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| Happy skiers in the wind and snow |
As preparation for a serious ski trip in the near future, I decided to spend a weekend on randonée skis, touring and riding offpist. There was a warning about strong winds and snow in Saturday, and the road to the start of the ascent in Storulvån was closed, so the actual touring would be done on Sunday. Instead, I used that time to do some safety and rescue exercises.
I was joined by another backcountry skier, whom you will recognize from the hike to the top of Sonfjället. Also, two ski kiters joined us (above photo), as they could not get to Storulvån either. We had a productive day, training skills that otherwise are only needed in emergency situations and therefore often are forgotten.
Here is a video telling the story, hope you enjoy it!
On Sunday, the road was open. We were quite a few skiers that were affected, and got to arrange for a stay in the nearby Enafors, a very nice STF cabin. It was probably worse for the people who could not leave Storulvån even if they had a train to catch. But that's mountains for you, and you have to respect that the weather is ever-changing. You cannot just expect sun and blue skies all the time. Anyway, at last we made it to Storulvån, the kiters were going to do the Jämtland Triangle, and they hit it off. Myself and Felix went up to Getryggen.
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| Approach to Getryggen |
Getryggen, an absolute classic, provides everything you want from both touring and riding point of view. Snow condition were variable, which gave a great possibility for practice. The slope is never more than about 20 degrees, keeping us safe from avalanche risks.
On the very top we were on the cloud level, which made descending tricky, but once again was a good training opportunity. We avoided the last meters of the summit because of high winds, avalanche risk and most importantly the time constraints, so we started the ride below it. At places, there was a lot of ice - but most of the time, it was possible to find good powdery snow to enjoy!
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| Another pack of skiers, on the way up - possibly for the second time today. The visibility is scarce further up, the rest of the ridge is not visible. |
Now, I'm back home, full time working and also being on call as firefighter. I'm planing to get further towards North soon, and spend a longer time there - it will be a real adventure! I'll keep you posted.