Tag: Snow sports

Vasaloppet classic skiing race or how to ski 90km in a day

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The end of an intense and beautiful journey, like hundreds of thousands skiers before us.

In June 2016 I started my journey to complete a Swedish classic. Nine months later, on a dark morning of February, I was on the starting line of Vasaloppet, a 90km journey where thousands of participants aim to reach Mora from Sälen on nordic skis in one of the most famous classic skiing race in the world. In this article I am sharing my journey to completing Vasaloppet, from beginner to {spoiler alert!} crossing the finish line, along with tips I picked on the way.

Skiing the 90km of Vasaloppet is considered an integral part of being a Swede. It is usually said that either you have completed Vasaloppet, either you are training for it or you think about doing it one day. Since its the first edition in 1922, 550.000 skiers have taken the journey from Salen to Mora, along a 90km trail. located in the middle of Sweden. Cross country skiing is usually regarded as one of the most intense endurance sport and powering yourself on skis for 90km is quite a challenge.

 

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I tried ski touring and this is why you should too

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The wind blowing in our face is getting stronger and stronger the snow starts to fall again, our progression in the powder snow is getting slower.  Off the beaten slopes, I am ecstatic: I am getting my own mini feel for a polar expedition. We are ski touring on the swedish fjall, these old middle mountains with huge plateaux covered in snow, miles away from any living soul (or at least from what we can tell). It is our first time of ski touring but the guy at the ski shop promised it… we will be just fine. How hard can it be?

Off we go – a 360 degrees white of snow landscape

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5 ways to get close to glaciers in Patagonia

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 Ever since I watched the fantastic documentary Chasing Ice by James Balog (see the trailer here) I have been fascinated by glaciers. I wanted to get close to them, to touch them, to explore them. In Patagonia, my dreams became true.
The glaciers of Patagonia are among the most accessible in the world. Did you know that the Southern Patagonian ice field is actually the world’s third largest reserve of fresh water? It stretches between Chile and Argentina, over 12.000sqkm. It feeds more than 40 glaciers in the area among them the famous Perito Moreno (El Calafate,  Argentina) but also glaciers Viedma (El Chalten, Argentina) and Grey (NP Torres del Paine, Chile) , all really accessible to the active traveler.
Getting close to glaciers is the number one  on the list of my must do in Patagonia.

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Joining the 6000 club

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People say you can´t describe this feeling. They are right. Few things in the world compete with the sensation of accomplishment of conquering a summit. After 5 intense hours of climbing, on Monday the 7th of October at 6.30am, I conquered Huyana Potosi, 6088m (Bolivia). I am on the top of the world. And I just caught the summit bug.

top_huayna_potosi_bolivia

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Climbing Cotopaxi volcano under the moonlight (5000m)

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“Aim for the moon. If you miss, you may hit a star.” W Clement Stone

You don´t have any alpinism experience nor did You ever walk on a glacier before. Still, many agencies in Quito and Latacunga offer to take you to climb Cotopaxi, the second highest peak of Ecuador (5897m/19347feet). Tempting…? Go ahead! Even if you don´t make it to the top, you will experience during a night what it is to be an alpinist, and embrace stunning views of the volcanoes.

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