My A-race this year!! Everything has led up to this!! Can not believe Tromso had arrived so quickly. I really wasn't looking good for this in the last couple of months with various injuries! Still kicking myself from the back to back races of Jura and Trotternish ridge but anyway, I overcame it and I'm now in Northern Norway, Arctic Circle for arguably the most extreme Skyrace (apart from Glencoe) on the calendar! Yikes!!
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| Endless ridge lines |
After a quick stop off in Bergen for a night I was off again first thing Friday morning up to Tromso. Spectacular flight spent transfixed at the mountains that stretched the whole flight!! Unreal..
Luckily I wasn't the only one coming from the NE of Scotland and it was great to hook up with Stuart Pringle and Marie Entwistle and Marie's daughters. Stuart and Marie, not only from my neck of the woods but we're in the same club (Deeside runners). They were over for 2 weeks taking on the VK on the Thursday and then the Tromsdalstinden (32km/2000mts) on the Saturday same day of my Hamperokken race which is the big brother at 57km/4500mtrs.
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| Stuart and Marie at registration |
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| Pints! |
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| MF supplies |
My race has the same start and route up to Tromsdalstind but at the summit the Hamperokken race keeps going over the other side and what looks like a sheer snow cliff drop down onto a massive boulder field and across a valley to Hamperokken.
From above this looked terrifying and terminal as you couldn't see over the horizon line but like a lemming I just went for it and surfed the snow/ice down clinging onto the rope and eventually came to a stop above some rocks. What continued was a brutal descent onto the valley floor nearly 1200mtrs then a flat 10km over to the base of Hamperokken.. I used poles for this race and they were brilliant especially on the climbs but also a real help on the flat. I used Leki Micro Trails with the trigger shark gloves. The poles are in 3 pieces and very easy and quick to deploy and to stow. I was using a Salomon quiver to stow them.
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| Tromsdalstind in the background from the lower slopes of Hamperokken |
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| Onto the ridge |
A lot of the ridge was surprisingly runnable, obviously care has to be taken on some parts, Hillary Allen almost died here in 2017 falling 150ft! A trip or slip here could be bad..
I passed quite a few folk on the ridge as I was trying to run as much as possible. Most people I saw were walking and quite a few looked very nervous on this terrain. I'm not saying that in bravado but there was virtually no hoops to jump through qualifying for this race. For Glencoe, Scafell and PRE in the UK I had to prove climbing ability and name climbing routes I had done in the past. Not so here. Anyone could rock up (no pun intended) and crack on (no pun intended!).. I was confident on the ridge and the descent which was full of BIG potential falls if you got it wrong. It's a fine line between moving fast and taking as much care as possible.
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| Almost at the summit (official photo) |
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| Descent from the summit |
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| Looking back up to the summit on my way down. You can see the rope which was great for a much faster descent |
Once back down to the valley I had the same 10km on the flat to do back across to Tromsdalstind and then the last big climb which was awful! This was my low point and approx 32-42km into the race. The climb was horrendous. Thank god for poles here! Once I summited Tromsdalstind for the 2nd time it was a different loop back to Tromso on much easier ground. Long and undulating but very runnable.
I crossed the finish line in 10hrs 36 mins, 48th overall from 262! I was absolutely delighted to make the top 50 especially in a World Series race! I didn't even know my time as my watch died at 9hrs!
I have to say a massive thanks to Stuart who having finished his race 2 or 3 hours earlier hung around and waited for me not only to take some great finish line photos but to buy me a birthday pint as I was 45 on race day!! What a legend!! Thanks Stuart!!!
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| Post race street beers! |
I had a few beers that night, nothing mental as it was so expensive and I was past drinking, I just needed bed!
Suart and Marie invited me out with them the next day for a tour around Tromso and surrounding area in their hire car which was great! We saw some amazing scenery and had a nice relaxing walk up to the Blue Lake. Wish I'd had my wetsuit!
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| Stunning! |
Logistically it was easy.. I flew from Aberdeen to Bergen then Bergen to Tromso and same return. I could have done it slightly cheaper with another stop but I couldn't be bothered with the faff. Flights were £250 return and accommodation was £40 a night in a very basic but perfectly fine hotel and I was there for 4 nights. Food and drink is expensive, like mega pricey so just go to a supermarket and buy stuff from there, it's much cheaper.
Tromso was an awsome experience. I'll definitely be back here, maybe not next year but soon. I've got a growing list of Skraces abroad I want to tick off! Better get saving the pennies!
