Archive For March 24, 2025
Several of my ski touring mountain guide colleagues are fed up with Norway because the weather is always bad. Personally I like it, though it certainly doesn’t make guiding easy. The dramatic mountain and fjord-land scenery combined with an ever changing light show is simply spectacular.
Our week started at the warm and welcoming Bjerkvik Hotel and the weather was indeed foul. Outside our rental vehicles would often disappear in snow storms as would the beach and sea on the other side of the road. Nothing but white and shades of grey.
Indoors however, all was well. Logs burned nicely on the fire, the armchairs were comfortable, good IPA was on tap and the conversation interesting.
Our fellow guests were journalists from all over the world along with the NATO press attaché. Exercise Joint Viking 2025 involving 10000 soldiers from nine nations was in full swing and Bjerkvik was in the midst of it. They were practising the defence of arctic Norway from an attack from the east. Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.
Soldiers and ski tourers found the week’s weather a challenge!
The chapels of the fourth century Geghard monastery are architectural and acoustic wonders. We were fortunate to be alone to explore them, some hewn out of the lava stone, and some partially build with it. On that grey, snowy, late afternoon it was a magical place.
As we entered the main chapel we were greeted by a beautiful melodious ‘mum…ble, mum…ble, mumble’ from a solitary priest, his back turned to us. He was dressed in the black robes and black pointy hat which show his celibacy.
The previous day we had seen, and heard singing, many of the priest’s religious brothers at the Mother See Cathedral at Etchmiadzin – the headquarters of the Armenian Apostolic Church and seat of the Catholicos, the head of the church. The man himself was there with his kindly face and smartly brushed beard, blessing his flock (and one of our ski group) on his way to Sunday service.
Armenia in Soviet times was well known for jazz music and much of the reputation is due to one man – Levon Malkhasian. After years spent touring he founded his jazz club Malkhas in 2006 and he has been playing piano there pretty much ever since. I enjoyed a most memorable final trip night there in 2012 so was overjoyed to see him again at his piano now aged 80. Wonderful stuff.