Blåtinden (21.04.2012)  

The hike up Blåtinden was a something of a multi-visit trip, since I had made an ascent of this mountain in the autumn of 2011 with my sister, and remember the views as being really good, especially when you get quite high on to the upper slopes of the mountain. Then, in January I also took a hike in the hope of seeing the sun make its return back to the Arctic, but the hike had taken me a very long time (we're talking like 2 hours here), just to get up and above the forests on the very lowest part of the mountain - simply because there had been such deep snow to hike through and at that point in the season had not discovered the possible benefits of snow shoes or skis......!

This time however, I had plenty of daylight and was armed with snow shoes. When I parked at the foot of the mountain at the usual spaces in Skogvoll I'm quite sure I must have been the first person up there because no one else was around. But I was a little disappointed that the clear blue skies I woke up to in Tromsø were now more cloudy here at Balsfjord. I had been hoping for crystal clear skies all the way up (who wouldn't???). Maybe I expect too perfect weather now these days? Anyway, disappointed or not, the mission was to get out and all the way up, so I strapped on the snow shoes and was looking forward to see how they performed in comparison with the no-snowshoes option. Initially I thought I had made a good choice to bring them, but I soon started to find them quite clumsy and difficult to walk in. The straps on one of the feet also seemed to come loose quite often and I was stopping a lot to fix this which was quite annoying! Nevertheless, I stuck with it, sang along to tunes on my mp3 player and kept on going on the normal route which follows the southern side of the mountain in a northeasterly direction up towards Hatten, moderately steep at first through the forest but then it flattens out upon reaching about 400m. From there, instead of taking the trail up the southern ridge, I took the valley to its western side, which runs almost in parallel but I went this way simply because it looked a little less steep and easier with the snowshoes on.

Later on though, I gave up on both the valley and the snow shoes and made a beeline for the ridge and plodded the rest of the way from there to the summit in just my hiking boots. The snow shoes were a nuisance to be honest. This was definitely my first and last trip wearing them! And fortunately the snow seemed pretty hard and good for hiking on the ridge, but on the final few hundred meters in distance, further north and closer to the summit the snow became soft and deep again. But by this time I knew I was so close to the summit it was only going to be a case of just keeping going and not thinking about all the efforts required. Not such a pleasant sight though, with me puffing away like an athsmatic! A bit of determination got me there, finally, and I had the summit shelter to take a break and take in the great views of the Lyngen Alps.

Some skiers caught up with me at the top and were quite surprised I was not also on skis like they were. That seems to be a recurring theme when I go for a hike in winter time. Skiers always seem to pass by and either give me an astonished look, or stop and tell me how odd it is to not be gliding along on a pair of planks - but then I tell them I'm British, and that seems to explain everything.... no more questions asked!
The way down the mountain was pretty uneventful, and pretty warm too. I was completely out of water in my platypus reservoir by the time I'd got off the mountain and reached the car again (and before the skiers reached the bottom too, I'd like to add), but I was very satisfied with having accomplished my goal. The irony was that when I drove back to Tromsø on my way home, I collected a pair of skis I'd ordered at MX sport.........