoten open. Smaller roads to rural villages or scenic areas might get temporary overlooked, and deep snow can build up quickly, especially in high winds. Uttakleiv beach is a good example of a location that is not always accessible during heavy snowfall.
• Plan ahead in anticipation of any long drives. Weather conditions might dictate that if you are driving from Lofoten to Harstad/Evenes airport for example, you might need to adjust your schedule by a day or two. Beyond difficult and dangerous driving conditions, there are also several closure points, such as the Gimsøy bridge, which can block travel between west and east Lofoten, even for periods over 24 hours.
• Most importantly: Enjoy your trip! Lofoten is not going anywhere anytime soon. You cannot control the weather, so there is no point in trying to fight it. The weather does what it does, so just go with the flow. You’re on Island Time up here…

Head over to my Instagram account for (almost) daily postings of the local conditions here on Lofoten: @distant.north

Camera Info:
Nikon D850
Nikon 24-70 f/2.8
36mm
ISO 100
f 10
1/25 second
WB Daylight