Heja Norge!

There are many facets to the world of skiing. Of course, this is an individual experience and is ultimately shaped by the stage of life one is in. While performance and success were the focus of my youth, other motivations matter more to me today: the love of snow, the fascination with wintry landscapes and mountains, the deep desire for freedom and adventure, as well as the joy of sharing all of this with friends who feel the same way.

As much as I enjoyed not traveling much for a few years and instead experiencing adventures right on my doorstep, the desire to set off into the distance again with good friends has recently grown in me. Two motorhomes were to become a home for Thomas, Tobi, Florian and me for ten days. We planned to head to three destinations in Norway and Sweden, knowing that road trips often turn out differently than expected. And indeed, things did go quite differently than we had initially planned.

attitude, no matter how the trips turn out. I knew he would be bringing a good mood to this journey. Florian, a medal winner in the downhill at the World Championships in St. Anton and one of the best German downhill skiers ever, and I have a number of ski tours in common in addition to our racing careers. Despite serious injuries, he never lost his love of skiing and is bringing new motivation to the team. I did not know the fourth skier in the group, Tobi. He and Florian had completed the “Patrouille des Glaciers” together the previous year, one of the most demanding ski mountaineering competitions in the world. With Florian’s “underestimate & overdeliver” character trait, it was clear that we were in for some relaxed and adventurous days.

After a 30-hour drive, we reached a picturesque high plateau south of the Rondane National Park, our first destination. A short walk in fresh, deep snow at sunset raised our anticipation for the days ahead.

However, when we wanted to tackle the last stretch to the National Park, our path was blocked by a 10-foot snowdrift. The pass was closed and remained impassable the next

morning. We therefore changed our plans. In a heavy snow-storm and on icy roads, we finally reached Oppdal, where the avalanche risk had risen to level 4. A visit to the “Vertical Playground” sports store, run by Tryge Sande, a passionate ski mountaineer and freerider and former downhill racing col-league, proved to be a lucky strike. Tryge gave us valuable tips for safe ski touring despite the challenging situation.

After the avalanche situation had calmed down, we explored the region around Oppdal intensively over the next few days. I particularly remember the hike to Litlskjorta (5,092 feet). Friends from Åre in Sweden had recommended it to us, and so did Tryge. After an intense day of powder skiing, we reached

the trailhead late in the afternoon. The valley was covered in deep snow, and we were the only ones at the parking lot. The evening before, we had already completed the first part of the ascent at dusk in waist-deep snow.

The next morning, at a cozy -22° Fahrenheit, we followed our tracks from the day before. Despite the freezing cold and strong gusts of wind, we fought our way up step by step, taking turns leading the way. The last 100 feet of the ascent became extremely steep, and some massive cornices looked anything but inviting. We decided to take the detour via the ridge. After a total of 6 hours, a 4,600-foot descent with the finest powder finally awaited us – and we had it all to our-

The final hike of our trip took us to Grøvelnebba (4,688 feet), with the aim of skiing the eastern gully. However, heavy snow drifts again forced us to opt for Plan B, which was by no means a compromise. We spent the last night celebrating the great time we had had as well as Florian’s birthday, but the cold weather presented us with one last challenge: we had run out of gas for heating, and the night in the motorhome at -31° Fahrenheit was a real test, to say the least.