A cross country skiing trip accompanied by the BK9

rokclmb said:
I always liked XC skiing way more than downhill. I'd love a chance to ski in Norway. Thanks for sharing.
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Well, if you're ever in the arctic part of Norway, let me know, I'd love to show you around.

22-rimfire said:
What is the purpose of the track? Does it go anywhere in particular?
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The purpose of the track is purely recreational. It goes for several metric miles up into the mountains, where hunting and fishing opportunities are plentiful. The part of that track that has lights only run for about 10 kilometers from the village.

Regarding temperature, here in the coastal region of arctic Norway, the temperature ranges from 0 to -25 in the wintertime (October to April). We dont get the extreme cold that the inland has. Out here it's the wind that's the main threat. A white-out, or a storm can cause any temperature below 0 to be dangerous.

And it's good to see you again, NathanJ, I guess you have summertime now down under?
 
I'm not a skier but a snowshoer...for now...but based on what I've seen and read the "tracks", created by the skiers or grooming machines, make for a much easier, smoother and more efficient "ski" compared to breaking trial, especially if you aren't using backcountry skis.

My wife and I are considering adding cross country skis to our winter activities so I've been reading and trying to learn a thing or two before we make the purchase...not inexpensive but not too bad.

Thanks for sharing the story and pics...wonderful day.
 
Great pictures!
I was stationed in Fairbanks, AK in the Arctic Light Infantry. Most of us considered the 'light' part of it false advertising. Both on and off duty we spent much time on skis. Thank you for posting pictures of your trip. It reminded me of some days from the past with great friends.

By the way, congrats to your country man, Ole Einar Bjørndalen. Amazing race!!
 
Hey, St. Loke! Are you using waxable or waxless skis? I know you're doing classic style 'cause of the tracks ;). I still have a couple pairs of wax skis that I don't use anymore; too much trouble getting the right wax/klister on there and not enough experience doing it that I always chose wrong...I was either slipping or snow was balling up big time. Finally made the jump a couple of years ago to a nice, sturdy, metal edged, no-wax pair of Madshus Eons (made in Norway!) with a 3-pin/light telemark setup and what a difference from my old Karhu XCD's....too bad no XC for me this season. It's one of the best ways (IMO) to not go cabin crazy in the winter. FWIW, lots of people here ski with headlamps; even the cheapo LED ones work pretty well.
Thanks again for the great photos. Almost makes me a look forward to next winter.....
 
Kai, snow shoes is on my wish list, it would be great to have some mobility when there's not enough snow for skis. Mtblair, I have all the respect in the world for light infantry, especially above the polar circle. And thanks, Bjørndalen is a machine of a man, 40 years of age and still the fastest skier in the biathlon. Of course there had to be a söta bror to see my crappy skiing skills, Johansson!

granitestateofmind said:
Hey, St. Loke! Are you using waxable or waxless skis? I know you're doing classic style 'cause of the tracks ;). I still have a couple pairs of wax skis that I don't use anymore; too much trouble getting the right wax/klister on there and not enough experience doing it that I always chose wrong...I was either slipping or snow was balling up big time. Finally made the jump a couple of years ago to a nice, sturdy, metal edged, no-wax pair of Madshus Eons (made in Norway!) with a 3-pin/light telemark setup and what a difference from my old Karhu XCD's....too bad no XC for me this season. It's one of the best ways (IMO) to not go cabin crazy in the winter. FWIW, lots of people here ski with headlamps; even the cheapo LED ones work pretty well.
Thanks again for the great photos. Almost makes me a look forward to next winter.....
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I use a semi-waxless ski. I do not wax the sole of the ski, there's a pattern there that causes traction, but I use wax for glide. And I use different waxes dependent on the snow temperature (which is not the same as air temperature, learned that the hard way). Madshus Eons are nice skis, and it's a good brand. No doubt about it, you've got yourself some quality there. I have moderately expensive skis, but I've spent a lot of money on my skiing shoes. They have a waterproof membrane, and they've got extra insulation. It's important to have warm feet up here where I live.

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looks like a great time, thanks for the pics, i'm off this week maybe I should break out the
snow shoes and do a hike up on mt charleston,

of course the rules in this neck of the woods, No fires above 6500ft ...
even with 3' of show on the ground .. :-)

again thanks for the pics
 
Saint Loke said:
I use a semi-waxless ski. I do not wax the sole of the ski, there's a pattern there that causes traction, but I use wax for glide. And I use different waxes dependent on the snow temperature (which is not the same as air temperature, learned that the hard way). Madshus Eons are nice skis, and it's a good brand. No doubt about it, you've got yourself some quality there. I have moderately expensive skis, but I've spent a lot of money on my skiing shoes. They have a waterproof membrane, and they've got extra insulation. It's important to have warm feet up here where I live.

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It's important to have warm feet here as well. This week we'll be seeing avg.'s around 15°F. I have a pair of Rossignol BCX-9, pretty much the same thing as your Fischers but with the duckbill toe (and a little taller cuff with a plastic stabilizer). And that's what I was looking for about the skis - kick wax or no-wax. You gotta glide wax all of them, IMO. As far as the snowshoes: they're not as much fun as BC skis, IMO, but I have them anyway and take them with me if I'm backpacking in the mountains. They are definitely fun for going off trail (down hill) and necessary if you don't want to post-hole to the summit of your hike when the snow gets deep. Thanks for the reply. I think I'd love to visit Norway, and I'm guessing you'd love the mountains here in New Hampshire as well. Skål!
 
Here's some pictures from a skiing trip I went on today. It was much colder today, and the snow had a thin layer of ice. It's been a long time since I made a fire, it took longer time than usual to get one going.

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I'm looking at the quality of light in your photos, thinking about this film I saw last night at the Banff Mountain Film Festival: Nordfor Sola (North of the Sun)
[video=youtube;lW0ZnrmvXeI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW0ZnrmvXeI[/video]

Unbelievably cool. Thanks for the pics! Just because you haven't made fire in a while doesn't mean you've forgotten how...
 
Awesome pics as usual, sir. Thanks for posting! love seeing your side of the world..
 
Wow, didn't expect to see this thread when I logged on. I've only been cross country skiing for about a week courtesy of the US government, but I miss it. That's a great way to spend a day!
 
looks cold but hell 18 inches of snow here too so............ anyway looks like hella fun thx for sharing!
 
St. Loke, thank you for sharing these photos. You live in a beautiful, albeit FRIGID, slice of the world--very different climate from my own :D

After watching all this XC Skiing and whatnot on the Olympics, it's making me wish I could give it a shot. It looks like a great way to get some exercise, see some great scenery and use some fun gear.

I really enjoyed looking through this thread.
 
Thanks for all the nice comments, Guys. And yes, it is very frigid indeed, GarnetandBlack! And that movie looks interesting, granitestateofmind. I'll check it out. Surfing in northern Norway during the winter time is for hard people, way more hard than I'll ever be.

Here's some pics from a trip I had today, I actually managed to convince my wife to come along. It's north of a small fishing village called Forsøl at 70,8 parallel north.

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You can see the village down there. It's about 1 hour drive north from where I live.

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I wanted to take some cool pics (pun intended) of the Bk10, but the light was fading fast. Plus I'm not a great photographer.

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My wife is, but she doesn't get why I keep taking pics of my Beckers.
 
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I always like to check out your travel threads. Great photos. Been watching the Olympic and have a hankering to do some cc skiing. It's been a while...
 
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