Photo: Summit of Mannen (791m) at sunset, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. April 16, 2017. 20:04

My body still recovering after only half a day of rest from the first 4 days of my Easter adventures in west Lofoten, I found myself back in the parking lot at Å once again, with a new mountain in sight, and luckily, a light backpack this time! We were just going for a day trip…

Leaving around noon, we made good time to the end of Ågvatnet before putting on crampons and pulling out the ice tools for the 500 meter ascent of the couloir to the east of Mannen. Unlike the previous days, the snow was now firm and settled. Front pointing our way up, we made quick progress the the pass. I was confident that we’d be back to the car and I would be home in time for dinner – I was home for dinner, but not at a time I would have imagined!

One on the upper, north side of the mountain, there were many icy passages. We could have traversed out to the right and climbed up a gully towards a lower part of the ridge. But I, in my great wisdom, thought it would be funner just to go up the northern side of the ridge. So out came the ropes and we began to ascend.

Route finding was difficult, and progress was slow. 8 hours after leaving the parking lot I arrived at the summit cairn; the sun glowing orange just above the sea and a cold wind blowing across the high peak.

The sun had set by the time we began our descent, down the steep, sometimes icy gullies that we had originally though about ascending – it sure would have been quicker! There was some amazing light at times, but I was more focused on getting down safely, so my camera was stored in my backpack, out of reach.

It was almost midnight by the time we returned to my van. Utterly excused, but still exhilarated from an amazing day in the mountains. I could hardly get out of bed Monday morning, my body absolutely crushed.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
15mm
ISO 160
f 7.1
1/500 second
WB Daylight

Photo: Almost midnight hiking above Vindstad, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. April 7, 2017. 23:41

The Friday evening ferry doesn’t leave Reine until 21:30. And even though it feels like spring and the midnight sun is just around the corner, winter and darkness are still fighting to keep hold over Lofoten. So when you don’t start hiking until nearly 22:00 at night, it is best to bring a headlamp along, even with a mostly full moon!

The snow was deep and route finding difficult, especially as waves of snow passed over us, reducing the already limited visibility. We only had 500 meters to ascend to where we would make camp on the pass, but this took over 2 hours of effort. I don’t think I finally zipped up my sleeping bag until just before 01:00.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 2000
f 3.2
.3 second
WB Daylight

Photo: Northern Lights over Bunes beach, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 6, 2017. 19:43

Photographing the northern lights over Bunes beach is an something I have tried to do several times over the last years, and despite otherwise perfect conditions, I was always unsuccessful. So Finally, in early February I decided to make another attempt, and at last, got something close to what I was looking for.

Unfortunately though, the winter thus far had been warm and rather snow-less. Thus, the scene looks more like April, than the middle of winter!

I timed the trip to be around the full moon, needing the light to illuminate the landscape so it would be more than just a dark silhouette against the horizon. And with the bright moonlight, I was able to keep the shutter speed fast and the ISO relatively low. Though the aurora was not too active this night, so a longer shutter speed would have been okay.

Perhaps I will make another attempt before the winter is over, though with a somewhat full schedule, and some plans for bigger mountains, I’m not sure it will happen. But it is always good to have plans for the future, so this is something I will likely work on for years to come…

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8
14mm
ISO 1600
f 3.5
6 seconds
WB Daylight

Photo: Approaching winter storm over Reinefjord, Valen, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 15, 2016. 14:14

Another day of passing clouds and snow sweeping over Lofoten out of the north. After the clear, calm and silent winter days of endless twilight glow, these stormy days are perhaps my next favorite.

I love standing in the sunlight and watching a wall of cloud slowly, or not so slowly, coming towards me. Soon the distant mountains begin to disappear and then the winds slowly begin to increase as the first few snowflakes begin to arrive. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the wind can hit you like a hammer! I have almost lost a few cameras in these moments in previous years, so I try and remain a bit more cautious these days.

The fjord in this photo was stormy, but not stormy enough for my taste. Thus, I used a 6 stop ND filter for a 10 second exposure, which was manageable during low points in the breeze so as not to shake my camera too much. But after not too much longer, the distant mountains were gone, hidden behind the clouds and the scene lost balance. As I was packing my back, the snow hit with a fury.

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
42mm
ISO 50
f 14
10 seconds
WB Daylight
6 stop ND filter

Photo: Winter view from Reinebringen over Kjerkfjord, Moskenesøy, Lofoten Islands, Norway. January 15, 2017. 12:35

It is now 21:30 on Thursday night. I had already written a previous post for this weeks Friday photo, but events of the day have resulted in me sitting here at the computer tonight, with my alarm set for an early morning wake up tomorrow. This might be a bit unfocused due to my tiredness, but here goes.

Last Sunday, with a near perfect weather forecast, some friends and I hiked Reinebringen. My plan had been to camp on top, alone, after the others continued down. But upon reaching the summit, the winds were too high, and we decided it wouldn’t be safe to stay up there. So, despite carrying a heavy backpack the whole way, I headed down the mountain with them. A little disappointed, but I still had some nice light and got some pretty decent images. It was the right decision to head down.

After I posted some photos, I received many comments about hiking the mountain in winter, what the trail is like, etc. And, as I can only safely answer: I cannot say what the mountain will be like in xx days or weeks or if it will be safe to hike. Winter on Lofoten is constant change from day to day.

Fast forward to today, Thursday. It was supposed to be the start of my first photo tour of the winter so I headed early to Leknes to meet my client arriving on a morning flight. As time passed, the flight was eventually canceled, then the next flight, and the next…

It is here that I should say that severe gale force winds and heavy snow flurries have been blowing across the islands all day. Beyond just canceled flights, all buses were canceled, ferries canceled, and schools closed. To put it nicely, today was not a day to be outside.

On my second trip to Leknes, I found out half way that my clients later flight had just been canceled again. But already most of the way there, and still optimistic that she would arrive in the calming conditions later on, I continued.

Luckily, earlier in the day my friend had mentioned maybe going to the climbing gym. And so I thought perfect, I will hang out at the gym for a while and see what happens with the flights. Sounded like a good plan.

As soon as we arrive at the climbing gym, around 15:30, my friends phone rings. It is the Red Cross calling. Someone is injured on the top of Reinebringen and needs rescue. A few dozen thoughts ran through my head, but the biggest one was:

NOBODY SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE MOUNTAINS TODAY!

The conditions of today, combined with Reinebringen are the exact reason I wrote my WINTER HIKING article. Today was not a day to be outside, much less for a tourist possibly unfamiliar with the islands and landscape to be on a steep mountain like Reinebringen. Even driving to Leknes was scary today, and I would have rather not needed to do so.

And so my climbing session was over before it started as my friend headed to Reine to participate in the rescue. However, conditions were so dangerous on the mountain and the avalanche risk high, that the team could not safely reach the injured man. It wasn’t until 20:30 tonight that the winds finally calmed enough and the helicopter was able to pick him up and fly him to Bodø. That is 5 hours on the side of the mountain in gale force winds and blowing snow! Not a good way to end your holiday on Lofoten.

I do have some second thoughts about writing this, and it is only since the man was safely rescued that I am. And I understand that accidents in the mountains do happen, it comes with the territory. And perhaps I myself might need rescue one day. But a day like today was pushing the odds too much on the side of danger. And so I feel it has to be said again.

These mountains need to be respected. Even more so in winter.

As a footnote. I initially read in one of the articles that the work of the ‘Sherpa trail’ steps up Reinebringen would hopefully make the mountain safer for the many visitors. However, on my Sunday hike, I observed that the new steps lead directly into an avalanche zone – and were covered in avalanche debris. So, I feel I should add a note of caution to this point: that just because this mountain will have steps leading to the top in a few years, it will still require attention and good judgement – especially in winter! You can view a photo I posted to Instagram HERE.

Articles from the rescue: NRK Nordland, Lofotposten

Camera Info:
Nikon D800
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8
70mm
ISO 320
f 8
1/125 seconds
WB Daylight