Andersdaltinden is a 30 minute drive just south of Tromsø in Northern Norway. Laying within the Lavangsdalen valley it this is within the route of E8 the main north to south highway of Norway and has no approach. With a summit elevation of 1,221 meter it is popular for both ski touring and Summer Hiking. Access is usually focused on the open North Bowl with a mellow ridge that makes it all the way to the summit.
A Long Story in tow Paragraphs
Where do I start…… Well. I was on a road trip from Austria to the Lyngen Alps with Juho a guy I met while ski touring with friends in the Innsbruck area. Juho was Finnish so he wanted to stop by Helsinki on our way North. After leaving Helsinki we drove North Through Finland before arriving in Lyngen through the KilpisJarvi border. Our way North was a 15 hours drive so we decided to break it up by stopping halfway in Rovaniemi where we would stay the night at one of his friends house.
Once arriving in Rovaniemi I was informed that a group was meeting up to go out drinking for the night. I arrived at a house with around 20 people before going to the bar. That is where I met Jenni and we chatted throughout the night before I left for Norway the next day. During the next Month in Norway we chatted via text and made plans for her to come visit me in Tromsø before I left for the states.
Heading Out to Andersdaltinden
This was Jennis first ski tour ever so it needed to be easy. I studied the map for a while and chose Andersdaltinden as it was right off E8 and if conditions allowed we could safely make it to the summit. After teaching her how to use skins she was off up the mountain. It turned out her hobby was Cross-country skiing and she was born with skis on her feet.
It was late May so the sky was warm but the snow was actually quite firm. Making our way to the upper bowl I didn’t want her to have a challenging time making it to the summit. We didn’t have crampons so just decided to head up until the point that she felt nervous and we would ride back to the car from there.
We wrapped around the North bowl and made our way onto a low angle ridge. Not only would it be more scenic but much easier travel then hiking up the bowl. With every step of elevation gain the views around got even better. It was Jennis first time in Northern Norway so it was quite the contrast from the much smaller hills of Northern Finland.
Skiing Down the North Bowl of Andersdaltinden
After a while we made it to the base of the final ridge climb. Though not hard it was a bit more exposed and still icy so we decided to descend from there. Jenni was feeling good and had experience skiing so she dropped in first. Well it turned out she used to be a ski racer and charged the slope ripping big turns on her way down.
I was a bit concerned watching her going down the slope so fast but she totally held it together. Before long we were back at the car and laughing about the whole situation. It turned out that even though she had never ski toured she was at home on steep icy runs and this is how I met my wife………
Thank you for reading this Trip Report.
Below is the other trips in my 2015 Spring Season attempting to find good snow.