UKC

Not Alpine / Mountaineering as such, more travel advise..

Anyone been to Lofoten in winter recently? Iam flying to Bodo mid jan to get ferry across to Moskenes, two questions really.

Car hire from Moskenes area...i know established car hire firms want crazy money but i hear some local garages hire cars much cheaper than established firms?

Hostels/huts iam planning on car camping/wild camping, but need to visit hostels a couple of times in the week for electronics recharging showers etc anyone used any in the area in winter?

Shaun

In reply to shaun walby:

I assume you have a good headtorch!

In reply to shaun walby:

Agreed not long daylight hours

In reply to shaun walby:

I think the cheapo option of car rental is Rent a Car Lofoten, I do know they have cars in Svolvaer and Moskenes.
http://www.rentacar-lofoten.com/index.php/en/

As for housing, no idea... expect it's hardly high season, so if stuff is even up for grabs, it should be cheap.

And if the weather is shoddy, Narvik, Riksgränsen, Lavangen, Spansdalen and Sördalen are only about 3 to 5h away. There is a cosy tourist station near Spansdalen, but it mostly rents huts. That said, it was not too expensive for 2 and rather nice.

In reply to Robert Durran:

There's enough light for roughly 5 to 6h at the 1st week of Jan to climb without a head torch. Easier approaches (and descents) can also be done without a torch give or take +1 h each end. Meaning 6 to 7h of "daylight".

In reply to HeMa:


Even though the sun does not make it above the horizon? That does seem surprising - I suppose the sun is near enough below the horizon for long enough to produce a long semi daylight. You would know best! Still long nights in a tent though......

In reply to Robert Durran:

Yup long nights indeed...

Had enough ligth to climb & rappel Henrike fossen on the 1st week of Jan a few years back. Used headlamps on the approach (because it was in dense bushes) and also for the last rappel do the base, plus naturally packin' all the stuff and again descent in the bushes.

We did do shorter and/or easier climbs without using the head torches at all during the 4 days we were there.

Sure, it ain't as bright as during a sunny spell in summer in the alps. But absolutely bright enough to operate. Think of it as a 6h dusk (where it's gloomy, but bright enough to operate without a headlamp).

Long nights though, hence we stayed at the cabin...

In reply to Robert Durran:

The sun is below the horizon in Svolvaer from 4th December to 7th January, but only just during the middle of the day,


Chris

In reply to Chris Craggs:


Yes, things work differently that far north! when I went to Lofoten at the start of April, the difference in daylight (and hence, to our dismay, melting) in just a week and a half that near the equinox was massive - almost felt like suddenly jumping from March to May in Scotland.

In reply to shaun walby:

As others have said, the nights are long, but it's not actually dark for much longer than in Scotland since the sun just hovers around the horizon most of the time. I was there last week in Jan this year...
http://www.zenadsl6044.zen.co.uk/Lofoten/index.html
... and was surprised how much you can get done.
Observations:
* It's quiet that time of year. A lot of places were closed.
* It was seriously cold (by my standards). I would not have wanted to be camping (car or tent).
* Make sure any car you do get has studded tires (probably the norm, but check). You're not getting far without them. Most roads were just compacted snow/ice. Deep fresh snowfall was cleared really fast (even on cyclepaths), but not the base layer. We saw more snowplows and buses than cars.
* The light is fantastic. If you have decent weather.
* There seemed to be auroras most nights. If it was clear.
* Lots of whales around (if that floats your boat), but they won't be there for long (herring moving on...). See them whilst you can.
* I really want to go back an explore the winter hills.

In reply to HeMa

Thank for info on car rentals, thanks for info so far all

In reply to Marek:
Great shots, thats what iam there for photography, thanks for that.
Is there anywhere to get food during the day?

In reply to shaun walby:

It's gonna be cold as f*ck.

In reply to TheFasting:

Not really the Gulf stream significantly offsets its latitude thb

In reply to shaun walby:


The answer is it depends. I've had jans at only minus 3 or 4, but also times when it warms up during the day to -17 or 18.

Daylight wise, a clear sky and big moon can make a world of difference in winter.

Big dumps of snow in last day or two, 70cm in some places. Could be good long winter. Some ski places opening this weekend.

In reply to shaun walby:

We stayed here in the summer, in a couple of their "rooms" (we had 8 people in two 4-bed bunkrooms, sharing a kitchen and bathroom). It seemed to be equipped for winter as there was a big stove in the hall and a ginormous big bin for fuel.

They also have smaller rooms available.

http://eng.lofoten-bobilcamping.no/public.aspx?pageid=41275

In reply to summo:

-17/18 surprising more typically i was expecting in the region of -10 to freezing?

In reply to Becky E:

Thanks Becky i will have a look

In reply to all:

Anyone suggest a 1:25000 map and where i might get it?

cheers

In reply to shaun walby:



Stanfords?
Otherwise I think the Norwegian national mapping agency publishes free hi-res online maps. I just printed off the areas I was interested in.

In reply to shaun walby:



Supermarkets. We used the one in Svolvaer.

In reply to Marek:

Thanks for both replies...cheers.

Shaun

In reply to shaun walby:


Average, but it isn't the same every week, ever winter. It could be warmer, or colder. I wouldn't be sleeping in car though, better to camp.

In reply to summo:

Do you know of any winter campsites in or near Reine?

In reply to summo:


Is this for sea level in Lofoten? On the basis of what I've experienced further NE, but still at sea level, I'm surprised its that cold in Lofoten - although I guess that is January and I've not been up that early.

Shaun, in Lyngen which is a bit further north and not as far out into the open sea, I've camped in temperatures of -27 at coldest (in March I think) so it can get rather chilly up that way!

Have fun - it's an amazing part of the world.

In reply to shaun walby:

No need for a campsite, just park and find a suitable place to set your tent... nordic everymans right and all.

I'm also sure, that you should be able to score a rörbu cheaple, provided it is heated with a wood stove.

In reply to TobyA:


perhaps that was a little inland and a few years ago (was always colder in olden days), a quick look on yr's observation/history, shows on the coast it might not get much below -10 at sea level, tropical!!

In reply to shaun walby:

Norwegian mapping agency allow free online access to topographic and hydropgraphic charts at a variety of scales: http://www.norgeskart.no

Memory map will give you all of Norway at 1:50000 (and two other scales, I forget which, useful for planning/ overview) for a very reasonable £20ish for offline access on your smartphone.

There's a norgeskart app (I forget the name) for iphone that allows limited quantities/ limited time of offline storage. I've tried it before but wasn't happy with it. We found memory map useful for skitouring in March, but weren't camping so it was easy to keep phones charged.

Looking forward to seeing your photos

In reply to all:

Thank for info all , much appreciated.

In reply to shaun walby:

You can buy decent maps locally. Sold in garages, local convenience stores, cafes, and of course outdoor shops. Easy to pick up so wouldn't try too hard trying to purchase in advance. I've just been using the ut.no app for following trails.