summit

Hiking up Skottinden

Our second day in Leknes began like most days, with bread, coffee, and laughs. While Vigdis was hard at work, Margit, Maria, and I walked to Leknessjøen (Leknes Lake) in complete awe of our surroundings. With every turn we were faced with a new landscape just as jaw-dropping as the last. We were reminded of just how small Leknes really is when we ran into the lady Maria and I hitch-hiked with the day before. After tanning (like Norwegians) by the lake, we headed back to prepare dinner.

Vigdis returned from work just in time for dinner. After loading up on food and coffee, we set out on our first hike up Skottinden. As you can see below, Skottinden is a steep mountain with unique shape that stands out from the landscape.

 

As we began our trip to the summit, I realized my legs weren’t quite as strong as they used to be.

I had trouble keeping up with the Norwegian mountain-goddesses… but I am going to blame it on the constant amazing views.

We carefully maneuvered past a hole of unknown depth, (that took the life of a woman back in 1994,) in order to reach the summit. As if the views during the hike weren’t jaw-dropping enough, the view from the top was spectacular.

Maria and I at the summit

We somehow managed to find enough room up there to dance, skip, and practice our headstands before heading back down the mountain.

 

A long and tiring (but great) week- Part One

Let’s begin on Tuesday:

Our normal classes were cancelled on Tuesday due to the fantastic weather forecast. We were given new options for the day, one of which was a summit trip up to the highest mountain in this area: Snønipa. This mountain juts out of the Myklebust glacier, one of the largest glaciers in Norway. At 1827 meters high, the summit trip to Snønipa required an early start. We started at around 300 meters above sea level, which means we had about 1,500 meters in elevation to conquer.

We couldn’t have asked for better weather. The sky was blue, the sun was shining, so everyone was smiling. 

7 hours (and many blisters) later we reached the top. It was definitely worth celebrating.

After we refueled with some food and water, we started the trek down. Skiing down was fantastic– by far the best snow I’ve skied on so far. Once we reached the glacier, we had to be more careful, skiing 1 by 1 along the tracks we had created on the way up. Three hours later I found myself at the edge of the field, 100 meters away from the parked cars. Those 100 meters felt like a lifetime, especially for my newly formed blisters. I was truly rejoicing as the tips of my skis reached the pavement.

Now for Wednesday:

Wednesday was special because I got to try yet another new sport: kiting.  It was great fun, however my blisters from the day before put a damper on the day. It might have been a bad idea to leave them untaped.

To be continued in A long and tiring (but great) week- Part Two