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!