powder skiing

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Lyngen Alps, Ski touring, freeride, off-piste, backcountry, Alpine Energy Guiding, mountaineering & ski adventures, Andrew Lanham Mountain Guide, Chamonix, Aosta Valley, Swiss, lyngen alps

Come Skiing above the Arctic circle this spring!

Come and join me this April in the Lyngen Alps of Norway! The preliminary date is the week of the 13th to 20th.

The summit plateau of Fugdldalsfjellet

The summit plateau of Fugldalsfjellet

Ski Touring above the Arctic circle with the long spring days, tracing lines down beautiful open slopes above the thawing fjords, the vistas are nothing short of spectacular, the open calmness of the place, liberating. 

skiing great snow, alone with the clouds and the shadows on the south island

skiing great snow, alone with the clouds and the shadows on the south island

I have a good knowledge of the area and conditions as I spent six weeks skiing in the area in 2011 and have contact with locals who can update me on recent happenings in the conditions. You’ll get picked up from the airport, eat and sleep in the comfort of a lodge and be guided for six days of ski touring. 

Skinning up towards Jiehkkevárri, the highest summit on the southern island.

Skinning up towards Jiehkkevárri, the highest summit on the southern island.

This trip is not extreme skiing, we will aim to do classic tours on beautiful summits where just being in the mountains with these surroundings is a pleasure and risks will kept to reasonable minimum. We will also be looking to ski the best possible snow we can find on each day.

skinning on the spring morning snow above the Sørfjorden

skinning on the spring morning snow above the Sørfjorden

There are literally hundreds of possibilities, we will decide our objectives day by day depending on the mountain conditions and the motivations of the group. The height gain will be between 600 and 1500m per day. We’ll do summits such as Kavringtinden 1289m, Sofiatinden 1222m, Stetinden 920m, Storgalten 1219m, Tafeltinden 1395m, as well as many other possible itineraries.

It will be a maximum group size of 6 people and a minimum of 4. If you would like more details, let me know and I will e-mail  you a detailed program with a price list. Hope to see you there!

on our way to Trollvasstinden..

on our way to Trollvasstinden..

enjoying the ride down to the ocean!

enjoying the ride down to the ocean!

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Courmayeur, Ski touring, freeride, off-piste, backcountry, Alpine Energy Guiding, mountaineering & ski adventures, Andrew Lanham Mountain Guide, Chamonix, Aosta Valley, Swiss, lyngen alps

Powder days are here again!

Hearing about dry mountains and thin snow cover from my sweaty bungalow in south-east Asia, I wasn’t too optimistic about the skiing this January. Arriving home to an unpredictable snowpack thanks to the constructive metamorphism of December’s meagre snowfall lurking beneath the new layers in the two to three thousand metre range on northern aspects and a general lack of covering confirmed my doubts.

Skiing the trees in Italy last December, yesterdays conditions were similar..

Skiing the trees in Italy last December, yesterdays conditions were similar..

However, since new year the snow has been falling in the Alps and yesterday was a good powder day in Courmayeur, Italy. The snowpack is a bit thicker over there and we had a great day in the trees. With careful route choice and some local knowledge the skiing in the Alps is quite good now.

Here’s Erik’s new little edit from a fun day last April:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKJRJYFHvQs&w=560&h=315]

Col des Cristaux, Ski touring, freeride, off-piste, backcountry, Alpine Energy Guiding, mountaineering & ski adventures, Andrew Lanham Mountain Guide, Chamonix, Aosta Valley, Swiss, lyngen alps

Spring powder to end my Chamonix ski season

Here are some photos with a film in the previous post from a couple of runs around Chamonix, ending my ski season:

Tomas climbing up to the Col des Cristaux above the Argentiere glacier.

Tomas climbing up to the Col des Cristaux above the Argentiere glacier.

Tomas skiing the face

Tomas skiing the face

Col des Cristaux with the head of the Argentiere basin behind.

Col des Cristaux with the head of the Argentiere basin behind.

P1000594

Eric enjoying some powder at the top of La Noire NNW face.

Eric enjoying some powder at the top of La Noire NNW face.

Skiing down a steeper, narrow section to make a small rappel.

Skiing down a steeper, narrow section to make a small rappel.

Good powder turns all the way down the face!

Good powder turns all the way down the face!

skiing the Glacier de la Noire with the Glacier de Periades and Mer de Glace below.

skiing the Glacier de la Noire with the Glacier de Periades and Mer de Glace below.

Chamonix Ski touring, freeride, off-piste, backcountry, Alpine Energy Guiding, mountaineering & ski adventures, Andrew Lanham Mountain Guide, Chamonix, Aosta Valley, Swiss, lyngen alps

Fresh turns and sunny skies

The last few days have been spent doing some nice tours with the two Henriks and Matthias from Sweden in search of fresh turns and adventure, weeks after the last snowflakes landed on the slopes around the Mt. Blanc range. Here are some photos:

The guys getting some sun on top of the col du Beajeant on day 1

The guys getting some sun on top of the col du Beajeant on day 1

Enjoying the descent down to the village of Buet

Enjoying the descent down to the village of Buet

Henrik looking cool on his yellow skis

Henrik looking cool on his yellow skis

Boot-pack to get the goods at Courmayeur on day 3, spectacular views onto the south side of the Mt. Blanc range

Boot-pack to get the goods at Courmayeur on day 3, spectacular views onto the south side of the Mt. Blanc range

Matthias on our summit for the day

Matthias on our summit for the day

Henrik in action

Henrik in action

open slopes, good snow, sunshine...

open slopes, good snow, sunshine…

On day 4 the boys got up close and personal with the Dru

On day 4 the boys got up close and personal with the Dru

Skiing with a backdrop

Skiing with a backdrop

perfect turns in the cohesionless faceted snow

perfect turns in the cohesionless snow

and again..

and again..

 

Thanks to guys for a good few days of skiing!