Day 2: Tinstinden summit

Location: Sørvågen

Mountain: Tinstinden

I managed to get a few hours sleep despite the light and felt well rested when I woke up. I met the group I'll be hiking with over breakfast, a friendly mix of Aussies and Brits accompanied by our mountain guide Flo. Flo grew up in the French Alps but spends his summers guiding in the mountains of northern Norway. After breakfast we took the ferry crossing to the Lofoten islands. The journey takes around 3 hours and offers spectacular views of mountain peaks as the boat approaches the port of Moskenes. The water glistened in the sun and I scanned the sea for any wildlife, hoping a whale or two would make an appearance. Unfortunately no whales were seen, but I settled for a few large jellyfish that drifted past the ferry. The Arctic air was cold, refreshing and clean and I felt very contented breathing this in as I studied the scenery.

The ferry docked at Moskenes and we took a short taxi ride to Sørvågen where we will stay for the next couple of nights. After dropping our bags off, we shouldered our packs and headed for the first goal of the trip. Tinstinden summit. The cloud had descended over the islands and the mountain summits evaded my view. The path began with a steady and manageable incline, a suitable transition from a day and a half of sitting on transport. As we pushed higher, the route became rockier, steeper and rougher. It always take a couple of miles to adjust to mountain terrain coming from a life where we are so accustomed to flat tarmac, concrete and carpeted surfaces. After the first few steep ascents I was in my element, smiling as I clambered over boulders and hopped between the rocks.

As we continued to ascend the mountain, the ascents became steeper and the route was assisted by foot holds with ropes and chains. The foot holds to help ascend the steep sections were most likely fixed by a tall Norwegian man and it was a struggle to make this work with my little legs, but I figured it out and scrambled up higher. The rain poured down as we continued to climb switch-backs through the fog, up to the mountain pass and along the ridge to the summit. The wind was strong and i struggled to remain stable in a few of the gusts, I considered maybe putting rocks in my pockets to weigh me down more! When we arrived on the summit I wished for the cloud to lift and to reveal the view of the route we had climbed, but my wish was futile and all I saw was dense thick fog. The rain then began to intensify so we started the descent, following the same route as the ascent.

The descent went quickly and by the time we had returned to lower ground, I was soggy and muddy but happy with how this first ascent shaped up. It was lovely to return to the accommodation for a warm shower and to get changed into comfy, dry clothes. I spent the evening chatting, refueling and resting ready for another mountain tomorrow. If today's summit is anything to go by, then I'm in for a rewarding week of adventures in the wild Lofoten islands.