Tafeltinden (28.04.2013)
| Startsted | Koppangen |
|---|---|
| Sluttsted | Koppangen |
| Turtype | Randonnée/Telemark |
| Turlengde | 6t 30min |
| Distanse | 18,0km |
| Kart |
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| Bestigninger | Tafeltinden (1395moh) | 28.04.2013 |
|---|
I had waited for what had seemed like eternity for this day, but finally it happened that my long-term dream to climb a Lyngen peak was finally accomplished - although not a dream that I had long thought to happen on a pair of skis! Tafeltinden was our objective and I had Aline and Christian with me for company. In contrast to our first trip together (Juledagstur til Durmålstinden) on Christmas day during the mørketid, today’s trip could not have been more different! Mucho sun, long hours of daylight and plenty more snow. I picked them up at 8.30 since the first ferry from Breivikeidet to Svensby left at 10.00 on Sundays. I was worried that we wouldn’t make the ferry on time, but as things actually turned out, we ended up being the second car in the queue and waited for 40 minutes at Breivikeidet. Better to have waited than to have just caught it though. It was a very scenic and relaxing 20-minute journey across Ullsfjorden and in no time at all we had arrived at Svensby. Unfortunately the drive to Koppangen was not quite so relaxing, since there were so many holes and bumps in the road surface I spent a huge amount of concentration to drive carefully and not bust my car any more than necessary.
We were in good company after arriving in Koppangen. It seemed like there was an army of Italians who were also on their way up the same mountain, so we tactfully waited until they had left before we followed their nicely-made tracks. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the lack of skogskjøring en-route, which was a relief. At least there would not any tree-bashing on the way back down when we would be most tired! There was a fairly steep side we had to tackle on sun-warmed slush, quite soon after we left the trees behind. This brought us quickly up into Koppangsdalen, and we followed the valley up towards Koppangsvatnet, passing by some small and old loose-snow avalanches on the way. The gradient was easy-going for around 0.5-1km, then there was another fairly steep section on hard, slightly icy snow to get up to Koppangsvatnet at around 400m.
By the time we reached there, an hour had already passed by and I finally decided that wearing waterproof trousers over my soft shell trousers was too much for such a warm and long day. I promptly removed them while Aline and Chrsitian had something to eat and drink and after 5 minutes we were back on our skis and making progress again. So it was upwards on Koppangsbreen we went, for almost 3 hours more. Just masses of big, open glacier around us with peaks soaring up from both sides. At the tempo we were going, I thought I could easily spend the whole day gliding steadily upwards. It wasn’t at all tiring.
The views behind us towards the Kåfjord peaks in the east were pretty incredible already and it was just great to turn around and see more and more mountains appear as we gained height. There were only one or two steeper parts where it was necessary to make some zigzags, and the snow was in really good condition. There was unfortunately a stubborn patch of fog sitting on Tafeltinden and the Lenangstindane, so whether we got views from the top or not was a bit uncertain.
The Italian ‘army’ had been a bit more efficient with their time than us, and the next time we saw them was when they were (literally) flying down the last steep section below the top of Tafeltinden while we were still on our way up. According to what I had read and heard from others, it could be sometimes necessary to take off the skis at this point if the snow was hard or icy enough, but not today. There was in fact more powder snow here than anywhere else on the route up. It was steep though. But now we realized why other skiers who were flying down past us on this last bit sounded ultra-happy. Lots of woohoo-ing and sounds of excitement going on!
Aline was starting to tire out though, so it was fortunate that there was only a few minutes more before we finally arrived on the top, along with a handful of other turfolk. Fortunately the fog seemed to break up every now and then, just enough to open up a wonderful view for us, at least towards towards the east and the south. I have to admit to being a little bit disappointed that the gorgeous clear skies we started the trip with had not continued with us all the way up to the top, but that small disappointment was more than compensated for with the satisfaction of finally having climbed my first Lyngen mountain. After having talked and dreamed about going to Lyngen since I first moved to Tromsø, the wish had been fulfilled – but it had taken far too long!
We spent probably 20 or 30 minutes on the top since it was not windy and not particularly cold. Plus a few rays of sunshine peeping through the clouds was enough to keep us just warm enough for taking photos, snacking and drinking and chatting to the others on the top. I was still nevertheless a little bit nervous about the descent though, especially since it started with the steepest section of around 35 degrees.
On the way up I had already convinced myself that it would be a better idea to go by foot down that bit instead of trying to use my novice ski skills to ski down without falling. The biggest surprise of all? The powder snow was just sooooo perfect that carving out a few turns (although combined also with quite a lot of sliding) came more naturally and less terrifyingly than I ever imagined and without noticing the metres slip away I was at the bottom of it in almost no time at all. I even got the feeling of wanting to go back up just to come back down again! Aline and Christian descended after me, in much faster time but with just as much feeling of satisfaction.
Now there was just a long and easy run down and around the north side of the mountain and several kilometres of enjoyable glacier skiing. It was a long way back to Koppangen, but at least half of it was completed on amazingly good powder. Only the last half where the sun-warmed snow had now cooled to form a harder layer was it a little more tiring and required more concentration to turn. From the steeper section below Koppangsvatnet it was hard and bumpy enough that I gave up any idea of trying to ski it and walked down until it flattened out a little more.
I met Aline and Christian again at the last unpleasant section above the forest where the morning slush was now solid. I quit skiing down there too, since I had already decided that the trip might not end so comfortably for me if I even attempted to ski it. It wasn’t easy to wade through the snow by foot either, but at least I felt a lot safer. And the last 0.5km from the forest to the car was easy anyway. I let the gentle pull of gravity and my skis do the work of transporting me quickly back to the road again, with a beautiful evening glow over the fjord to focus my eyes on. What a fantastic finish to an equally fantastic trip - a proper day out it had absolutely been!
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Herlig
Geschrieben von 500fjell 02.05.2013 00:17Dette området er jo bare fantastisk! Om du ikke har andre planer kan du jo bli med oss på og blant annet Jiehkkevarri og Store Lenangstinden i 17. mai/pinsehelga :) Kan evt prates på melding.