Adventure holidays has become very popular recently. More and more people want to exercise sports during their vacation.

 

I think it’s absolutely fantastic, we’re moving way too little today! You never feel as happy as when you’re exhausted and then can sit down and relax with a good conscience.

 

I have had the amazing opportunity to go on a ski and sail adventure with Fjord Adventures, Addnature, Haglöfs and Uteguiden through a contest that I won. Read more about my trip here.

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Travel through sapphire blue fjords surrounded by massive, snow-capped mountain peaks

 

Steve Stewart at  is one of those who knows about the trend of adventure holidays. He provides unique trips in the Norwegian fjords. After many years as a deep sea diver, he wanted to combine his passions for the mountains and the sea. Steve moved to Norway and found the HMS Gåssten – a beautifully restored old warships – one of the last wooden ships in the Swedish Navy ever built. Today he offers his guests an unique experience at a whole new level by steering right into the heart of the pristine wilderness to inaccessible places where you get to enjoy Norway’s unspoiled beauty. Gåssten is also known from the cinema-success Supervention from Field Productions.

 

 

 

Norway offers one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world

It has been very popular to travel as far away as possible. However, it feels like a new trend is taking shape – to explore your local areas. Traveling to New Zealand on the other side of the earth when we have at least as stunning landscapes only a short distance away is just crazy. Norway, with its fjords and the arctic archipelago offers one of the most spectacular landscapes. There are endless activities both in summer and winter – if you’re not satisfied enough with gazing at the stunning views.

 

The Scandinavian Alps

Of Norway’s top ten peaks for skiing, six of them are in Sunnmøre. Nowhere else in the world can you find world class ski touring at this high concentration in the same mountain range. From February to June, the area is perfect for backcountry skiing and ski-touring. HMS Gåssten is located in Alesund, a perfect harbor to start from to experience the Sunnmøre Alps. With peaks rising up to 1700 meters straight up from the fjord, Sunnmøre is considered to be a national treasure and is today a popular mountain to visit, but the fjord is still a guarded secret. Fjords are formed by glaciers that have moved land masses over several centuries which have created spectacular snow-capped Alpine peaks, deep valleys and fjords.

 

An average tour lasts 4-6 hours and you climb over 1000 meters of altitude per day. We walked an average of 2 hours per day with lunch, many stops for photos and with the skiing back down we had days full of adventure. I was a little nervous that I would not have the athletic skills, but you can do more than you think! However, I was running intervals regularly a month before the trip, perhaps that helped a little!

 

 

Alesund – Saebo – Urke – Øye – Alesund

 

From Alesund we sailed into the idyllic Hjørundfjord which is one of the longest in Norway – 35 km. The first night we stayed in Saebo, a small village with red houses and grass roofs. 100 years ago, an avalanche hit the village and destroyed the entire school. Fortunately this happened on a Sunday, and no children were in school, but you can still see traces of the large avalanche.

 

The second night we stayed in a village called Urke which has 980 inhabitants. There you can join a tour to see the remains of an ancient settlement that was destroyed in a landslide more than a hundred years ago.

 

Øye – diving in an underwater city and sleeping at a ghost hotel

The third night we stayed in Øye, just outside the charming Hotel Union – a really spooky but extremely well preserved and beautiful hotel that had visits from distinguished guests from all over Europe since 1891. For example – Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, Sweden’s King Oscar II and the German Emperor Wilhelm II. It is worth seeing, I would love to have a masquerade there, or a wedding! That would be really cool.

 

In Lyngstøylsvatnet you can dive to an underwater city. 100 years ago the outflow of the river Lunga got blocked and the water level rose by 17 meters and the village that was there went under water. Today you can dive among foundations, stone walls, trees and roads.

 

Walk with a guide

We were guided on our tours by Oscar and Gordon from Uteguiden. It felt great to have them in our group as there were many avalanches in the area during our days. Uteguiden has been guiding around  the area since 2008. They have many years of experience and high knowledge of all the peaks. They have had clients from Salomon Freeski TV, Field Productions, Helly Hansen and Peak Performance, among many others.

 

Gordon told me about a guidebook describing the tours around Sunnmøre. You can also buy Snösäkers digital guidebook if you want to do the tours without a guide. However, remember that the guides always have had an eye on the snow since the start of the season and it is always advisable to bring one. Safety first!

 

I’m so thankful for this opportunity to attend on this trip! I’ve met some amazing and inspiring people and this whole experience will stay in my memory forever. I really recommend traveling with , it’s an unique adventure and for sure a once in a lifetime experience.

 

 

 

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