Somewhere deep in Telemark

Seasons first

It is all about getting out - inhale, exhale, being near. We have been there before and we will be back.
Helena is releasing the friction.

Higer than the moon

HG moon by Arild Arnesen

Snart er den fine hvite tiden her ......

Perry Powder Pumper by Arild Arnesen
PPP links up some smooth turns and the snow was never better.

Ahh..... Happiness...

The Boulders in Ål

It is easy to get carried away between the boulders in Ål, until the mosquitos are charging at full force. Jan and Trude is pulling trough with ease.

Just for Fun

The beavers are hard workers and makes for a dry crossing of the little stream at Trollhaugen. We climbed four pitches Just For Fun.

Hallingdalselve

This river had some nice treats. Geir and Jan is catching som air at the dry section.

View of Hurrungane

Being outside looking in is also nice. With a spectacular blue bird, the view of the peaks in Hurrungane does not get any better.

Ringsdalen terrasse

Chamonix 2012

A magnificent view - the Seracs du Geant gives a very powerful impression! And what a great place to pass by while skiing.

Hurrungane

In the south from the top of Heirsnosi 1348 m, gives us this magnificent view of the Hurrungane mountain area. Hurrungane being some of the most alpine terrain we have in Norway, with most peaks raising well above 2000 m.

Biking Heirsnosi 1348 m

After climbing the east peak of Torfinnstind the day before, we had yet another beautiful day, biking across the mountain Heirsnosi above Øvre Årdal. We did not find the trail, but surprisingly we did spend quite some time on the seat of our bikes anyway.

Gaustatoppen 1883 m, 3. April 2011

Leaving the fog in Oslo and Kongsberg behind, Telemark is showing us the front side.

With no wind and the warm sun above, Perry is working the tan.

Even if the snow pack is retracting, the couloirs are pretty good.

After making it through the boulder garden, Perry is opening up the turns, and is really excited about the new swords.

Vettis

After the leg-burning intro on Seltun, we walked in the valley of Utla to check out the waterfall of Vettisfossen, 274 m.
It is quite an impressive place, when you turn the corner of the gigantic notch and you see the frozen waterfall plastered to the rock wall above. Unfortunately we were a few weeks to late for our mission.

Jutulfossen

So she tricked me into believing this was the mistletoe of the Norwegian forest, and we had to kiss. She is so sweet!


With happy feet in new boots, Trude is having a blast and chopping away in the soft ice of today.

Tsunami (Fjøddebekken)

This is the last day of our annual early season ice climbing trip. Setesdal proved to be a great place to go ice climb. And we have had a very nice stay at Reiårsfossen Camp. This morning William helped us out by bringing the boat, so we could row to our climb of the day. Excellent service

The 10 minutes of rowing, saved us the hour and a half of hiking along the riverside of Otra.

250 m of climbing up ahead. That adds up to 1100 meters of ice climbing in 4 days.

With a fairly high density of frozen waterfalls, Setesdal is a great place with a variety of climbs and short approaches.

How did we manage before we started using a down- or micro loft jacket at the belay, …..brrrr

The last part of the head wall was dripping wet. It is an experience when the pouring water enters in through the sleeves of the jacket and ends up in your boots.

Thanks Thomas for a fantastic  ice climbing weekend!

Rysefossen

Photo: Thomas Lium

After scouting out the ice falls in the southbound direction, plans were changed on the fly. I love rest days

Chop chop!

Exciting and magnificent terrain. Closing in on the top wall of Rysefossen.

Thomas is braking trail.

Returning back down the same way we climbed up.

The Great Groove (Faksebekk)

With a temperature difference of 15 degrees from the day before, all worries were pushed aside and Thomas is attacking head on.

Photo: Thomas Lium

The ice went from dry to very wet in a few steps. But we stayed high and dry

Lunch brake with the best view!

A few hundred meters more of climbing, and then the 3 hour walk out. An eight hour round trip – Beautiful