Info About the East Bowl of Sjufjellet
The East Bowl of Sjufjellet is possibly the most popular ski tour within the Tamokdalen Backcountry. With road side access and a nice and mellow bowl to descend it offers great turns for people of all abilities. Ascending up to the bowl can be challenging with a low angle traverse across avalanche terrain but once in the alpine with careful navigation it can be safely climbed. This ski tour offers almost 900 meters of turns all the way back down to the road.
Why the East Bowl of Sjufjellet
After a week of consistent storms the weather finally cleared. This was my first time seeing the terrain around Tamokdalen and opportunity to go into the alpine. By now people were starting to show up at the huset and Peteri mentioned wanting to head up to the East Bowl of Sjufjellet.
Touring Near Tamokhuset
With the sun out and new snow in the alpine people were running to throw gear into their cars. Walking out of the hut my eyes locked into the slopes around and quickly realised why people were here.
Walking back a few meters I had a clear view of the East Bowl of Sjufjellet. Knowing that there was powder to be had it would be a great tour to stretch my legs on and get views from the summit. It wasn’t the biggest peak in the area but it would be a great warm up.
Driving 10 minutes we parked on the side of the road and started getting our gear together. Looking at the South face I put it into my mind as a potential tour later in the season.
Skinning up the lower slopes we were fortunate that the trees were sparse. Northern Norway can have dense trees making getting into the alpine a challenge. Above us we could see an exposed ramp that we would have to traverse to get into the East Bowl of Sjufjellet.
The higher we climbed the more the mountains started to come out. In the distance we could now see the cut out ski runs above Tamokhuset and the alpine bowl above it.
The Crux Traverse
Once at tree line it was time to start the low angle traverse to the upper bowl. We chatted for a few minutes and spaced out in case someone got hit by an avalanche.
Since Jarkko was the local he made his way up first with us waiting in a safe spot. Watching him put in the route we waited until we couldn’t see him anymore before moving up. Once he had wrapped over into the upper bowl we made our way up one at a time.
Once all of us were together on the ridge we started a low angle traverse. Above us was a steep headwall so we stayed low. The higher we climbed the better the snow was.
Looking to the East we had a great view of the West face of Blåbærfjellet. It was a complex face riddled in cliff bands and steep all the way to the valley. Riding down I could only imagine how challenging it would be to find route down.
Breaking Trail up the East Bowl of Sjufjellet
Being out of danger from avalanches we skinned together as a group switching trail breaking. While the sun was hot the snow was still in great condition. It seemed that the wind had somewhat loaded the slopes and the surface was smooth.
Making our way around a low ridge we would occasionally space out. While there was no signs of unstable snow it was better to be safe than sorry. Skinning up we cast long shadows in what seemed like perfect conditions.
Being that it was my first tour in the area Jarkko took the skin track a bit further North then necessary. We wanted to check out the terrain to the north as there was another bowl.
After a few well placed switchbacks we were near the crest of the East Bowl of Sjufjellet. Other then the lower traverse it had been an easy climb. Looking to the north there was another open bowl with a complex summit.
Returning to the Sun
Arriving on the summit of Sjufjellet we were back in the sun. Skinning on the flat slopes up top we made our way to the high point before taking a break.
From our vantage point we could see the alpine terrain behind Tamokhuset. There were two big bowls with numerous potential ski lines which were north facing.
To the East was Tamokfjellet and the Finndalen Valley. It was a jumbled mess of complex terrain but there were a few gem lines in-between. Once again these were all north facing so I put it on my list of potential ski tours. After around 30 minutes in the sun it was time to transition.
Dropping into the East Bowl of Sjufjellet we put our tracks into an open canvas. The rocks were buried beneath the snow and we could make open turns.
After a few hundred meters we started a low angle traverse towards the south side. Jarkko had lead the way so we loosely follow his track. The plan was to ride all the way to the lower traverse before meeting up again as a group.
Once we were all together it was time for the final descent back to the car. What had taken us 3 hours to climb was descending in less than 15 minutes. We were easily able to ride from the summit all the way to the road without any uphill sections. We were spoiled with the conditions and immediately I was happy with the choice of coming to Tamokdalen for the spring season.
If you are interested in this ski tour here is the topo route below
