Hidden by the dark

When I finally decided to change my location for the long exposure of the old Tremola I picked up my tripod and camera and slowly followed the dark path below the new Gotthard pass road back to the Gotthard hospice. Passing by the dark pillars of the road (it’s some kind of open tunnel) and the scary deep black hollow spaces between them I heard silent footsteps behind me, probably my own echo? – and some waterdrops falling down from the road above. It was like a creepy demonic vampire horror movie! Probably due to my darkest fears and nervousness I turned around every now and then – admittedly at least every ten meters – to make sure there was nobody or nothing behind me.

And there it was.

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Time will tell

Philosophic thoughts about moments and transience of time.
Norway, Lyngen Alps. February 11 and 13, 2019.

Transience of Snow

This morning I left Anton’s beautiful cottage (see this map, the cottage is marked in red) – the fantastic Hytte i Lyngsalpene even before sunrise.

While putting on my snowshoes I was thoughtfully wondering if I would be allowed to touch the untouched and intact snow cover – this white and endless beauty. Do not call me crazy, but my tracks would be visible for days!

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What if the creatures were good?

A thin line between good and evil

Philosophic thoughts and a lot of fun. Norway, Lyngen Alps. February 13, 2019.

Will the ice carry me?

Carefully I set my foot on the ice. Mid of February far up in the North at 69.71259, 19.91613, at an aerial distance of 37 km from Tromsø the ice of the frozen Jægervatnet (see Wikipedia article in Norwegian) should be safe. Indeed the ice thickness is about 30 cm – maybe more, so there should be no problem at all! Nevertheless be careful and do not walk too far off the shore, and do not put off your snowshoes – they minimize pressure … you never know – I am a coward. But perhaps it’s better this way.

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Lost in the whiteout

Norway, Lyngen Alps. February 11, 2019.

Yesterday evening I had discovered three small lakes on the map only 1.5 km away from Anton’s beautiful cottage we were living this week – the Hytte i Lyngsalpene, see this map (the cottage is marked in red).
The difference in altitude from the cottage to the three lakes would be only 170 meters, so the snowshoe walk should be an easy walk.

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A pair of 66North gloves on 69.9 North meets Nave Rosso

A true fairytale.
Norway, Lyngen Alps. February 12, 2019. Photostorytelling.

This morning we left the Hytte i Lyngsalpene, Anton’s beautiful cabin early before sunrise. The light was still blue when we put on our snowshoes and walked down the embankment towards the Jægervatnet. Our route led across the frozen lake for about three miles to the North, and up to the parking where we had left our car a few days ago.

Today we wanted to explore the northern part of the Lyngen Alps.

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How to find your location?

Hiking out in the wild we always trust in modern navigation tools such as satellite communicators and GPS navigators, high definition online maps, GPS and compass apps. But what happens if there is no mobile network, no GPS signal or – even worse – no battery anymore?

This article helps you to find your location with a simple and reliable mirror compass and a good old-fashioned map.

Sight a bearing
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