The Strupbeen glacier is one of if not the biggest mass within the Lyngen Alps. Being 3.4 miles square the area above Struben village is popular for obvious reasons. With the tops of peaks rising out of the massive Glacier you can find anything from steep and exposed riding to mellow low angle slopes from top to bottom. Just to the West of the main glacial mass is Tvillingtinden which starts the southern point of a massif of mountains. Feeding onto it’s own glacier the North side starts steep but eases up quickly.
Heading into the Strupbeen Glacier
Every since Ben arrived in Northern Norway the weather had been bad. We were fortunate to go ski touring 2 out of the first 3 days he was there but in marginal conditions. Finally the forecasts called for a clearing between storms that would give us around 24 hours of sunshine. Wanting to make the most of it we decided to hike up to the glacier while it was still in the clouds.
We arrived at the end of the NE road in Lyngen at Struben Village and packed our bags. All we could see what an area known as the Mouse Trap that we would have to cross through. Fortunately most of the slopes were melted out but in peak winter it is a scary area to be in.
Once we arrived on the Strupbeen Glacier the slopes mellowed out dramatically. In front of us was 3 kilometres of skinning before we reached a low col and our camping spot for the trip. It was early in the morning and the clouds would be clearing in the afternoon so our plan was to take a nap once we put up the tent.
We fell asleep to cloudy skys but woke up to the sun beating on our tent. Once making our way outside we looked around for a line that would access Tvillingtinden. A few minutes later we realised the slope next to our tent was the best option.
Making our way through the thin rocks the slopes opened up underneath. This was made better as the sun had been softening up the slopes making for perfect corn turn.
Riding down to the basin we now had Tvillingtinden directly in front of us. After a quick water break we switched over to skinning up the lower slopes then changing to crampons on the steeper upper face.
30 minutes later we were standing on the summit of Tvillingtinden and takingin the views. There were cornices over the east face so we didn’t want to get too close but to our south the Lyngen Alps were in full display. It was one of the more scenic transitioning spots of the trip.
Once again the sun had softened the slopes below us as it was well into the afternoon and cooking north facing slopes. Our hopes of taking advantage of the sun worked out as we wrapped turns down the open face.
Once done snowboarding Tvillingtinden we skinned up a low col directly to the north. This would access a North facing glacier as well as another low col that would take us to camp.
Hanging out on top of the low peak we looked at Tvillingtinden basking in the alpenglow and waited for the Glacier to the north to start glowing. We had an hour to wait so we took in the views of the surrounding peaks.
With the Glacier as bright as it was going to get we dropped in to perfectly edge able corn snow. We had decided to stop where the snow quality got worse but we found ourselves riding all the way to the bottom of the lower face before hiking back up.
By now it was after 11p.m. and we still had perfect light as we made our way up to the col that accessed Strupbeen Glacier. Knowing that it wasn’t going to get dark we slowly made our way back up towards the final col.
Once back on the Strupbeen Glacier we decided to go for one last summit with hopes of riding the North face with the rising sun. As we hiked up Tafeltinden the full beauty of the Lyngen Alps were in display. It was a bit after midnight as we sat on the top and waited for the sun to light up the snow.
The moment the slopes started turning pink we were off making turns down the steep face before riding to the flats and making our way over to camp.
The next morning we woke up to blue skies as we packed our gear and started the long exit.Knowing that the upper slopes were quite flat we skinned over to where it got steeper before switching to snowboards to ride out.
Once at the lower lake we had to bootpack back up to the Mousetrap before making turns on what little patches of snow were left. Fortunately the upper slopes were one mellow turn after another and we were back at the crux point of the trip.
For the final stretch we were back to climbing down a massive boulder field before reaching the road and making our way to Struben village. We had made the most out of the weather window and milked some amazing corn along the way.
Thank you for reading this trip report on the Strupbeen Glacier and Tvillingtinden
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