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Arctic night ski touring in Finnmark, Norway

4 days of ski touring by night in the fjords of Finnmark, close to Alta, in the north of Norway, accompanied by a certified mountain guide.

Not specified

Finnmark

6 Days

Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Dec

Fit

Intermediate


Description

Alta is located in Finnmark, Norway. It's the "city of the northern lights". In fact, people travel all the way up north to observe them. However, going up to 70° north in mid December is still an unusual plan for skiers. It wasn't easy to discuss it with the locals, but we managed to do it and we have no regrets!

It's during this period, the darkest of the year, that ski touring in northern Norway becomes such a unique experience.

Up there, in December, there is a very special light. In fact, it's not dark all of the 24 hours. During part of the day, an unusual blue lights gives a new life to the environment.

Everything looks both unreal and sharp: the mountains, the fjords, the ocean. Indeed, this vision is beyond what you can imagine.

And when it's truly dark, the time comes to ski with our headlamps on. There are very strong headlamps that will allow you to ski easily and having fun in the dark.

Feel free to get in touch with me if you wish to live this unique ski touring experience in an incredible environment between sea and mountains. Another great option is to got to Finnmark for a ski touring week during the spring.

Price includes

- Guiding fee

- Accommodation included

- Transportation start and back

- Transport during the trip

- Breakfast

- Lunch

- Dinner

Price details

This is the price to join a group of 6 people.


Itinerary

Day 1: Langfjordbotn

Arrival at the airport of Alta. We drive 80km to the place where we will stay, Langfjordbotn.

Meeting with Moonlight Mountain Gear that will provide us with headlamps and skis for the ones who need it.

Day 2 to 5: Four days skiing.

Every day we go for a new ski tour. Even during the darkest periods, the region is full of possibilities. We will both ski the forests and go for the peaks.

Day 6: Departure

A last tour in the morning and we leave to Alta Airport.

 

Details

Accommodation

We stay in a typical, cosy norwegian house, with double and triple rooms, and a sauna, of course!

More info

Dinners and the loan of an avalanche transceiver are included.

Level: Ski touring, walking 2 to 5 hours each day. Physical level: 3 to 4 Technical level: C to D To be sure to give you the best experience, we ski only with small groups of 6 people maximum. If you are more there will be a second guide.

Weather and snow conditions: To make of this very special trip an experience that you will enjoy to the maximum, we need some days of stable weather and a decent snow cover. To ensure that, we will get the flight tickets and confirm the trip two weeks before departure date. I will be in close contact with you to follow the evolution of the weather and make the best decision. For that reason, no deposit will be asked from you.

Climate: The absence of sun doesn’t help the temperatures to rise, but even in the winter the gulf stream is still on, and we can expect a coldness that is similar to what we experience in the Alpine valleys in the winter. Which means that it can go down to -20° and sometimes be a bit above freezing level.

Equipment to rent: If you’re curious of trying this very specific gear, my partner Moonlight Mountain Gear will rent: TOURING SKIS. Depending on the snow conditions, Moonlight Mountain Gear is proposing different size of skis, all made incredibly light by the use of carbon and advanced technology. They come with super light bindings that can do both alpine touring and telemark. HEADLAMPS: the toughest and most powerful on the market, up to 6000 lumens. Bright as day is their name ! Prices on request.

Meeting point

Alta airport

About the guide

Founded by two IFMGA-certified mountain guides, Fred Buttard and Victor Charron, Up Ski and Mountain Guides is made up of a passionate group of guides and ski instructors.

Originally from Maurienne, in France, the team also spends several months a year skiing the mountains of Norway and Sweden, and travelling to off-the-beaten-path destinations, including Morocco, Albania and Japan.

Eric Tollund, Fabien Berrod, Jean Baptiste Buttard, Fabien Suiffet, Pauline Bermon, Oscar Wahlund, Clément Bléteau, Sylvain Rechu, Fred Buttard and Victor Charron are the members of our amazing team :) Get in touch with us and let's explore the mountains together.

Languages

Norwegian | Swedish | French | English

Certificates

IVBV | UIAGM | IFMGA

Residence

Saint Jean de Maurienne, France


What people are saying about Up Ski and Mountain Guides

Aki Weckström

5.00

February, 2022

Best guide Oskar.Cosy hotell. Good and frendly service from explore-Share.We are really satisfied.

Serge Dumont

5.00

May, 2019

Bonjour Pauline et Fred, Je suis très heureux de prendre un moment aujourd’hui pour vous écrire. Le séjour au Finnmark été exceptionnel. Clément est un excellent guide. Très dévoué, soucieux de rendre l’expérience agréable, Clément est vraiment très talentueux et dévoué. Sa personnalité est agréable, il est à l’écoute de nos besoins et démontre, malgré son jeune âge, un haut niveau de compétences et de savoir-faire. Son enseignement sur recherche de victimes suite à une avalanche est de loin, la meilleure formation que j’ai reçue à ce jour. Les paysages du Finnmark sont exceptionnels, nous avons été particulièrement chanceux pour les conditions météorologiques. Nous avons vraiment eu le loisir d’admirer ces magnifiques paysages de montagnes entre ciel et mer. L’expérience de groupe a aussi été excellente, la chimie entre les participants-es a été fort agréable. Nous avons vraiment passé de bons moments ensemble.  Je vais très certainement voyager avec vous dans le futur, l’expérience a été extrêmement positive. Au plaisir de nouvelles aventures !!! Serge

Serge Dumont

5.00

April, 2019

La beauté des paysages est exceptionnelle. Up Ski & Mountain Guides offre un service et un encadrement remarquables. Les compétences et la qualité de travail du guide contribuent à rendre cette expérience inoubliable. Bravo à l'équipe !!!

Valentine Mercier

5.00

April, 2019

Whow! Amazing trip in Finnmark, our guide Sylvain made the trip perfect, looking every day for the best snow conditions and beautiful itineraries! Arriving on ski after a crazy descent in powder to the water in lonesome fjords and getting home by boat as well as kayaking to the start of itinerary on a perfect sunny day are unbeatable! Sauna after a powder day, dog sledging and watching northern lights in the night make the trip even more unforgettable!

Colin

5.00

December, 2018

Thursday was a fantastic day, we were lucky with the conditions and I was lucky with the company! A big thanks to you and the team for such a great week, but particularly to Clement who made each day so different and showed me so much of Maurienne - I'm sure I'll be back!

Seb and Charlotte

5.00

April, 2018

Ski touring in Finnmark was a wonderful experience with Explore and Share. On arriving, the Northern Lights set the stage for a week rich in adventures and explorations. Stunning decor of never ending fjords and beautiful snow conditions allowed us to ski up the mountains, reach summits, and slalom downhill in the most remote and peaceful places in Norway. The guides made sure we had a chance to be exposed to a variety of skiing domains, with changing landscapes and views. This meant we kayaked across a fjord in order to reach the start of the ski tour, and returned to have a brief swim in cold but pure water. Meeting at the restaurant-caffe place in the evening for dinner was a treat. The food was great and the warmth of the wooden built house typical of a skiing adventure trip. Seb& Charlotte

Arthur dM

5.00

April, 2018

Super disponibilité et flexibilité des guides sur place pour satisfaire les envies du groupe et tirer un maximum du cadre exceptionnel! Guides très relax et très sympa. Logement simple et exceptionnel à la foi: une maison typique norvégienne au bord du fjord. Nous avions donné une liste d envies par mail avant le voyage. Elles ont toutes pu être réalisées. Les guides et nous mêmes avons pu planifier les extras (sauna, kayak, chien de traîneau, pêche...) parfois avec les locaux la veille en fonction des envies et des conditions. On sent donc qu’on est pas dans un grand tour opérateur avec des activités en chaînes  réglées selon un planning stricte mais bien dans quelque chose de très humain et très personnalisé. Si possible, la seule info qui pourrait être communiquée plus tôt et plus clairement est le budget à prévoir pour ces « extras ». (Rating 4,5/5)

Charles P.

5.00

April, 2018

We made a wonderful one-week ski touring trip in the fabulous area of Finnmark. In all the places where we skied, we were the only skiers, discovering every day different environment and landscape leaving us speechless.  We were guided by Sylvain and Mathieu. They were quite skilful, friendly and flexible. Skilful because they have very good knowledge about the different places/spots to go skiing (depending on the conditions). Friendly because we had fun with them and they mixed very naturally into our group of 7 friends. Flexible because they adapted the programme, on a daily basis, to the weather conditions as well as (especially) to our requests and expectations. This trip was beyond my expectations and I strongly recommend to make it.  It is important to be very clear to the guides about your expectations and your intentions so that they tailor-make the programme of the week as much as possible.

Alban V.

4.00

April, 2018

Un labyrinthe de fjords enneigés, des pistes immaculées donnant directement sur la mer... Le Finnmark est réellement un fantastique terrain de jeu pour le ski de rando, un paradis suspendu entre mer et ciel. Il y a très peu de skieurs et la nature est à couper le souffle. L'organisation pourrait être déplorable qu'il serait difficile de gâcher le voyage... Mais l'organisation n'est pas déplorable, au contraire: Fred et sa petite équipe mettent tout en oeuvre pour en faire non seulement une semaine de bon ski, mais aussi un temps convivial, spontané. Ils ont de bonnes relations sur place et sont flexibles, ce qui ajoute beaucoup à l'expérience. Je recommande chaudement!

Per Munch

5.00

March, 2018

Thank you so much – it was great

Danielle

5.00

May, 2017

I was lucky enough to spend 8 days skiing with Fred in Finnmark in May of 2017. The conditions were unusually epic that year— it snowed almost every minute I was there, or so it felt. Even so, you still need quite a bit of expertise to find the right conditions (there's no reliable freeze thaw cycle when it's constantly snowing!) and Fred did not disappoint. It was almost like he was a magician, finding us the perfect snow every single day, even on days when the conditions were tricky. Most guides are good at finding snow, but what made Fred such an outstanding guide was his passion. You could tell that not only did he love to ski, but even moreso, he loved helping other people deepen their passion for skiing. He was so incredibly encouraging, and I definitely improved my technique and confidence tremendously over the course of the week. Add that to the beauty and wonder of Finnmark, the truly magical aspect of kayaking with skis, and it really was the perfect skiing holiday. Also, the food: delicious! I hope I can be lucky enough to ski with Fred again someday.

Alexandre

5.00

June, 2016

Mon plus beau trip à ski, de loin. Tout y est! Le voyage est fantastique comme notre cabane les pieds dans l'eau, l'apéro dans l'attente d'un soleil qui ne se couche jamais, les barbec des cabillauds pêchés par notre canne quelques minutes plus tôt dans le fjord, l'aventure en chiens de traîneaux, et surtout le ski de rando. On était les premiers à skier sur une île presque déserte, on a traversé le fjord en kayak pour aller descendre un couloir qui nous donnait l'impression de skier jusque dans la mer, on a profité de paysages extraordinaires. On n'a croisé personne. On s'est régalé dans la montée comme dans la descente. C'était fabuleux. Quelle aventure! Et le tout parfaitement organisé par Gauthier (d'Explore-share.com) et par Fred (notre guide). A faire et à refaire!

Maxime

5.00

May, 2016

De loin le meilleur guide que je n'ai jamais eu: il est super sympa et paisible, tout en restant hyper attentif et disponible. Il est super professionnel, on voit qu'il a une connaissance technique de pointe car il évolue dans des environnements inconnus. La semaine dans le Finnmark a été un voyage au bout du monde: l'impression de se retrouver au milieu de nulle part, entre jour et nuit, à gravir des montagnes jamais fréquentées dans une nature sublime et des paysages soufflant, et de sentir poussière dans une étendue de neige et fjord interminable; c'est un sentiment unique de vivre l'aventure comme jamais. La diversité des activités: entre kayak, chien de traineaux, ski de rando sur des sommets splendides, passages en ski dans des forêts; tout est neuf, et rien n'est "touristique". Les chiens de traineaux étant un bon exemple: il s'agissait de chiens de compétition.

Jesper

5.00

April, 2016

I spent an astonishing week around Kebnekaise. Conditions were varied but thanks to Fred’s everlasting enthusiasm and knowledge of the area, we managed to lock in some memorable runs. The area has an incredible amount of possibilities; we could have stayed muuuch longer!

Barbara

5.00

April, 2016

I had the best time skiing with Fred and a really great group of French ski tracking afficionados in Norway this week. It was my first time climbing up an average 800-1000m of mountain every day - VOW!!! Not always easy for a newcomer but thanks to the exceptional care of Fred and the encouragement of Oscar, who ended up as my personal trainer/guide, I did it - even with one ski slipping off at the peak one day!!! The landscape in Northern Norway is exceptional, out of our 7 days 6 were totally sunny, there was still plenty of snow, the contrast of the white mountains, the deep blue-turquoise fjords, kajaking along them and feeling like diving into them when coming down the peaks - all totally unique. A DEFINITE MUST GO for anybody who hasnt!!!

Tatyana

5.00

May, 2015

I had an outstanding week of ski touring in Finnmark area of Norway with Fred. It was probably one of the best I have ever done and I have traveled to ski quite a bit. The scenery was unfailingly stunning, our guides always knew where the best runs with the best conditions were. And we had the whole place for ourself. No other skiers in sight. Just a lot of fun, great nature and company. Thanks a lot!

Einar

5.00

April, 2015

Fred is one of those who manage the fine balance between being the guide you trust and the guy you really enjoy to spend time with. By his down-to-earth and friendly way to treat his guests he creates a good platform for mountain adventures. At the same time he always knows where to find the best skiing, both in case of snow conditions and level of difficulty. We requested a glacier course for winter conditions, and ended up having fantastic days both skiing some amazing runs near Kebnekaise/Tarfala and learning a lot about rescue on glaciers. The area he picked was really an interesting area with possibilities both for skiing and glacier travel. Fred was a fantastic guide, knowing when to use the opportunity to get the best skiing and also managing to teach us what we needed. Thanks a lot Fred!


 

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