Mountains | Cody Duncan Photography

Reka – Vesterålen

December 19, 2016/0 Comments/in Climbing, Mostly Photos, Mountains, Norway/by Cody

Photo: Reka rising over the frozen landscape, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

An October visit by a friend from the south had introduced the name ‘Reka’ to our minds. Originally calling the mountain ‘Shrimp,’ the Norwegian translation from Reke, we later learned that the name comes from an older Sami word for shove – likely due to the shape of the mountainl. Anyhow, the idea was in our minds, now to wait for the weather.

In early November came a good weather window. And after going to a showing of the Reel Rock film tour in Svolvær on Monday night, we departed early Tuesday for Vesterålen.

Arriving around noon, the clear weather had brought arctic temperatures, much colder than we had on Lofoten! I found a place to park by the cemetery and then we began our hike into the frozen landscape. We only had rough directions, and the cold made these difficult to follow. At first we tried to go the direct route, across some tidal rocks at the end of a fjord, but the water was too high and the rocks too icy, so we needed another 45 minutes to make a detour around the end of the fjord, before picking up the trail again.

We had been hoping to make make camp just below the ridge, and the start of the proper climbing. But after several hours of hiking, and with the growing darkness, we arrived at a frozen bogland, with a small flowing stream, that we both thought would make a good base camp. We just needed to get up an hour earlier for the hike up to the ridge.

The world around us was cold and frozen, the low November sun no longer shining upon it. Luckily though, the frozen land let us find a nice flat spot for the tent, which in summer would otherwise be the middle of a horrendous bog.

Surrounded by fallen birch trees, we did our best to make a fire. But after some effort and multiple attempts, which even involved using my stove, we gave up. It was too cold and all the wood was covered in rime ice. But at least the effort of trying to make a fire kept us warm for a little while longer.

Later, the northern light arrived over camp, and I had to go out for at least a few photos.

The night was cold, Bitterly so. This was the first real night of winter for us. It didn’t help that my sleeping pad has developed a bit of a leak, and required multiple inflatings during the night; when I can feel the shivering cold soaking through my bones from the ground. I didn’t sleep much.

Ylva wakes up early as always, to cook a proper breakfast and have a hot cup of tea. I try and sleep longer, content with some frozen cheese and salami. By 07:00 we were out of the tent and ascending into the frozen landscape. We had no greater plans other than to see what we would find. The cold had taken the energy from both of us this night.

Arriving at the ridge, the sun brought warmth to our bodies. It was then that Ylva discovered that she had forgotten her climbing shoes in the tent! Anyhow, the day was still young and so we harnessed up.

I lead the first, easy pitch. No gear was really needed, but I put in a few pieces for peace of mind. Ylva arrived and then took the lead for pitch 2. Soon I followed and attempted pitch 3, but with our little info for the route, I wasn’t sure I was going the right way, as it seemed a bit too hard – and I couldn’t see any bolts, which should have been there. So I turned back. Ylva made an attempt in her mountain boots. But it was too hard and feeling too insecure. By now it was after 13:00 in the afternoon, and the shadows were growing long. So just a short way from the summit, we decided to turn around, and hopefully return another day.

The world was growing dark by the time we reached our base camp and packed up. Making quick progress, we descended the mountain as quickly as possible, but it still took us another 2+ hours, half of which by headlamp though the frozen landscape which sparkled like a disco light, until we reached my van again. Exhausted and cold.

We headed down to Sortland to try and find some food, ending up at some not very good pizza place, before continuing further home to Lofoten until I was too tired to drive anymore, and we found a place to camp for the night somewhere near Raftsundet.

Despite not making the summit, it was a fun adventure! And I look forward to going back in the longer days of summer to make another attempt…

Photo: Hiking into the frozen landscape towards Reka, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

Photo: Reka rises over our base camp, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

Photo: Attempt at an evening campfire in the frozen land, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

Photo: Northern lights shine over camp below Reka, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

Photo: At the bast of the climbing route on Reka, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

Photo: Happy in the sun at pitch 2 on Reka, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

Photo: Ylva on lead for pitch 2 on Reka, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

Photo: Last sunlight before turning around at pitch 3 on Reka, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

Photo: Down from the climb, our basecamp in deep shadows for the hike out, Vesterålen, Norway. November 2016

Video – Lofoten – Northern Light

December 29, 2015/0 Comments/in Lofoten Islands, Mountains, Norway, Timelapse, Updates, Video/by Cody

Timelapse: Lofoten – Northern Light

I’m a little late in publishing the news here, but I recently released a another video about Lofoten, this time focusing on summer and autumn. Title Lofoten – Northern Light, it is mostly time lapse sequences taken between 2013 and 2015 during my multiple visits to the islands.

If you like some of the light and locations that you see, think about joining me on my photo workshop in September 2016…

Kvalvika Beach – Lofoten Islands

October 1, 2014/0 Comments/in Landscape, Lofoten Islands, Mountains, Norway/by Cody

Photo: Summer sun shines across Kvalvika Beach from the summit of Ryten, Lofoten Islands, Norway. August 2012

was looking back through some old photos looking for something to post while traveling and came across these images. I have posted the first one several times, as it is one of my favorite images of one of Lofoten’s most spectacular locations, Kvalvika beach.

The second image I’m not too sure if I have posted before. But what caught me was the contrast between the two images. They were taken 42 minutes apart, but might as well have been taken on different days.

Every time I hike up Ryten, I hike with the intention of staying for sunset. But I also hope to get some nice light shining over Kvalvika beach. Luckily this is an afternoon/evening event in summer, but there still can be quite a bit of time passed between a shining sun and sunset. Time that I often spend shivering in the cold northern wind that seems to constantly blow across the summit of Ryten.

But the two scenes seem like such contrasts. The first, the brilliant golden sunlight shining over the green hills seems so warm and inviting. The second, dark and cold in appearance is more true to the day, where I was bitterly cold during the hours I spent up high in the mountains.

Photo: Twilight light over Kvalvika Beach from the summit of Ryten, Lofoten Islands, Norway. August 2012

Poland – Tatra Mountains – Part 2

September 17, 2014/0 Comments/in hiking, Landscape, Mostly Photos, Mountains, Poland/by Cody

Photo: Nearing the summit of Koscielec, Tatra Mountains, Poland. May 2014

Perhaps there had been too many beers Friday night in Zakopane, so it was a slow start to get moving on Saturday morning. Eventually the four of us were loaded into the car and on the way to the trailhead for the Five Lakes Valley in the Polish Tatra mountains.

Some roadworks led to some detours which extended the drive time. But at some point we decided to call the hut to make sure there was room. It was May, early in the season and a questionable weather forecast, but better to be safe. At some point in the last year or so, rules changed in some of the huts: from – always having space, even if you sleep in the dining room, to – hut is full, you need to have a room.

Pulling off the road in one of the few places with phone reception, we finally contacted the hut. Full. Shit! Next try was to Morskie Oko hut. Also Full. Double shit! There went those plans.

Having a map with me, I suggested we try Murowaniec hut, located on the ‘front’ side of the mountains, a few hours hike above Zakopane. Luckily there were beds available. And so a couple hours after we left Zakopane, we were driving back into the town to begin our hike.

The suspect weather had cleared into a nice sunny day by the time we finally got onto the trail, well, more of a fairly well worn path through the forest – the Tatra are a popular hiking destination. Sometime afternoon we finally arrived at Murowaniec hut to a scene I am familiar with from hiking the Alps, benches of people sitting in the sun eating home cooked food with a glass of beer or two. The food did smell good, and we were hungry, so after checking into our room for the night, we were ready to get something to eat.

Never having been to this part of the mountains, I wasn’t really sure what to do with the remainder of the day. I had been up on Kasprovy Wierch, so wasn’t really interested in hiking up there again, and it looked really crowded up on the ridge anyhow. There was still a lot of snow in all the gullies, so without winter gear we had a fairly limited list of possibilities. I pointed out an interesting looking peak above the hut, but it turned out not to have a trail to the summit, so a fairly difficult bushwhack through the dense dwarf pines would have been required. FInally, Jack pointed towards a tall, and from our angle, quite steep looking mountain, the 2155 meter high peak of Koscielec.

Still with a few spiderwebs of snow covering the face, it seemed like the best option, or at least we would go as far as we could. Backpacks bag on – overnight stuff – we hit the trail in mid afternoon.

While I appreciate the wilderness we have in the mountains of California, sometime I like being able to hike, for the sake of hiking. This is the experience in the Polish Tatra mountains. Criss crossed with a seeming endless series of sign posted trails, all are well build and maintained, something like mountain sidewalks.

After an hour or so of hiking we reached a small pass at the base of the mountain. The angle didn’t look too bad anymore, but I could tell we’d have a few sections of snow to negotiate.

The next hour was spent going up, up, and a bit more up, as the trail wound its way higher on the mountain. For the most part the route was simple going, with maybe a short scramble here and there. And of course, ever improving views as we came closer to the summit. It had been t-shirt weather thus far, but the winds picked up as we neared the summit so it was back into a fleece again, which was good, as I was probably getting pretty sunburnt anyhow!

About five o’clock, with the sinking afternoon sun we arrived at the summit. Wonderful views in every direction, but especially towards the 2301 meter peak of Swinica, still covered with a healthy layer of snow.

We took our time on the summit as the weather was near perfect before we eventually figured it was time to head back down. Before leaving the hut, we noticed a sign saying, ‘kitchen closes at 21:30.’ Without further inquiry, we figured this would be the last time to order dinner. A dinner I was greatly looking forward to from my memories of my last trip to the Tatra!

Descent was a little more complicated than the ascent and took a little more time than I thought. The sky was growing dark as we arrived back at the hut a little before nine o’clock. I was somewhat shocked to see a full on party going on in the dining hall, even with a live band.

Now looking forward to a good meal, we went up to order, only to be informed that there was only one selection of soup available – a sauerkraut soup that I don’t care for very much. When asking about the 21:30 closing time, we were informed that was when the whole dining hall closed. Shit! 10 hours hiking in the mountains and I couldn’t even get dinner. I guess malted barley water would have to suffice, along with the remainder of my hiking food.

Luckily the presence of the live band meant the dining room stayed open later, so we could at least enjoy a few drinks, somewhat to the protest of the hut warden, who could have been doing good business with the full house crowd, but chose to close the bar, only returning sporadically and serving drinks when sufficiently harassed by enough people shaking money at her.

Sometime after 11pm my head finally hit the pillow. Jack and I had discussed some place of getting up for sunrise, maybe even hiking up Kasprovy Wierch, we would see. But by the early morning hours the hut began to creek and the windows bang in the increasing winds. With barely a hint of morning light I got up to checkout the sky. Fully grey, and the trees were doing quite a dance. At that, I was content to stay in my sleeping bag for a while!

A lazy hike out of the mountains and back to Zakopane followed. We headed to a place to grab lunch (another pizza for me) and as we headed inside, thunder began to rumble and rain fall. Good timing getting down the mountain I guess.

We got dropped of by Jack in Krakow, where I then ended up on a standing room only mini-bus, I was one of the ones standing, back to Katowice before a tram back to Chorzow.

Overall, not the trip planned, but a good one none the less. Zakopane is such a wonderful mountain town, and in the spring it is nice and green yet the streets, while still crowded, are not overly crowded. I wished I had had a few more days just to hang out there and enjoy a bit of mountain town life. Maybe next time…

Photo: Heading up the trail to Murowaniec hut, Tatra Mountains, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Afternoon nap outside Murowaniec hut, Tatra Mountains, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Hiking towards Koscielec, Tatra Mountains, Poland. May 2014

Photo: The 2155 meter high Koscielec rises in the distance, Tatra Mountains, Poland. may 2014

Photo: On the summit of Koscielec, Tatra mountains, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Panoramic view from the summit of Koscielec, Tatra Mountains, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Murowaniec hut, Tatra Mountains, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Resting outside a mountain cabin, Tatra Mountains, Poland. May 2014

Poland – Tatra Mountains – Part 1

September 10, 2014/0 Comments/in hiking, Landscape, Mostly Photos, Mountains, Poland/by Cody

Photo: Stormy spring sky over the Polish Tatra mountains, near Kasprovy Wierch, Poland. May 2014

My first trip to the Polish Tatra mountains was in the late autumn of 2011 when I was making was way south from Estonia, through Latvia and Lithuania, before an epic, 18 hour bus ride to visit my friend Jack in Jaroslaw, located in the south east corner of Poland, more of less closer to Ukraine than anything else. After a few days in the nearby Bieszczady mountains, we headed west to the high peaks of the Tatra.

Being November, we weren’t sure what to expect, but 2011 happened to be an unusually warm autumn in Europe and so we had snow free travel up to the hut at the Five Lakes Valley (Dolinie Pięciu Stawów) for our first night in the mountains. The next day we continued on towards Morskie Oko hut, thinking about hiking Poland’s highest mountain, Rysy, before deciding conditions weren’t too good.

While somewhat small compared to the Alps, the Tatra left an impression on me as a wild and rugged set of peaks with some stunning views from the high summits.

Returning to Poland this May, I made plans to meet with Jack in the mountains again. Staying in Chorzow, near Katowice, it took half a day on Polish busses to arrive in Zakopane, where we would spend Friday night before heading further into the mountains.

The weather forecast was so-so, actually rather poor. Arriving on Friday afternoon in Zakopane, the skies overhead were heavy and dark. Being lazy, and with a few hours of daylight left, we took the cable car to the summit of Kasprovy Wierch to at least get a few mountain photos.

The trip was also to do a bit of scouting for the next day’s hike, as one of the possibilities was to cross from Kasprovy Wierch over into FIve Lakes Valley and stay in the hut for the night. But from up high, it was evident that without winter gear, there was still too much snow up high for the journey to be possible. So it was back down to Zakopane for a pizza and some beers (and a Kebab on the way back to the guesthouse).

We made plans to head to Five Lakes Valley in the morning.

Photo: Spring in the Tatra mountains, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Snow covered Swinica, Tatra mountains, Poland. May 2014

Photo: Dark sky over the Slovakian side of the Tatra mountains, near Kasprovy Wierch, Poland. May 2014

Back On Dry Land – Lofoten

September 6, 2014/0 Comments/in Landscape, Lofoten Islands, Mountains, Norway, Travel/by Cody

Photo: Summer evening view from the summit of Ryten, Lofoten Islands, Norway. August 2012

I will be on Lofoten now for more of less the whole of September. Hopefully the weather is as good as the previous two years, as I have put together a pretty long ‘to-do’ list of mountains to hike. And I have a few mountains I need to hike again, hopefully with some better weather, to add more hiking guides to this website, as it seems there is some new competition out there these days.

If you see someone (me) in an somewhat ugly bright blue jacket, come and say hello. Or you can try and contact me via FACEBOOK or INSTAGRAM if you know you’ll be around…

I want to try and remain on Lofoten as long as possible, especially as the chance for northern lights grows with the ever darkening nights of autumn – the best displays always seem to be the day after I leave, so I suggest scheduling at trip for the beginning of October! 🙂

But it will be a long trip down from the north car, and not knowing what the weather may due, I might be forced south a bit earlier than planned. Plus, this will be my first ever opportunity to visit central Norway by car, and there is a huge list of place I want to see or re-visit from my hitchhiking days of years gone by.

Brecon Beacons National Park – Mynydd Llangorse

May 16, 2014/0 Comments/in hiking, Landscape, Mostly Photos, Mountains, Wales/by Cody

Photo: Watching sunset over Llangorse lake from Mynydd Llangorse, Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

With the long days of summer just around the corner it’s now possible to head out into the Black Mountains for quick evening hikes from here in Hay-on-Wye. Normally, the default hike is Twmpa or Hay Bluff, the quickest mountains two reach, just down the road and the very eastern border of Brecon Beacons national park. With rainy days often spent at the climbing gym at llangorse, I’ve often had my eye of the isolated peaks of Mynydd Troed and Mynydd Llangorse for some time. And looking for something new to wander around to break out of the normal routine, I finally made the effort to get there.

Arriving at the small parking area between both peaks, I decided to head up the lower Mynydd Llangorse, at 515 meters, as the views towards Llangorse lakes seemed to be more promising. A short ascent leads to the mountain’s ridge and fantastic views of the gently rolling hills and Hedged-in fields of the Welsh countrside. In the distant west, the flat, table-like summit of Pen Y Fan rose into the mist.

A strange, soft light covered the last, fading off into the hazy distant mountain peaks. At times, the sun would break through the clouds, casting beams of light over the land in typical Welsh fashion. Sunset looked like it would be promising, so I stayed up on the mountain, often surrounded by the wild Welsh mountain ponies, grazing away on the spring grass, until strangely pink sun sunk below the horizon. Now I’m just waiting for a day with some nice puffy clouds to head back again.

For more images from Mynydd Llangorse, and the rest of the Brecon Beacons national park, you can visit my Welsh image archive: HERE

Photo: Views over the scenic Welsh countryside, Mynydd Llangorse, Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

Photo: Rays of light break through the clouds, Mynydd Llangorse, Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

Photo: Old stone wall on Mynydd Llangorse, Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

Photo: Welsh mountain pony at sunset, Mynydd Llangorse, Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

Brecon Beacons National Park – Black Mountain

May 12, 2014/0 Comments/in hiking, Landscape, Mostly Photos, Mountains, Wales/by Cody

Photo: View along the Carmarthen Fans, Black Mountain, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

The Black Mountain – Y Mynydd Du, the strangely singularl named mountain range, not to be confused with the Black Mountains or Black Mountain itself, on the Western edge of south Wales’ Brecon Beacons national park is home to the some of the most stunning and wild mountains of the national park. While the central peaks of the Brecons Beacons can have a near endless train of people heading up on a sunny Sunday afternoon, the Black Mountain receives only a fraction of the foot traffic which is one of the reasons that they are my favourite mountains in the region to hike.

When a fair weathered day presented itself a few weekends back, I headed west to hike one my favourite route: Bannau Sir Gaer – Camarthen Fans. Often I hike in from the east, as it’s quick to get there, and often just ascend Fan Brycheiniog before returning, but this time I wanted to wait around until sunset, and so decided to hike in from the west via Llyn Y Fan Fach. From Llyn Y Fan Fach, the trail ascends to Waun Lefrith, with scenic view of the entire Camarthen Fans, before continuing on to the first high point at Picws Du. From here the trail descends before climbing again to Fan Foel and eventually on to the high point of the range, the 802 meter high Fan Brycheiniog.

Instead of descending the mountains and heading back to the car park, I decided to head back up Picws Du and back along the Camarthen Fan ridge to Waun Lefrith where I was hoping to wait for sunset. Buts as the afternoon hours passed, heavy clouds began rolling in from the west, and it was evident that any sunset would be unlikely. So after 7:00pm, as the spring sky was beginning to darken I began to head back down the mountain, slightly hurried by the calling of dinner.

For more images from Black Mountain, and the rest of the Brecon Beacons national park, you can visit my Welsh image archive: HERE

Photo: Hiking above Llyn Y Fan Fach, Black Mountain, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

Photo: Llyn Y Fan Fach and Carmarthen Fans, Black Mountain, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

Photo: View along Carmarthen Fans, Black Mountain, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

Photo: Rock outcropping, Black Mountain, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. April 2014

Photo: Last light touchest the summit of Fan Foel, Black Mountain, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales

Swedish Interlude Part 2 – Kebnekaise Fjallstation

April 25, 2014/0 Comments/in Landscape, Mostly Photos, Mountains, Sweden, Travel/by Cody

Photo: Winter mountain landscape of Swedish Lapland, Kebnekaise Fjällstation, Sweden. February 2014

…Continuing from PART 1

A steady snow was falling by the time the bus pulled into Kiruna late in the morning, the steep slag piles of the iron mine covered in hoarfrost and clouded in mist, resembling the White Wall out of Game of Thrones. I made my way from the bus station to the hostel, only getting slightly lost and was informed check-in was not for a few hours, at least I could drop off my heavy bags. I had a bit of scouting to do, namely to make sure if the sport shop had some Nordic touring skis available, as my girlfriend has actually never owned a pair of skis, much less touring ones. After her arrival, and a hefty bill at the sports shop later, we were full prepared to head into the mountains.

I somewhat optimistically chose the Kungsleden trail as my first attempt for ski touring because, as I sold the idea to my girlfriend, ‘It’s mostly flat, without any big hills to ski up or down.’

More so, both of us had hiked the Route from Nikkaluokta to Abisko in September 2012, and I had hiked it previously in September 2009. So, other than being mostly flat, it was also a route that I am familiar and comfortable with. The only real challenge I perceived was weather and distance. I optimistically put our chance of finishing at 50%.

The night at the hostel in Kiruna passed quickly and we were soon boarding the first bus of the 2014 winter season, heading to the trailhead at Nikkaluokta. Arriving in Nikkaluokta a few hours later, the bus driver didn’t seem too concerned with collecting payment. I asked in my bad Swedish if we needed to pay, but was informed that he had forgotten the change purse, the trip was free. There were a couple other girls getting of the bus who were also traveling to Kebnekaise Fjällstation, the first STF run mountain hut along the trail, however, they didn’t look much prepared to ski the 19 km to get there. After a bit of conversation, we learned that there is transport by snowmobile for the price of 300 SEK. With only a few hours until darkness, doubtful enough time to get there, and having gotten the bus trip for free, we decided to spoil ourselves and be lazy. The real journey could start tomorrow, and I knew this to be one of the more boring parts of the trail, just a long journey through the forest.

Photo: Snowmobile and Swedish winter mountain taxi, Nikkaluokta, Sweden. February 2014

We geared up in thick winter overalls for the trip and were given a blanket to cover ourselves as we hopped onto a trailer pulled by the snowmobile. Then we were off, speeding down a path through the snow covered forest. There apparently where a few thin spots in the ice, noted by sticks marking where not to go, as we crossed blank lakes and snaked up rivers. About 45 minutes later we were pulling up to the Kebnekaise Fjällstation. Snow was gently falling.

If I were 20 years old again, and Swedish, I think driving a snowmobile at one of the Swedish mountain huts would be the job for me!

We checked in as the first guests of the season and had the whole upper dorm to ourselves (no snoring). Kebnekaise Fjällstation is a full service mountain hut, but budgets forced us to decline the dinner and utilise what we were carrying. Though most of the food is a bit fancy for my simple tastes anyhow, and I’m not sure I’d eat half of it if it were free, much less several hundred Swedish Kroner. But a beer, warm fire, and, as we thought, one last wifi connection for the week, were thoroughly appreciated. Snow was still falling as I headed up the stairs for bed.

The forecast had called for a couple days of calm before something of a storm would arrive. As the world lightened with the arrival of day, I could still see a light snow still falling, nothing to worry about though. But exiting the main lodge to head to the kitchen for breakfast, it was obvious the snow was deep. Not ideal for for our first attempts at ski touring. And being the first ones of the season, this left me with the task of breaking 14km of trail through the knee/thigh deep powder. Still, I remained optimistic as we set off.

Progress for me was slow, but steady, having proper ‘fat’ mountain touring skis and skins to keep me from sinking too much and make cutting turns, under the load of a backpack, on the downhills a bit easier. For my girlfriend, with less than 1km ever skied on her skinny Nordic skis, the pace was tediously slow, even following in my tracks (which was more like slightly compressed snow than a proper touring track). The downhills were even slower than the uphill sections for her, and touring was near impossible. After more than an hour of travel, and barely more than 1km from the hut, it was decided to turn back.

Just at this time, a snowmobile passed by, cutting a nice trail. But it turned to another part of the mountains and didn’t continue in the direction we needed. We returned to the hut, disappointed.

We sat for a while, trying to decide what to do. Having already bought 2000 SEK in hut vouchers (the mountain huts don’t accept credit cards anymore), I figured it would be best just to stay at Kebnekaise Fjällstation for a few more nights and at least get a little enjoyment out of the mountains before continuing on to Lofoten Islands again.

With the brilliant snow conditions, I wasted no time in skinning up a few hills and getting some turns in on the way back down. If I wasn’t going to complete the tour, I still planned on enjoying myself. This lasted for two days. A storm arrived.

I’ve probably mentioned a dozen times in my last few posts that this was an unusually dry and warm winter for much of Scandinavia. The storm arrived from the south. Kebnekaise Fjällstation is somewhat sheltered from this direction, but I heard reports of broken windows and severe conditions in the other huts as they are situated in a series of north/south running valleys. But with the wind came warm air and positive temperatures; in February! There went my nice powder.

Tuesday morning it was time to leave the mountains. We booked a return journey on the snowmobile back to Nikkaluokta and then planned on catching the bus back to Kiruna and continue by train to Narvik for the night. Back in Nikkaluokta we had a couple hours to wait for the bus, but somewhere in the back of my mind, something was nagging me. This led me to a little double checking of the schedule, where upon I was able to decipher that there is actually no bus on Tuesday. This was confirmed by the shopkeeper. Shit! I could only sit there and laugh at my stupidity, as I contemplated having to return back to Kebnekaise Fjällstation again.

Luck was on our side though, as there randomly happen to be a Dutch couple and tour guide sitting in the cafe. I wandered over to their table and explained the situation, and if we could maybe get a ride back to Kiruna. I try to avoid putting people in such situations, where they might not want to say yes, but will look selfish if they say no and then have to finish their coffee with you staring at them. But happily for us, they were quite nice and quickly offered to let us come along. Skis were loaded into the van and off we went back towards civilisation.

We had a few hours to kill in Kiruna, so spent most of waiting in the warmth of the Folkets Hus – a much nicer place to wait than the bus station. I actually thought there would be a bus to Narvik, but apparently it didn’t run on Tuesdays either, so we caught the free transfer shuttle to the new train station. And there the wait began.

As much as I admire and will compliment the Scandinavians on nearly every aspect modern life, trains, at least in the north, are not their strong point. Hour after hour passed, as the LED timetable board scheduled a new arrival time every 30 minutes or so. Perhaps I should have picked up something for dinner in Kiruna? Eventually, about 3 hours late, the train arrived and carried us west, back towards the Norway where I left little more than a week previously. After the mandatory night in Narvik, although we arrived quite late, so I don’t begrudge the lack of onward transport options, we were on the morning bus back to the Lofoten Islands. I wondered what new adventures would await. (Mostly bad weather as it turned out…)

Photo: Struggling to ski through deep snow, Kungsleden trail, Sweden. February 2014

Photo: My ski getting ready for a run on some trackless powder, Kebnekaise Fjällstation, Sweden. February 2014

Photo: Scenic winter mountain landscape from near Kebnekaise Fjällstation, Sweden. February 2014

Photo: Winter in the Swedish mountains near Kebnekaise Fjällstation, Sweden. February 2014

Best Photos of 2013

January 1, 2014/1 Comment/in Landscape, Lofoten Islands, Mostly Photos, Mountains, Norway, Scotland, Wales/by Cody

The following are my favorite images of the year. Overall, 2013 was a year of ups and downs for me and I was often struggling to come up with inspiration. I seemed to run into more than my usual amount of bad weather, especially starting off the year on Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. But in turn, I had some of the best right-place-right-time moments of the last few years, where amazing light and scenery appeared before my eyes. Looking through the images I noticed that I didn’t make any Calfiornia, or US, road trips this year. I guess I was quite focused on the Lofoten islands, making 4 trips in total this year, one for every season. That being said, I tried to balance out the collection a bit so that it wasn’t only Lofoten images, as it easily could have been.

Now to the images, in no particular order…

Photo: Winter dawn over Pen Y Fan, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. February 2013

Pre-dawn winter hikes up Pen Y Fan have become something of a common occurrence of mine over the last couple years. Despite their low elevation, I reallylove the mountains of the Brecon Beacons in south Wales.

Photo: Rorbu reflection, near Reine, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 2013

Normally I don’t include much architecture or man made structures in my images but as I was killing a bit of time at the end of the day before meeting up with a friend, I parked the car on the edge of the fjord, near these rob – fishermen’s huts. I was walking in the other direction towards another photo when out of the corner of my eye, I caught the lights of the buildings come on, the occupants returning home for the evening. This brought out just enough contrast against the heavily clouded sky. I scaled down the rocky slope to the water’s edge and managed a few images before the rain began to fall.

Photo: Northern Lights over Olstind, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 2013

Olstind and Northern Lights has been an image I’ve had in my mind for a number of years. And this evening was my lucky night.

Photo: Haukland beach in winter, Lofoten Islands, Norway. February 2013

I’m not quite sure why I like this image as much as I do. It was a shitty, stormy day, with temperatures warming and a cold rain beginning to fall and melt away the snow. I was largely stuck held captive by the weather most of the day, remaining in my car most of the time, but as I was driving towards Utakleiv to camp for the night I noticed rain had stopped as I was passing Haukland beach. I got my feet wet for this one.

Photo: Welsh mountain ponies, Black Mountains, Brecon Beacons national park, Wales. June 2013

Perhaps a little brighter than my usual style of recent years, I still like the feeling of this image, taken on one of my after dinner hikes up Twampa for a bit of exercise. While the ponies in Iceland seem to get all the photographic love these days, there are also some cool ones cruising around the mountains of south Wales.

Photo: Sunset on Glyder Fach, Snowdonia national park, Wales. June 2013

This was my first hiking trip to Snowdonia since 2006. Somehow the chosen weekend seemed to coincide with unusually brilliant weather. After Hiking up Tryfan, we set up camp on the summit of Glyder Fach. This is what sunset brought to the hight mountains that night.

Photo: Bunes beach rainbow at dawn, Lofoten Islands, Norway. August 2013

This was a photo I nearly missed; due both to tiredness, and some nice light elsewhere. But intuition took me out to the cliffs with this view and I nearly dropped my camera when this rainbow came into view. A near perfect aligning of elements.

Photo: Bivy on the summit of Hermannsdalstinden, Lofoten Islands, Norway. August 2013

This is probably my favorite image of the year, though more for the moment than the photo itself. Alone on the highest mountain in western Lofoten on a late summer’s evening, I took a few images as I was getting ready for bed. To me, this photo is what the Lofoten islands are all about.

Photo: Evening arrives over Reine from the summit of Reinebringen, Lofoten Islands, Norway. September 2013

I had journeyed up Reinebringen on this day with hopes of Northern Lights appearing in the night. They never really did, but I walked away with this image. It was worth the effort and the cold.

Photo: Yesnaby, Orkney, Scotland. October 2013

I had a few false starts (read: bad weather) during my week on Orkney, but on this evening everything seemed to come together. The cliffs are wild and rugged, the sea stormy. Just how I like it!

Reka – Vesterålen

Video – Lofoten – Northern Light

Kvalvika Beach – Lofoten Islands

Poland – Tatra Mountains – Part 2

Poland – Tatra Mountains – Part 1

Back On Dry Land – Lofoten

Brecon Beacons National Park – Mynydd Llangorse

Brecon Beacons National Park – Black Mountain

Swedish Interlude Part 2 – Kebnekaise Fjallstation

Best Photos of 2013

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New on the Blog

Seasons On Lofoten Winter eBook

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