Course Notes: Arctic summits
Thanks for booking our snowshoe trip in Arctic Norway. The magical combination of sea, snow, Northern Lights and mountains is captured nowhere better than the Lyngen Alps and Kvaløya which sit either side of the gorgeous city of Tromso. I have been visiting the area for several years now on holidays with friends, exploring the beautifully wild mountains, gazing in awe at the Northern Lights and enjoying the thrill of snow from summit to sea. Having got to know the area I thought it was about time I shared it and hence this winter walking trip that allows everyone to access one of my favourite places in the world.
What does the course cover?
The main aim of the trip is to explore the beautiful summits of the region. Along the way we can also refresh the following skills:
– Choice and use of equipment for the winter environment
– Photographic skills in the mountains
– Movement skills on snow
_ How to fit and use snowshoes – when to choose them over crampons
– Mountain journeys putting all of the skills into perspective
– Avalanche avoidance & snow analysis
– Emergency procedures
– One rest day where you can choose between snowmobiling and Dog Sledding
The Programme:
We will meet in Tromso city centre at 9:00am at Kaffebonna Stortorget on the Monday morning.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/csEYZcmpbtT1oi999
The program will be flexible to allow for the conditions that we find on the ground, but we will aim to explore the area, tick off some summits, enjoy some mountain journeys and get some amazing photos along the way. We are visiting during prime Northern Lights season and so we would expect to get some great shots assuming we get the clear skies! We will have a day off in the middle of the week to allow people to go Dog Sledding or Snowmobiling. Here is a sample program:
Monday: Meet 9:00am, have a 30 minute briefing and then collect any rental kit that needs collecting before heading out for a mountain day.
Tuesday: Summit Day
Wednesday: Rest day for activities
Thursday: Summit Day
Friday: Summit Day
Each day will be run from 9:00am to 5:00pm approximately – allowing for the weather and conditions.
Activity Day
Activities for the rest day are numerous. We provide some suggestions below for you and leave this for you to book.
Guided Cross Country Skiing for beginners
(Tromso Wilderness Tours come highly recommended by previous clients)
There is also a whole host of other suggestions here.
Accommodation
You will need to arrange your own accommodation for the trip. There are numerous options in Tromso to suit all budgets. Booking.com and Airbnb are good places to start. Make sure you are able to get to the meeting place each day (Kaffebonna Stortorget)
Currency: The most cost effective method is to use a travel card with no transaction charges. I use a Post Office Travelcard which can be used contactless on my phone. There are few opportunities to use cash.
Flights
You need to arrange flights to Tromso. You will find a range of options on Skyscanner with carriers like SAS flying via Oslo. If you choose to fly to Oslo and then Tromso with separate airlines make sure you have a big enough gap to deal with any delays – we have had clients miss connecting flights in the past.
Insurance
You will need a policy that covers you for personal accident and cancellation. We use The BMC for our own cover.
Balance Payments
We ask for the balance payment of the course, the accommodation and the car hire to be made 12 weeks before the course date.
You can allow £100 per person for car hire.
Kit List:
Please make sure that you bring everything that is on this list:
Waterproof Jacket – full weight breathable model preferred.
Overtrousers – with 3/4 or full length side zips.
Rucsac 30-40l capacity – a number of different sized drybags are useful
Winter Boots
Socks
Gaiters
Wicking thermal top.
2 Warm fleeces or equivalent.
Mountain trousers.
2 pairs of gloves that are warm
Beanie or woolly hat
Spare Mittens especially if you suffer from cold hands.
Water Container approx 1l, or thermos flask.
Headtorch + batteries
Map, Compass + Whistle
Personal medications + blister kit
Ski Goggles + sun glasses
Trekking poles with snow baskets
Blizzard Survival Jacket (Emergency kit)
#Crampons
#Ice Axe
#Snowshoes (we like TSL or MSR)
#Avalanche transceiver, shovel and probe
# Items can be hired locally or in the UK from the following links:
BMC Article on Risk & Safety in climbing & mountaineering.
The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) is the representative body in the UK for hill walkers, climbers and mountaineers. It has produced a Participation Statement for anyone involved in walking, climbing or mountaineering to say that:
The BMC recognises that climbing and mountaineering are activities with a danger of personal injury or death. Participants in these activities should be aware of and accept these risks and be responsible for their own actions.
If you join one of our courses you acknowledge and accept these risks and so we thought a few facts and figures might be useful in explaining what you are accepting.
Injuries
Injuries are possible in climbing, hill walking and mountaineering, as in all sporting activities, as a result of over-training, inappropriate training regimes, or poor technique as well as those that might be sustained during a slip or fall, or if something or someone falls on a person.
Risk
Risks need to be put in context. There are currently about 5 million climbing wall user visits annually and it has bee estimated that between the 1960s and 2005 there were approximately 50 million climbing wall user visits in the UK alone. During that period there was only one fatality at a wall in England and Wales. There are 13 million young people in this country. Of the approximately 700 fatal accidents that occur every year, there is approximately one child death per year in organised adventurous activities in comparison with 457 land transportation accidents (National Statistics).
Risk is an integral part of the activity and can play a vital role in helping young people to acquire these extremely important life skills. Minimising the risk boils down to having the right level of skill and experience relative to the difficulty of the activity. Our courses will help you to understand and assess these risks for yourself. Accidents can happen due to circumstances over which the climber has no control, such as a rockfall, and in these events first aid training can make all the difference.
Accident rates
Because experienced climbers strive very hard to know their own limitations, the sport enjoys remarkably low accident rates. Incidents that make news headlines often involve individuals operating in environments for which they were ill-prepared, and this can give a somewhat skewed impression of the dangers involved in the sport. Many of the ‘climbers’ reported in the media as having been involved in accidents, died or got lost in mountainous areas are not dedicated climbers. Often they are tourists who have gone out walking or people who don’t have much experience in the mountains. Therefore some of the tragedies that hit the headlines may reflect poorly on dedicated mountaineers who are more likely to be better prepared and not as likely to require mountain rescue.
Even on a course there is a need for personal responsibility and self reliance in all mountaineering activities. We will have contingency plans in the event of an emergency and are first aid trained but you should also carry basic first aid equipment as detailed in your course notes. All of our courses aim to teach you to assess the risks for yourself, to make you an independent climber/mountaineer or hillwalker but there are some risks that we cannot completely remove.
If you feel uncomfortable at any time you should say so and don’t be afraid to ask why we are doing what we are doing. There is no pressure whatsoever for you to take part in any activity that you do not want to take part in.
The BMC has produced an introductory booklet for parents of young people who participate in climbing-related activities.