Arctic Circle - Narvik and Riksgransen Part 2
So, with the end of FWQ events i thought what the heck let's finish with competitive
freeride and go and enjoy the end of the season with a bank slalom whilst heading deeper into northern territory, The next stop was Riksgransen, Northern Sweden and a
return back to arctic Norway, Narvik where it all started earlier in December
2014.
Narvik looks completely different without the snow, A lot more concretey and square, I guess the lack of snow means it loses most of its alpine style charm, however the first time i arrived here it was -28 and it became a battle of survival let alone snowboarding out there. It is strange to say i've become famililar with a place so far into arctic circle, but i could now naviagate the streets of Narvik. I was dissapointed to find out the local ski resort closed a week earlier than anticipated which meant i would unfortunately miss the final week of the season upon my arrival. The other option was to head straight out to Swedish lapland and spend more time over in the resort of Riksgransen where the Bank Slalom would be held later in the week.
Riks is definitely a good spot for those looking to extend the season into the spring or summer, there are some great natural features conveniently sitting next to the lifts and a variety of different runs, however i did start to get a bit bored after 2 days, and this was after lapping most of the sidecountry terrain i could find from lift access. OK so in fairness you do have a near unlimited amount of areas to explore if you are visiting for touring away from the main resort, most of the terrain on the resort itself is fairly mellow with some feature drops to look out for, The skiers were really charging those mini cliff drops, I seen one guy straight up go full speed over a cliff with a sideways landing and another cliff underneath which was really sketchy, freaking nuts guy!! but he made it and did it in style in the end.
The Swedish can sometimes have a bit of a reputation for being a bit reserved but there was defo some localism /crewism going on up there, with other international visitors also feeling a bit left out from the local vibes, i didn't realise but there is also a bit of a rivalry between the norwegian and swedish riders. :P
The event was pretty fun overall, The course was great and pretty challenging, I probably could have done with another day of riding to get my legs at full power and a few more practice runs, My final practice run i finally got the course down in my head and i got through the course and turns pretty well but during the competition i lost a ton of speed on like the 3rd corner going in too hard on the bank turn and by that point i was already out of the competition, I actually lost my edge again turning too hard around the flag trying to cut the turn tighter for more speed but i ended up pushing too hard and going down and this was me finished for the competition, the rest of the run went pretty good but i was way way down on the leading times. I mean i give props for the course design and the location seems a perfect fit for a bank slalom, the course kind of snaked through like a small canyon and was challenging and fast enough for even the best of riders to have troubles over the weekend, you really needed a tactic and discipline going into it.
The last day of riding was also really fun, my legs had finally got into full gear and i just decided to track most of the off piste terrain for pretty much the whole day, if one thing is for sure i got some good exercise and enjoyed the visit to this part of Northern Sweden.
I also took a daytrip out to see Abisko, which is a very very remote part of the world which has a bit of an eery alieny deserted feeling to it. I went on a walk through the country following alongside the river and truly spooked myself out after i could hear animals rustling in the bushes, at this point, realising i was in the middle of nowhere in territory where bears roam in the summer, i decided to head back as quickly as possible. Next to the Abisko station hotel there is a big husky farm where most of the dogs are kept on site in kennels, unfortunately i didn't get a chance this time around to go sledding but it is something i would love to do in the future. Finally, i headed further into Abisko to find the local traditional village settlements of the Saami people. I also wondered further up the road at night to find the local shop, to my surprise it was much like an international gathering point for local visitors, i also picked up a cute reindeeer souvenir teddy from this shop as a reminder of my visit to the area.
So that was it, The closing end to the season, looking back the season has been quite a wild ride all across Europe, I started in Narvik early December 2014 and finished in Narvik 2015 with a serious of a goggle tan too, either way it has been incredible to experience this part of the world.
Narvik looks completely different without the snow, A lot more concretey and square, I guess the lack of snow means it loses most of its alpine style charm, however the first time i arrived here it was -28 and it became a battle of survival let alone snowboarding out there. It is strange to say i've become famililar with a place so far into arctic circle, but i could now naviagate the streets of Narvik. I was dissapointed to find out the local ski resort closed a week earlier than anticipated which meant i would unfortunately miss the final week of the season upon my arrival. The other option was to head straight out to Swedish lapland and spend more time over in the resort of Riksgransen where the Bank Slalom would be held later in the week.
Riks is definitely a good spot for those looking to extend the season into the spring or summer, there are some great natural features conveniently sitting next to the lifts and a variety of different runs, however i did start to get a bit bored after 2 days, and this was after lapping most of the sidecountry terrain i could find from lift access. OK so in fairness you do have a near unlimited amount of areas to explore if you are visiting for touring away from the main resort, most of the terrain on the resort itself is fairly mellow with some feature drops to look out for, The skiers were really charging those mini cliff drops, I seen one guy straight up go full speed over a cliff with a sideways landing and another cliff underneath which was really sketchy, freaking nuts guy!! but he made it and did it in style in the end.
The Swedish can sometimes have a bit of a reputation for being a bit reserved but there was defo some localism /crewism going on up there, with other international visitors also feeling a bit left out from the local vibes, i didn't realise but there is also a bit of a rivalry between the norwegian and swedish riders. :P
The event was pretty fun overall, The course was great and pretty challenging, I probably could have done with another day of riding to get my legs at full power and a few more practice runs, My final practice run i finally got the course down in my head and i got through the course and turns pretty well but during the competition i lost a ton of speed on like the 3rd corner going in too hard on the bank turn and by that point i was already out of the competition, I actually lost my edge again turning too hard around the flag trying to cut the turn tighter for more speed but i ended up pushing too hard and going down and this was me finished for the competition, the rest of the run went pretty good but i was way way down on the leading times. I mean i give props for the course design and the location seems a perfect fit for a bank slalom, the course kind of snaked through like a small canyon and was challenging and fast enough for even the best of riders to have troubles over the weekend, you really needed a tactic and discipline going into it.
The last day of riding was also really fun, my legs had finally got into full gear and i just decided to track most of the off piste terrain for pretty much the whole day, if one thing is for sure i got some good exercise and enjoyed the visit to this part of Northern Sweden.
I also took a daytrip out to see Abisko, which is a very very remote part of the world which has a bit of an eery alieny deserted feeling to it. I went on a walk through the country following alongside the river and truly spooked myself out after i could hear animals rustling in the bushes, at this point, realising i was in the middle of nowhere in territory where bears roam in the summer, i decided to head back as quickly as possible. Next to the Abisko station hotel there is a big husky farm where most of the dogs are kept on site in kennels, unfortunately i didn't get a chance this time around to go sledding but it is something i would love to do in the future. Finally, i headed further into Abisko to find the local traditional village settlements of the Saami people. I also wondered further up the road at night to find the local shop, to my surprise it was much like an international gathering point for local visitors, i also picked up a cute reindeeer souvenir teddy from this shop as a reminder of my visit to the area.
So that was it, The closing end to the season, looking back the season has been quite a wild ride all across Europe, I started in Narvik early December 2014 and finished in Narvik 2015 with a serious of a goggle tan too, either way it has been incredible to experience this part of the world.
Below is a Pciture Diary of Narvik and Swedish Lapland part 1 From my blog post
Ethereal Sunset walking through the trails
Amazing views overlooking Narvik Bay
Wondering back down in the streets at night
I don't usually get worried for flights but landing this far North in winter had my doubts
The view of Riksgransen, Swedish Lapland Resort
Getting ready to race the Bank Slalom
The train to Riks
Another look at the BC Riksgransen
The course!
Narvik Hostel with the Windlip
Which way?
Great nighttime views
This Husky Dog joined me on the walk up to the top station
Very Spooky and misty evening down on the fshing harbour
Jumping off the arctic train at Abisko
The abisko puppy Huskies!
Frozen Lakes
Traditional Sami Houses and structures in the Wild
Eerie Abisko Landscape
Somebody forget this
Showing off my board with this amazing sunset
Had to get in on this
Imagine looking out to these views each day
Going into the Abisko Wilderness
Huge Industrial cargo train went by
A nice view at dusk in the centre
Coming home via Copenhagen
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