INTO THE ARCTIC NORWAY, SO FAR BUT SO GOOD WORDS: TOM COSTA PHOTOS: DANNI FORDE
Some people are content with ski resorts, many enjoy the ease and convenience of North America while others love the food and culture in Japan. Don’t get me wrong these all have their merits, but if you’re chasing a once in a lifetime, bucket list type of skiing experience, you might want to start thinking about putting a trip to Norway on your list. Full disclaimer: It ain’t cheap. If you’re on a shoestring budget and looking for bang for buck this isn’t for you. Also, it is not exactly easy, geographically speaking. For most of us, Norway is kind of far away. All that said if you can make it happen I’m pretty sure you won’t be disappointed. When we started planning for this trip we looked into a few options, including a resortbased trip and yacht trips through the fjords, but in the end we chose a tour involving a converted Finnish military truck. The truck, nicknamed “The Nest”, offered transport, accommodation and catering. Throw in a ski guide to help keep you safe and to find the goods and you have all the key ingredients for a good time. The tour is based out of the city of Tromso in Northern Norway, 350 kilometres inside the Arctic Circle. We arrived a day early to acclimatise and check out the city, known as “The Paris of the North”. With nearly a metre of fresh snow on the ground and peaks jutting out of the fjords in every direction, the stoke level was high. With new snow on a slightly problematic snowpack, we opted to rent airbags for the week and then spent the rest of the day exploring the town. The next day we met up with our Finnish hosts, Mika and Panu and the adventure began. We hit the road in our new home en-route to our first ski touring location and a couple of hours’ drive Tom Costa taking in a spectacular view in Norway’s deep north 128
