Svolvær, the main town in the Lofoten archipelago, is one of the historical centres of the Norwegian fishing industry. Up to five million tons of fish, mainly cod, are landed and processed annually. For thousands of years the cod has been air dried on racks to make the famous stockfish or tørrfisk as it is in Norwegian. Up here fish is number one.
Tourism is number two and with rapidly increasing importance. Lofoten with its stunning scenery, northern lights, world-class ski touring, sports fishing, hiking and climbing has attracted increasing numbers of visitors over recent years. Social media has amplified the exposure resulting in an explosion in visitor numbers – and not everyone appreciates the change. Tourism related problems were the reason for the meeting of a large group of local politicians in the Sortland Scandic, Vesterålen, our ski base camp.
We were therefore part of the problem, but I think a small part. Despite Espen’s new guidebook to the area, we were the only ski tourers in town. We spent our money and had the mountains to ourselves.