Skip to content

Cookies 🍪

This site uses cookies that need consent.

Learn more

Zur Powderguide-Startseite Zur Powderguide-Startseite
adventure & travel

The freedom of a road trip | Vesterålen and Lofoten

12 days low budget in huts and tents

by Johannes Schwaderlapp 04/30/2017
Word of the mysticism of the Norwegian coast and the Lofoten Islands has already spread among Ullr's disciples from Central Europe. Two places of longing come together at the foot of the lynx - the sea and snow-covered mountains. In spring, you can stand on the summit about 200 km north of the Arctic Circle late in the evening and then ski down to the sea at sunset. But can you fulfill this dream as a student without risking financial ruin?

Once it was clear that I would be studying in Sweden for a semester, I quickly realized that I wanted to take a trip to the Lofoten Islands. I was able to convince two friends to join me. Beforehand, we read through a few travel reports to be inspired by the experiences of others. We quickly decided not to plan everything down to the last detail, but to let ourselves be driven by the conditions and our spontaneity on site. It's difficult to assess the snow conditions from afar anyway. Although there is snow depth data, it is not particularly accurate and the weather forecast is not all that reliable in the wild North Sea weather.

We wanted to spend the night in a tent or in self-catering huts. In winter, however, you can usually find accommodation on the Lofoten Islands at short notice without any problems, so we didn't make any reservations, just booked a rental car and took out a membership with the Norwegian Alpine Club (DNT) to be able to use the mountain huts. There is a key that you can borrow in Narvik, for example, to get into the huts. In retrospect, however, it turned out that you have to book in advance for each hut in Lofoten at the nearest tourist information office and then receive an individual key there. For Snytindenhytta in Vesterålen, you don't need a key at all.

If you find out at short notice that the snow conditions on the Lofoten Islands are too bad to go on a tour, there are some attractive alternative options. Firstly, the further you get towards the mainland, the more snow there is. On the other hand, the Lyngen Alps a little further north are usually blessed with more white. Riksgränsen has the best snow conditions. Now, at the end of April, there is still over two meters of snow in the valley.

How to get there

The nearest airport to Lofoten is Narvik-Harstad. This is served by SAS flights from Oslo. Taking skis, ski boots and an ABS with cartridge is no problem. SAS offers fairly cheap tickets for young people under 26. There is another airport in Svolvær on the Lofoten Islands. Coming from Central Europe, you have to change planes once more to get there.

Two of us took a rental car from Luleå at the northern end of the Gulf of Bothnia to the Norwegian Arctic Ocean. The route is extremely scenic and worthwhile. However, we ended up in total snow chaos. We had actually planned to ski for a day in Riksgränsen on the way. We woke up in the morning and the tent was lying on top of us, flattened by fresh snow. The lifts remained closed. The onward journey to Narvik was interrupted by a five-hour break because the road was closed due to the weather. After that, we drove at walking pace in a convoy towards Lofoten, sometimes with a complete whiteout. In front of us was a huge snow blower and behind us a snow plough made sure that none of the five cars remained on the track.

Get used to the permanent extreme

What was more of a problem on the journey was brilliant for skiing! With 40 cm of fresh snow and glorious sunshine, we could no longer control the corners of our mouths. After a quick shop in Sortland, we set off with our backpacks packed to the brim on the ascent to Snytindhytta: our powder base for the next two days. The 12 km ascent is quite long and leads through a very attractive landscape. The sunshine was interrupted by a few snow showers, creating fascinating light moods. Crossing a large, frozen lake in heavy snowfall reduced the sensory stimuli to a minimum. Impressive!

The Snytindhytta is very beautiful, well equipped as a self-catering hut and also free of charge for DNT members under 26. There is also a sauna, although this does cost a little. From the hut you can climb to numerous interesting peaks. However, some of them are quite steep and therefore only feasible with the right avalanche conditions.

The next day, due to the snow situation, we decided on the more relaxed Nordtinden (883 m). We first made a descent on the other side, climbed back up and then skied the north slope to the hut. The hut, which we had previously had to ourselves, was now shared with four nurses. We benefited greatly from their passion for cooking, as we had some of their fabulous cod, potato and vegetable stew left over for us. We were also given tips for summits over the next few days.

The next day, we got off the bus and drove to a parking lot at a traffic circle that leads from the E10 to Sortland. E10 is the road that goes from Narvik along the Lofoten Islands to the tip (Å in Lofoten). From here we climbed up to Middagsfjellet (811m). From the top you have a wonderful view of two fjords. We walked down the north-eastern slope through the finest crystals to the deciduous trees. This was certainly one of our best touring days!

Vesterålen is brilliant for ski touring. The advantage over the Lofoten Islands is the greater snow reliability and the fact that there are hardly any other skiers. Instead of other skiers, we saw a few animals: There are quite a few ptarmigans, reindeer and a mink also scampered through the snow.

We quickly abandoned our plan to spend the next night in a tent when we were already freezing at 6pm at -8°C at sea level. So the three of us spent the night in a cabin at Hammerstad Camping for NOK 600. The next day we climbed the Torskmannen (740 m), drove down and added the Breitinden (672 m). This was the first time we met other skinners, and quite a few of them. Both mountains are beautiful, but also very popular. At the top, we admired some eagles circling effortlessly over the mountain slopes.

In the evening, we headed to Nœkksætra from Svolær with enough supplies. The hut is only 4 km uphill and quite quick to reach by Norwegian standards. When we arrived there at dusk, we were initially quite desperate because we couldn't open the doors. Our key didn't fit anywhere. With enough effort, the door to the hut room opened without the key. It was simply frozen shut. Our key finally fitted into a padlock that led to the bedroom. We rounded off the evening with a delicious vegetable, chickpea and coconut bulgur stew and a fine, cool beer. When you consider that the beer you buy in the supermarket costs as much as in a cheap pub in Germany, alcohol in Norway is no longer that expensive. While studying the map in the evening, we chose Rismålstindan (672 m) for the next day.

As Rismålstindan is steep, blown and icy at the top, it's not easy to get to the highest point without an ice axe. We walked down the ridge from the summit a little to the southwest, then turned right onto the slope that drops northwest to Olderfjordbotnen. After descending almost to sea level, we climbed back up to the summit and skied down the other side towards the hut. At the hut we took a siesta in the glorious afternoon sun. In the evening, we went back up to Rismålstindan to watch the sunset. The color gradients as the daylight fades are always breathtaking, especially with scenery like this!

Let's drift and look for a gully

We only had two days left on the Lofoten Islands. We wanted to get as far as the tip of the lynx foot. We set off by car and stopped wherever we liked. The detour to the dead-end road to Henningsvær was well worth it. It's a lovely little village with beautiful mountains in the background. Cod is hung for months on large racks right by the sea. The salty sea air preserves the fish.

As we drove past the rugged mountains in the car, our noses were glued to the windshield as we searched for a steep gully to climb up and then ski down. By the time we had decided, it was already late afternoon. After climbing a few meters in altitude and looking at the snow build-up, we had to abandon our plans. The snow, wind, rain and sleet hadn't created a layering that inspired confidence.

Swap Danish vodka for fresh cod

After our unsuccessful couloir adventure, we realized where we were. A glance at the map suggested that we should spend the night in a DNT hut (Selfjordhytta) that was apparently accessible by car. A few kilometers before the hut, there was more and more snow on the road. Our mobile, equipped with spikes, had never had any difficulty getting through. We tried our luck, but the deep, wet snow got the upper hand. Stopping and reversing out again was unthinkable. We hoped to get through with momentum and be able to stop somewhere with less snow. Hoping was futile. We got stuck. There was too much snow under the car for the wheels to have any traction. Our efforts to shovel it free were also unsuccessful.

Luckily, after two kilometers of walking, we found a farm with a tractor. When the owner opened the front door, it smelled of fresh food. Our rescuer was already winding down for the day. We were very uncomfortable being dependent on his help, but he quickly realized that we had no other choice. Under full load, he then managed to pull our car out of the slushy snow with the tractor. As a symbolic thank you, we gave him our opened bottle of vodka. He was delighted and said it was a gift out of all proportion. Back at his farm, he gave us a freshly caught cod in return. As keen fish eaters, we were very happy about this and we said goodbye after a very nice chat. We prepared the fish for our next dinner. I have rarely eaten anything better.

Conclusion

I don't need to say much about the scenic charm of the Lofoten Islands. The luck we had with the weather was an absolute exception: nine days of sunshine and the best snow! We are also satisfied with the financial realization. We spent a total of around €450 per person. Our experience shows: By foregoing conveniences that are unnecessary anyway, it is possible to finance an adventure in the far north even with little money.

Video of the trip

Tips for savers:

We rented our car in Luleå, Sweden, where I am currently doing a semester abroad. When planning, I noticed that the rental prices there are at least 40% cheaper than in Kiruna or Narvik, for example. The drive through Swedish Lapland past the legendary Riksgränsen ski resort just before the Norwegian border is very worthwhile. However, you need to allow seven hours for this. So if you have more time than money, I would recommend this option.

Useful links:

Online map for tour planning
Snow conditions
LLB Norway
DNT membership
Camping Gullesfjordbotten
Hammerstad Camping

Photo gallery

This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

Show original (German)

Related articles

Comments