Photo by Thomas Ulrich

The island of South Georgia lies within the Antarctic range, and the area is surrounded with cold and very nutritious water that serves as the main habitat for animals like whales, seals and penguins. It was these resources that allowed for the Norwegian whalers to settle in this area at the beginning of the 20th century, though South Georgia was above all presented to the world through the impressive expedition of Ernest Shackleton in 1916.

Shackleton’s great plan (after finishing everything else!) is to cross the Antarctica from coast to coast. In 1914 he sets off on his journey on the boat Endurance, but they never see shore. In the Weddel Sea the ice is floating in circles, and even though they can see Antarctica they are stuck in the ice. Endurance finally has to let go to the pressure, and is sinking in October 1915.
28 men are stranded on the drift ice, and their only hope is to travel north with their 3 open lifeboats. After months on the drifting ice they reach the Elephant island, an inhospitable and uninhabited collection of stones, south of South America. It’s already March and the winter storms are approaching, the few penguins that are left will soon leave the island. The crew prepares the largest of the life boats, 22 foot James Caird (named after one of the sponsors), for a last, desperate attempt to reach people.

When crossing what is now called the Crean glacier, the cracks are again a problem, but at least they are walking downhill and they reach the coastline on the other side, by Fortuna Bay. They have been walking for nearly 2 days and still have quite the journey left to to go to get to the whaler station. The guys are tired and want to rest and get some sleep, but Shackleton knows how dangerous it is to go to sleep when they are as cold, tired and wet as they are now. “What time is it?”, asks Shackleton. “About 7 I guess”, answers Worsley. “What is the exact time?”, asks Shackleton again. “5 minutes to 7”, says Worsley. They listens carefully, and a couple of minutes later they hear the faint howling of the whistle at Strømness, the signal that occurs every morning at 7 a.m. to announce the breakfast. With new hope they gather just enough energy to make a final push, the last 7-8 km to rescue. After 36 hours of walking they finally reach Strømness.

Like Nansen and Johansen’s journey through the Franz Josef Land near the North Pole, Shackleton’s journey is considered one of the greatest achievements we know of in the polar history. They survive the most incredible experiences, save the rest of the crew that was waiting at the Elephant Island. Some of it is pure luck, but most of the time they survive due to great leadership and skills. Today you can enter a course about Shackleton’s theories about leadership, but the most important thing is that he cared for his men, and was willing to do whatever it took for them. There’s an expression saying; If you know why you need to do something, you will always find the how.

There is something special about following in the footsteps of these old heroes. Not just read about the expeditions, but actually experience the conditions and the places that these people have. Make the pictures you imagine in your head come alive. For me following the same route as Shackleton did from King Haakon Bay over the mountains and glaciers down to Strømness at Sør Georgia has been something I’ve wanted to do for a long time.

And this spring we did just that, me, a group of people from Norway, and my old travel companion from crossing the Frans Josef Land, Thomas Ulrich. The Cruise ship “Ortelius” from the company Oceanwide, dropped us off in King Haakon Bay a windy evening in March. Elephant seals, penguins and fur seals met us on the beach. So much activity! In great contrast to the completely deserted and lifeless inner places of South Georgia, where we met incredible scenery with glaciers and steep mountains, the tallest reaching 3000 meters. What Shackleton and his crew experienced during their journey is in a class of its own, but the nature on this island will take your breath away. I rest my case with showing you some pictures from our trip.

Text by Norrøna ambassador Børge Ousland
Pictures by Børge Ousland and Thomas Ulrich

Find the gear you need for your next expedition here: www.norrona.com

I was off to a great start this season, followed by a minor injury but now I’m trying to end the season back on skis. My goals this winter were to ski as much as possible and push my level of skiing even further than before. My main focus was the Freeride World Tour, were I wanted to defend the champion title. The season started for real in Verbier in December. The European alps were really good this fall and I enjoyed some early season-powder. As usual I spent Christmas with my family in the Swedish ski resort Ramundberget. Then I was off to Canada to get a week of skiing in before the Freeride World Tour.

The FWT was kicked off with a victory in Revelstoke. Though I was happy for the win, I was not really proud of the skiing. The venue was steep and the conditions weren’t the best, so I got even more stoked to do better skiing in the next round and after a month of skiing in the Alps, the second FWT contest in Chamonix brought in victory number two for the season, this time with a run I really liked. In general the skiing level here was good. It turned out to be a great month of skiing; hitting seven different ski resorts and I also had time to catch up with Norrøna and K2skis at the ISPO expo.

My next pit stop on this year’s world travelling brought me to the US for the FWT in Kirkwood. I stopped in to visit some friends and skiers in Tahoe and we skied in Squaw Valley a couple of days before we headed over to Kirkwood. Unfortunately I messed up in Kirkwood. I couldn’t find a good line to choose and crashed the one I skied. Quit a big crash actually, my head felt heavy like a basketball. I decided to end the California trip in a better way, with a road trip to San Francisco and the west coast, where we rented boards and caught some waves in Santa Cruz before we returned to Europe.

By this point of the season I started to feel that my body was sore and the traveling and time zones were taking a toll. While training for the next FWT stop I made a mistake and twisted my knee in a landing. This resulted in a torn ligament, sending me back to Sweden for rehab and recovery and missing the rest of the season. The two last FWT stops included the tour final in Verbier. I had a perfect set up for the upcoming month and I had to cancel it all. I even missed the amazing trip to the Lyngen Alps with Norrøna. I’ve been held up in Stockholm doing rehab and physical training for the past two months, except for a ski trip to Ramundberget and upcoming trip to Riksgränsen next week. I’m stoked to be back on skis again and feeling in good physical shape.

Even though the season is basically over, I have some trips to Norway scheduled in May to do some summer skiing and surfing. I also decided not to compete in Extreme-NM in Riksgränsen and instead judge the contest. It was a bit too early for a contest even if the knee heeled very well.

Though the season doesn’t always go as planned, I try to focus on the good things and come back with a good spirit for next season. Now I’m working on next winter’s project and hope for a nice summer with lots of skate and surf. I’ve also started to work with personal trainer, Mårten Nylèn, so hopefully I will be in better shape than ever come next season.

Text by Christine Hargin

The winter season is over, but I’m not quite finished with my skis yet as we are entering the ski touring season. The main goal for the summer season however, is to ride my bike as much as possible. My bike gear is cleaned and fixed, and I’ve started training to get into shape. All though I have a lot of work to do in the forest this summer, I will work hard to be able to take time off to be able to ride my bike. I plan to enter in a couple of Enduro competitions and some other freerider races in Switzerland. I’ve also planned a short trip to Canada with a couple of Friends, to go riding in some nice bike parks in BC. I am very excited to go riding someplace new, like Canada, but also just super stoked that biking season is on in Switzerland.

Last year me and a couple of other guys founded a bike school called Emprova (the name is Romanics and means “try it”), so there will also be a lot of work in guiding and teaching on the bike tracks around Flims, where I live. This is something that I’m really motivated to work with, and hopefully it will be a success.

There will also definitely be some biking shoots with different media, and maybe I will get the time to go to Norway to ride with the Norrøna crew and do some shots there as well. I’m very excited to be back on the wheels!

You’ll find the single track mountain biking gear Armin is wearing in our webshop!

Text by Armin Beeli
Photos by Stefan Schlumpf

The spring is unarguably a special time for every mountain biker. You’ve spent the endlessly long and dark winter eagerly waiting. Although you try to feed the hunger for riding by building new bikes and reliving old memories through pictures and videos, you’re still impatiently counting every single day until you can get back on the trails. After all, that’s where you belong. As soon as you hit those first few turns, you instantly get outlet for the past months of snow-covered anticipation, and it is always followed by the widest of smiles and a kid-like giggle of joy.

This year I started the season with a bang. I spent the first weeks back on the bike shooting a new installment of my film project Jon Television. In fact, the last few years that I’ve spent traveling, riding bikes and capturing it with a camera is a largely what has brought me to where I am today, so I guess it was the perfect way to kick off the new season.

This summer might not be my most meticulously planned one yet, but my goals and plans are in a way rather simple: ride bikes, head out on a couple of adventures every now and then and make films about it. Sounds pretty awesome? Well, it sure is! Blessed with the possibility to spend my summers doing what I truly love, I’d be a fool not to sieze any opportunity there is to have fun on two wheels. There are however some must-do’s that re-appear in my calendar every summer. The opening weekend in Järvsö Bike Park is the perfect event to be re-united with all your two-wheeled friends that you haven’t seen for months. Åre Bike Festival, the most pre-eminent festivities in the name of bikes in Scandinavia, and organizer of a challenging but oh so rewarding 5-day film competition that I’ll hopefully take part of again this year. A week in Hafjell Bike Park in Norway, the best resort for mountain biking in Scandinavia by a country mile, and the only one that knows how to build man-sized jumps! A dream of mine which has not yet come true is to spend some time in the mecca of Mountain Biking; Whistler, Canada. Maybe I’ll get the opportunity to go there this year, maybe some day in the future, who knows… See all of you out there on the trails, I will be rather easy to spot thanks to all the colorful fjørå gear!

Loosely inspired by the classical masterpiece with the same name, “Into The Wild” is about what really matters when it comes to mountain biking. Check it out here:

Get your fjørå in our webshop: www.norrona.com

Text by Jon Bokrantz
Photos by Johan Gustavsson

If there’s one thing you know you can never predict on the west coast of Norway, it’s the weather. As the sales team of Norrøna were wrapping up a meeting in Romsdalen, some of us from the office decided to meet up with them for a long weekend of skiing, hiking, biking or whatever the conditions would allow.

Before we left, the weather forecast did not look very promising. As we arrived Wednesday evening, the day with the brightest prospects, we decided to go for a late night skinning-trip aiming for some nice skiing before the clouds got too heavy. We realized as we started our hike that not only did we not get any rain, but the weather would actually exceed all our expectations. The clouds slipped away and the evening light with the sun setting made all the mountains around us glow in hues of pink, red and yellow. That was our first meeting with Romsdalen.

The following days we all stayed in a cabin together not far from Åndalsnes, surrounded by mountains, high and easily accessible mountains. With the weather gods smiling at us, unpredictable as always, we actually could just have a look around and choose our favorite mountains to ski. Smørbotntind (1188 moh), Nonstind (1573 moh) and Blånebba (1421 moh) were some of the mountains we got to experience with heavy hiking up, and slushy skiing down. With long days and good weather, the only problem is that you have too many options. You want to bike, you want to hike, you want to ski, you want to climb! “Luckily” we ended up with one grey day, so that we could all agree on some indoor climbing, and checking out the “Molde-pool” for some regeneration of our exhausted bodies.

Spring skiing in Romsdalen was definitely worth the risk of the unstable weather reports. Check out more pics from the trip here:

And all the awesome gear we sporting can be found online!

It was late and fudging foggy. We caught the last lift, and, as is normal for Chamonix, there would be a few other crazy bastards, friends with special minds, going for the same idea. Skinning across the glacier in a whiteout it was easy to imagine hanging ice, the big white faces, and steep couloir, invisible, but towering above us. The Back 9 are some of the most condense NE facing lines on the planet, and only a short slide away from the Refuge d’ Argentiere.

10 friends going for different runs, old friends really, strange to already know some of them for 15 yrs. So many memories flooded back while relaxing with the brothers. Sipping a glass of wine on the porch, staring out into the white, I realized how lucky we were to still be alive, sharing in the power of this place.

After trying to sleep, dreaming fitfully, of what could be, I was happy to be awake and put my boots on. We started off at dawn feeling fortunate that there were stars and the outline of the peaks in the wakening sky.

As the sun crested the Aiguilles to the east, our objective was clear, “Qui Remus.” First skied by our master, the late, great, Remy Lecluse. I remembered fondly, asking him about the line years ago. Remy was the reason I believed and first skied it.

Crossing the rimee/bergshrund it was hard to tell if it was gonna be good. The breakable crust and a lot of sluff coming down made it easy to want to turn around.

Ced was feeling shitty and Mark just got off the plane so they made the call and turned around. I had a feeling it was gonna be good, so with the brothers watching from the glacier, I had extra power to make it to the top.

Sunny, clear and above it all, I clipped into an old sling and drank deeply of the energy.
The Chocard came, two of them, soaring the Col and saying hello. The best of signs. It was easy to feel good, give thanks, and step into my skis.

It’s like I just woke up, wild to feel alive again. Clear and confident, I made big turns above the ice, flying in a dream, down to my friends who were waiting to embrace me on the glacier below.

It’s just one descent, but hey, that one smooth run can change your life.

Thanks, Cedric, Nate, Damien, Mark and Remy Lecluse.

Text by Michael “Bird” Shaffer
Photos by Bird & Cedric Bernardini

Find the gear @ norrona.com

For en gangs skyld kommer ikke mitt reisebrev til å handle om mat. Jeg innser jo at det har blitt mye prat om serrano og gözleme og vin og rare oster. Denne gangen har jeg, med visse unntak, ingen kulinariske opplevelser å fortelle om men derimot en hel del annet.

Bildene i seg selv sier jo en del. England var fantastisk. Utrolig hyggelige og morsomme mennesker i kombinasjon med kul stein, mektige sjøklipper og engelsk landsbygd.

Det jeg tidligere har forbundet med klatring i Storbritania er at det er usikret og skummelt. Etter å ha vært der har jeg følgende å si: Ja, det finnes massevis av klassiske skumle ruter. Men det finnes også stilig og velsikret klatring! (Men når det er sagt må jeg innrømme at jeg hver dag ble imponert over den engelske klatrestilen der topptau ikke eksisterer og folk stort sett er veldig modige)

Bildene er fra Stanage, Gogarth og Pembroke. Sistnevnte ble jeg helt forelsket i, både på grunn av landskapet, den fredelige landsbygda i kontrast til klippene rett ut mot Atlanteren, og klatringen som bød på stilige, lange entaulengders ruter rett opp fra bølgehavet.

Photos and text from Norrøna ambassador Hilde Bjørgaas.

Check out our falketind concept online to see Hilde’s best picks for climbing.

The boat was floating softly in the fjord locked into the thin sparkling ice in the middle of nowhere. A morning of blissful silence. Nothing stirred. Nothing sounded. Only the wind whispered across the deck. We arrived at our first destination the island Arnøya. 850m laid before us, ready to be conquered.

Ready for adventure, a new three member crew from Norrøna S.W.A.T team united with the Free Rider Crew and their lovely friends from Germany, Austria and Portugal.

The heaven-touching peak of the mountain was drenched in brilliant light. The colorful Norrøna clothes moved upwards like a rainbow in the sky. Only the sound of our skis and split boards crunched through the powdered snow. And the view brought tears of joy to our eyes.

After our first victory what could be more joyful and relaxing than a dip in the hot tub! We all tried to squeeze in, taking shifts submerged in hot water, surrounded by a panorama of heaven, blue skies, the glittering fjord and waves of white mountains around us. We were all happy faces, full of laughter, kicking back a few beers to relieve the little aches in our muscles.

The seashell-white mountain of Kågtind jutted into the sky. Spikes of thin sunlight impaled the snow in a sparkling ocean. The beauty of the mountain in front of us and the fjords around us would be true companions in our journey to the top.

We all managed to reach the top plateau. Even though the insidious fog ensnared the crown of the mountain and covered us all in mist. But the sunlight found its way back to reveal a view that was breathe taking and far exceeded our expectations. The blue sky above us and on either side, enormous mountains loomed, enfolding their glory. The veiw of the fjord, mind blowing, reflecting the sun beams back into our hearts.

Each time we looked behind us or up, the view was even more magnificent. The sun shimmering through the clouds. The mountains rising around in secret and you feel you are in the middle of a fairytale!

A short visit to a very cozy village called Havness brought a hint of nostalgia back in our mind. Wandering in between the little enchanted houses and trails gave us an idea how populous and hectic this place once had been. You could still feel the atmosphere of former times, once the largest trade station around Lygnen, and the smell of stockfish that hung impressively along the water.

Find the colorful clothes in our webshop: www.norrona.com

More awesome snapshots:

Text by Marta Balcerzak
Photos by Franca Chiesa

Heldigvis fins det et Alaska i Norge også. Det heter Lyngen. Litt mindre PBR, men ellers er det mye det samme. Fra 6. til 20. april satt vi opp camp på Koppangsbreen i håp om å få kjørt fjellene som omringer den og Strupbreen litt lengre nord.

Eller, vi hang i Koppangen i tre dager og kjørte skog fordi massene med snø som kom over påske raste som om de var treåringer på puterommet. Og så når vi endelig kom oss opp, lå halve gruppa syk i teltet i to dager og instagramet mens det var snøstorm ute. Det er litt rart det der. At den eneste forskjellen på å være midt på en isbre og i byen er at det blåser en lett bris over rumpa når du går på do, tweetene følger deg uansett. Men likevel, Lars spilte disco fra solcelleladet (de virker selv om det er overskyet!) reisehøytaler og vi koste oss.

Og til slutt da. Til slutt ender jo alt vel. Det ble sol, snøen ble stabil og gutta fikk kjørt bratt pudder. Det kom en jente også. Minna Riihimaki tok turen fra Chamonix sammen med Bruno Compagnet og Giuliano Bordoni.

Filmen om det hele kommer etter sommeren. Her er bilder inntil videre med Lars Andreas Nilssen, Andreas Strømseth, Vegard Rye, Eirik Verlo, Steinar Aarberg, William Hansen, Bruno Compagnet, Minna Riihimaki og Giuliano Bordoni.

Skrevet og fotografert av Nikolai Schirmer.

Du finner alle de fete produktene på: www.norrona.com

I’m talking about the descent on the north-east wall of the Piz Roseg in the Bernina area. This descent has a strange story.. First Heini Holzer tried the descent in 1977 but unfortunately he lost his life, then Andrea Sarchi, friend and mate, made it in 1990. After an expedition with Andrea where he told me about this awesome descent, my curiosity peaked. I wanted to try and share the experience with Norrøna ambassador Giuliano Bordoni.

April the 2nd, Giuliano and I left from Livigno headed in the direction of Roseg Valley. After a night in the Tschierva refuge we began ascending the north-east wall. Giuliano wasn’t feeling well and had to turn back after a couple of hours. I decided to continue by myself. I was sad about that because I really wanted to share this route with him! Luckily everything went well and I was happy to meet up with Giuliano again at the base of the mountain.

Photos and text by Bruno Mottini

Gear from norrona.com