I should have known from the name as Istinden transates to Ice Mountain but I was stubborn. Having just rode the West Couloir on Rostakulen in powder I thought that the North Couloir of Istinden would be in similar conditions. The idea was to skin through the Postdalen Valley and climb the route so we knew how the snow was.
Attempting the North Couloir on Istinden
The forecast wasn’t looking good as we parked at the base of the Postdalen Valley. Putting on our gear we briefly chatted about other options before settling on checking out Istinden. It would be about 5 kilometers of flats before being at the base of the line.
After a few kilometers of skinning the weather quickly deteriorated. We were in whiteout conditions barely seeing the silhouette of our surrounding environment.
After a painfully long traverse where we couldn’t see anything we were on the lower slopes of Istinden. The valley had was firm and wind scoured but the hope was that our line would be sheltered and still holding good snow.
With Samppa still skinning and me bootpacking I arrived at the base of the couloir and looked up the gut. Sadly it was firm as far as I could see there was definitely no powder in there.
Once Samppa arrived we chatted about what to do next. Neithier of us wanted to ride the line in those conditions so we decided to turn back and save the line for when conditions improved.
Instead of heading back the way we came we did a low angle traverse onto the upper South slopes of Postdalfjellet. By doing this we would able to make a few powder turns on our way back to the car.
The clouds would come in and out so we made it to a safe high point and just waited. After 20 minutes we could finally see again and quickly started riding. The plan worked out well as we were able to get some powder turns and ride back to the car.
Well….I can’t say that the North Couloir of Istinden is a good line as I haven’t rode it but it looks really nice? Yep the approach is pretty annoying.
Thanks For Reading this and here is a link if you want to check out more
Ski Tours in the Tamokdalen area
Options for Other Ski Tours Tours Abroad
Snowboarding in the Cascade Mountains
Exploring the Khibney Mountains of Russia
Lyngen and Lofoten in Northern Norway
Huge Thanks to Jarkko, Christel and Aadne for having me help take care of the Tamokhuset.
Thanks For Reading this and here is a link if you want to check out the area
Ski Tours in the Tamokdalen area
Options for Other Ski Tours Tours Abroad
Snowboarding in the Cascade Mountains
Exploring the Khibney Mountains of Russia
Lyngen and Lofoten in Northern Norway
Huge Thanks to Jarkko, Christel and Aadne for having me help take care of the Tamokhuset.