North and South Tamokfjellet and Cahcevahnjunni

After riding the South Face of Blåbærfjellet the next few days it rained in the valley. Getting restless over the next 3 days we looked at the maps and started coming up with ideas. Soon enough the forecast called for a sunny day and we wanted to make the most out of it. The year prior I had snowboarded the South Chute of Tamokfjellet and was curious about linking it up with the north facing chute of Cahcevahnjunni on Vassdalsfjellet. It would be a longer day but the lines are relatively close to each other why why not attempt both in a single push.

Exploring the Tamokdalen Backcountry

The morning had been a bit hectic as one of our partners had tested positive for Corona and we quickly moved our gear to another place to quarantine. The original plan was to start at 8 but we were a bit over an hour later then planned starting our trip from the Camp Tamok parking lot.

After falling a snowmobile road 4 kms we had wrapped around to the base of the Southern Chute on Tamokfjellet. It was hard to tell the conditions up higher as we quickly transitioned to crampons.

Switching off on breaking trail the higher we climbed the better the snow got. Before long we were climbing in a few inches of powder.

Looking down the line we kept the bootpack off to the side so we wouldn’t snowboard over it. If time allowed I was thinking we could climb back up the line later in the day and I wanted to preserve our steps.

Knowing that it was a south facing slope we wanted to make it to the top before noon and the sun warming up the slopes.

It was 11:00 when we made our final few steps to the top of Tamokfjellet. Off to our West we had a great view of Nerotinden which I hoped to explore later in the season.

From the top of Tamokfjellet we had a great view of Cahcevahnjunni. Being a northwest facing slope it was still in the shade for a few hours. Our plan was to be on its summit 5 hours later when it started to have the sun light up its face.

Wanting to ride the South Chute of Tamokfjellet before the sun warmed it up we quickly transitioned and started making snowboard turns down.

The previous day was South facing winds so the area was a bit windloaded making for great riding conditions. Turn after turn we made our way down the fall line turns.

As we got lower the powder quickly transitioned to soft corn snow making for buttery turns.

While climbing we up the crux zone we noticed that it was filled with debris so we stuck on the right side where the snow was smooth.

Wanting to make the most out of the run we rode fall line to the valley floor before transitioning. 5 mintues later we passed over the main creek and looking back towards our tracks on the South Chute of TamokFjellet.

Knowing that the creek was open we refilled our water bottles and rested in the sun for a few minutes before heading towards Cahcevahnjunni.

It was my first time ski touring deeper into the Vassdalen valley so I wanted to scope out potential ski tours to come back for. Looking towards the south bowl of Tamokfjellet we could see a few lines that went as well as an easy col to climb over.

After a few minutes we were at the base of Cahcevahnjunni.

Working our way through the maze of trees we finally made it to the base of Cahcevahnjunni and switched to crampons. Being still in the shade the snow was firm and steep. It was hard to say how it would ride a few hours later but hopefully the sun would soften the snow.

The higher we got the steeper the slope angle was as we finally got our first view near the summit.

Not wanting to climb up the gut we stuck off to the side. By now there was a few inches of snow onto of ice. The extra bit of snow made climbing a bit easier as we traversed to save our feet from the pain of frontpointing.

As we made our way over to the finally pitch of Cahcevahnjunni the sun started lighting up the ridge. It would still take an hour or two before the full face was in the sun but we were happy to wait on top.

By now we had been out of the sun for hours so it felt great to climb back into it. Before long we made our final few steps and were standing on the summit of Cahcevahnjunni.

Once on the top we had an hour before the sun would hit the slope so we checked out the south side for bit before returning. By now it was around 4 p.m. and we still had 5 hours of sunshine. Having just climbed the route I knew that it was dust on crust but it looked really good.

Jukkis dropped in first and with every turn he was kicking up snow. Though I feared it would be bad riding conditions he made it look easy.

After he rode to a safe spot I dropped in to find soft edgeable snow. While it seemed steep while climbing it was a great angle to ride.

Keeping up with the theme of the day we rode all the way to the valley floor before transitioning again. By now we still had 4 hours of sunlight so I came up with an idea. Eithier we could do the 4 km exit like in the morning or we could climb over Tamokfjellet again and ride the North Bowl all the way to the main road.

We decided to head back up Tamokfjellet and ride the north face in the sunset alpenglow.

To shave off some time we traversed through some lower trees to get back to the south gully. What I hoped to be smooth was a battle with the thick trees but before long we were back at our old bootpack and ready to climb it a second time.

By now our bootpack had been in the sun for several hours. Our steps held but we would sink in a few cms with each step.

It was a race against the sunset as we pushed to the summit of Tamokfjellet. By now only the upper plateau and the North bowl were still in the sun.

Soon enough we were on the top of Tamokfjellet and in the late afternoon alpenglow. Having been on the North face the year prior we were able to traverse over to the enterance of our line.

To our backs was Cahcevahnjunni with two snowboard tracks going down it. The season before it had grabbed my attention and I was happy to had finally snowboarded it.

As we transitioned the temperature was quickly dropping and what was slush on the board down lower had turned to ice. By now we were racing against the sunlight and I slowly put my board back together. Finally it was time for our last run of the day as we dropped into the North bowl of Tamokfjellet.

We called Titti to come pick us up on the road before we dropped in. The beauty of the line that is that it is all fall line. What started firm transitioned to the best powder turns of the day on the shaded lower bowl. Racing against the daylight we didn’t take anymore photos by Titti took this shot of us and the route from the car which was waiting for us.

We arrived at the car as the last bit of sun retreated from the mountains. The day had been long but we were are to ride 3 amazing lines in the Tamok backcountry. By doing the tour that was we shaved off the flatland exit and got a bonus run out of it. Though tired we felt satisfied making the most out of a rare sunny day.

Thanks For Reading this and here is a link if you want to check out more

Ski Tours in the Tamokdalen area

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Japan Powder Pilgrimage

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Lyngen and Lofoten in Northern Norway

And Other Random Places

Huge Thanks to Jarkko, Christel and Aadne for having me help take care of the Tamokhuset.