Ski touring week by sailing ship in Ålesund (Norway) from 5 to 12 April 2008.
The journey
"The early bird catches the worm", we all tried to convince ourselves when our alarm clocks rang between half past three and half past four on Saturday 5 April 2008. Who would have guessed that there was a train leaving Bern for Zurich at 4.22am! Three flights later, in the early afternoon, we found ourselves in Ålesund, a small coastal town just under 400 kilometres north-west of Oslo. Preliminary results of the flight: Minus one piece of luggage including skis and poles.
After a treasure hunt in the rain, we finally found our ship. The sight of it sent our spirits soaring. Fishing boat? Far from it! Even in Monte Carlo, our temporary home would probably not have attracted any negative attention. After a few instructions from Andres, our skipper/cook, we cast off and chugged towards Hjorundfjord and its deep forks: Storfjord and Norangsfjord respectively. They were to be our playground for the next week. Now our holiday had really begun. On the way, we enjoyed our first meal prepared by Andres. After three or four hours of travelling, we docked in Urke - on the northern shore of the Norangsfjord - and spent our first night on the boat there.
Day 1
The next morning, everyone raved about a perfect night's sleep and marvelled at the landscape covered in a thin layer of fresh snow. While one unfortunate member of our group was still waiting for his luggage, we set off in the direction of Maudekollen, 1021 metres above sea level. We were amazed that the tree line here is below 500 metres and that there was already a metre of snow at this altitude. Once we reached the top, we enjoyed the view for the first time, which we hadn't been able to get enough of all week. All white at the top - just like here at 3000 metres, with a narrow strip of green far below and the dark, mysteriously reflective water of the unfathomable Hjorundfjord. None of us will probably tell our grandchildren about the descent in diffuse light. We were to experience something completely different in the days that followed. Nevertheless, we were all happy people when we arrived back at our yacht, where a delicious meal and a cold beer were already waiting for us.
While we continued on our sailing boat to Storestandal (population approx. 20), we were able to relax wonderfully. By the time we docked, some of us were already quite adventurous again. We went for a walk into the valley and at the same time explored the start of tomorrow's tour, which was to take us up the 1310 metre high Sylvkallen.
Text: Richard Naef
