Tromso Calling - Trip Report And Photos Now Included

A snowHead

Mrs B and I are heading up to Edinburgh tonight, before flying to Tromso in the morning (via Oslo) for 3 days guided ski touring and a couple of free days on our own after that (as our guide was available for only 3 days).

On our 2 previous trips we we were based in Lyngen but this time we will be based in Tromso itself and touring daily (by car, to start) from there. Fingers crossed for decent weather. It's looking reasonably settled, with sunny intervals.

I placed a message on here, and also on various ski touring Facebook groups, inviting others to join us but unfortunately had no takers.

Nevertheless, we are really looking forward to the trip! Very Happy

A snowHead

Have a great time

very curious to hear how the city & ski experience works out for you

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Good plan! Post photos.
I loved Lyngen - but the terrain is very alpine / steep.
Which can be limiting in poor weather or tricky avalanche conditions.
Suspect there is plenty good ski touring closer to Tromso on slightly mellower terrain.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

You'll need to Register first of course.

What an experience it was! Very Happy

We flew from Edinburgh on 22nd April, via Oslo, with Norwegian Airlines. We travelled with our ABS avalanche bags as hand luggage (with the canisters detached) and luckily the helpful lad on security had seen similar bags before and allowed us through without a second thought. In the past we've had staff who haven't seen avy bags before - so that, combined with some horror stories from Snowheads, means we are always apprehensive about clearing security with them.

We were concerned that the 70 minute connection in Oslo could be a bit tight - both for us and our checked ski bag. However, all went relatively smoothly - although we were pleased to be at the front of the queue for immigration/passport control as the information screens were advising us that the gate for our onward flight to Tromso was already closing! It was quite a trek to our departure gate and we had to scan our boarding passes at e-gates on the way; and (on a touch screen) identify our checked luggage to ensure that it was loaded onto the flight. That was a first for us. However, the photo of our ski bag on the screen was tiny and quite blurry and we felt up against it for time to get to the gate. Nevertheless, I tapped on the photo of what looked like our ski bag and hoped for the best...

We arrived at the gate and were the last to board; and as soon as we had done so the door was closed behind us and we were taxiing on the runway a few minutes later. Phew! It was a clear, sunny day and I was lucky to have a window seat as the approach to Tromso was stunning, with fantastic views of sea and mountains. It was possibly the most scenic flight I've ever been on, with sustained spectacular views.

We were waiting for our ski bag when I spotted (outside the terminal) the express coach to the city centre. I popped out and explained to the driver that we were waiting for luggage and asked what time he was leaving. He said he was due to depart in 4 minutes but told me not to worry as he would wait for us. A result! Imagine that in the UK...

We were delighted to be reacquainted with our ski bag and minutes later we were on our way to the city centre. Incredibly it was only a 10 minute transfer (for about 8 quid each) and we were dropped off a 5 minute walk from our hotel. The drive was beautiful and Tromso must take some beating for the world's most beautiful airport location - amidst snow covered mountains, with the terminal adjacent to the sea.

The accommodation was right on the harbour, with mountain and sea views from our room that also contained a spacious kitchen area. By this time it was early evening and we decided to walk to the nearby supermarket for some provisions and dine in. I was pleasantly surprised to pay "only" 15 quid for 6 cans (0.5L) of local beer...

It was still bright and sunny at 10.30 pm and, though officially there were 20 hours of daylight, it didn't really reach proper darkness all night. It was weird to wake up at 3am to sunshine.

Despite the 3am sunshine we woke up to an overcast morning and met our ski guide, Magnus (of Tromso Mountain Guides), at 9am at a nearby car park. He was very pleasant and asked what our thoughts and objectives were for the 3 days that we had booked with him. There was only the 2 of us and Magnus in the group. We had (via Snowheads and various ski touring groups on Facebook) invited others to join us but had no takers. To assist with his route planning he asked how important sea views were to us - and we advised him that they were very important as we don't get to ski often with such views.

We also explained that Mrs B had recently had some problems with her ACL-less knee (insofar as her Ossur brace hadn't been supporting her knee as well as it had over the past few years) so, despite usually enjoying steep runs, requested that we stick to mellow terrain in both ascent (to avoid steep kick turns if possible) and descent. Magnus was only too happy to oblige and drove us about 45 minutes to the base of Lille Blo Mannen. We had sunny intervals throughout the day and enjoyed a steady 850m ascent to the summit. To say the views throughout the day were stunning would be an understatement. We were in awe of the views of the sea, snow covered mountains and snow to sea level. Our descent was on fantastic spring snow and we managed fresh tracks for about two thirds of it. We were buzzing when we got back to the car!

After a great day we had a quiet night in, cooked a meal and I enjoyed a couple of the local (Mack) beers.

Day 2 saw Magnus drive us 45 minutes north of Tromso to skin up Stortinden. We had had 8 to 10 cm of fresh snow overnight so were looking forward to seeing what the conditions were like - not least as it was a glorious blue sky day! We had an almost indescribable day, with the most incredible sea and mountain views throughout. The 840m climb was very enjoyable and it was amazing to see the heavily corniced summit. Magnus was extremely vigilant up there and ensured that we got nowhere near the big deathdrop overhang (which you can see on the photo below).

The descent was fantastic, with fresh tracks in 10cm of untracked powder on top of lovely, soft spring snow, with us having the mountain to ourselves under glorious sunshine and blue skies.

That night we had another meal in and enjoyed a night of reading.

On day 3 we drove about 30 minutes to the base of Steinskartinden, to park and begin the 800m climb to the summit. Although it was very sunny again, the wind had picked up and it was very blowy on the second half of the climb. It was an icy wind and the slopes we ascended were somewhat wind blasted (necessitating the use of our ski crampons), which made us wonder what we would be in for on the descent. However, the sea and mountain views certainly compensated for the wind blasting during the ascent.

The summit views were also incredible and we had the bonus of Magnus finding us some lovely, untracked spring snow for the first third of our descent. Again we had the mountain to ourselves, which was fantastic. Thereafter, conditions were a bit less favourable - but still more than decent (though with the odd windblown patch). However, the final third of our decent was back to lovely, untracked spring snow.

We were keen to have a night out and went out to the nearby Hardrock Cafe, where we had a lovely burger and chips.The burgers were about 20 quid each and mine was washed down with a beautiful (new to me) Nordlander draught beer. I was pleased to see it served in an unusual 0.6 litre glass - but less pleased by the price of 141 Krone (£10.36 - so the equivalent of only £9.80 a pint Shocked

). Still, the atmosphere in the restaurant was great and we enjoyed watching the music videos then having a wander round to look at the music memorabilia on the walls.

We still had 2 days left but had no more days with Magnus, as he had another booking for our days 4 and 5. Being inexperienced in avalanche awareness/training we asked him if he could recommend any routes that were mellow enough to be safe from avalanche and that we could undertake on our own. He recommended a website to us that graded routes from green to black and suggested that we try one of the green routes. As we had a rental car booked for our last 2 days Magnus kindly dropped us off at the airport to pick it up after our third day. Although I'd booked only a small car we were pleasantly surprised to discover that we we were allocated a (larger) hybrid Renault Captur. Very nice.

I remembered a guided route near Tromso that we had done with a guide a year ago and that the route in question was no steeper than 25 degrees throughout and was straightforward to navigate (in good weather at least). We therefore decided to try that route (Stormheimsfjellet) on day 4. We awoke to yet more glorious sunshine and blue skies and enjoyed the beautiful 50 minute coastal drive from Tromso to the start of the route.

We enjoyed the 1020 metre climb to the summit and, yet again, the views and scenery were breathtaking. We really were in awe of the place. We met 3 or 4 others at the summit but then enjoyed the most incredible descent, with 10cm of untracked powder for the first third of it, followed by untracked spring snow for the remainder. We were on a high when we reached the car and were still buzzing when we got back to Tromso. What an incredible first self-guided ski touring summit!

Stormheimfjellet

Following that we were nicely tired and enjoyed another relaxing night in, with pizza and beer.

Our flight wasn't until 16.50 on day 5, so we decided to have a short ski tour before heading to the airport. I found a green route on the website mentioned earlier and felt comfortable that the climb to the small summit of Rodtinden (470 metres above sea level) would leave us with plenty of time to get to the airport. It was yet another glorious day and the drive to the car park took us less than 15 minutes from our hotel. From the car park Rodtinden summit looked like no more than a tiny dimple on the horizon and hardly worth the effort - but how looks can be deceptive! The climb was fantastic, with great views throughout, and the summit views were out of all proportion to the effort required to get there. And the descent was on beautiful, untracked, east facing spring snow. Wow!

We savoured the experience, took our time (and lots of photos), had coffee and croissants on the mountain and didn't want the trip to end. It took us just under 3 hours from start to finish but what a glorious 3 hours! Very Happy

Will it be worth it?

We made it in good time to the airport, which was only a 10 minute drive from our ski tour parking spot. What an incredible end we had to an incredible trip!

Although we stuck to mellow terrain for this trip there is certainly the potential for steep stuff around Tromso, and bigger days out, which we would like to sample in the future. In essence (after 2 previous trips to Lyngen) we think there is no need to trek 2 hours to Lyngen when there is such fantastic terrain in and around Tromso. It is a very compact place, with all of the centre within walking distance. We did find it a bit dusty at this time of the year however. When we mentioned it to Magnus he said it's caused by the studded vehicle tryes ripping up the asphalt.... and when we checked our hire car we saw that it did indeed have studded tyres - even though there was not a trace of snow on the roads (despite it being piled high at the roadsides).

We will most certainly be heading back to ski tour around Tromso in the future. It certainly hit the spot for us and we love the city and its stunning location. There is also a good selection of restaurants and bars, though we didn't get to sample many on this visit.

And we cannot speak highly enough of Magnus and Tromso Mountain Guides. He was brilliant. We've had dozens of guides over the years and our (un)fair share of miserable, impersonal and impatient types rolling eyes

. In contrast, Magnus was patient, understanding, had a good sense of humour and chose our routes with our requirements in mind. He was great to spend time with and we would definitely like to ski with him again in the future.

From Tromso we flew back to Oslo, then on to Geneva for a final fling in Val Thorens. It was very overcast for the first few days, with a lot of wind, but our final morning of the season (on 3rd May) was worth waiting for - with sunshine and up to 25cm of powder! Not a bad way to finish our season wink

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Great stuff. Looks fantastic. Excellent photos Very Happy

After all it is free

Fantastic

Right up my strasse

Is Tromso a good city to visit? Much to see?

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@Bergmeister, Great stuff, looks like you did well with the conditions.

In past trips we've driven to Riksgransen and have done a couple of nights after being on the boat, and at least the beer was cheaper there Laughing

snow reports

@Bergmeister, a fabulous read, thank you!

Help!!

Tromso Calling - Trip Report And Photos Now Included

snowHeads Forum Index >>> Resort Reviews and Trip Reports