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Martin Franz Photography Landscape, Nature and Travel |
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Lofoten and Vesteralen islands
in winter 18. March - 15. April 2010
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Part One: First
impressions It was really a great experience, when I approached the Lofoten in March 2010. Weather was rather bad . It was snowing since days and still didn't stop. Between the snowshowers I could catch a glimpse of rocky mountains and small islands all covered with fresh powder snow. ...
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... That was the sight I was hoping for when I started in Münster four days earlier. The first campground I droped in was that on the Sildpollen-peninsula. In the first evening I did not realize what an extraordinary place that is. ... |
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... The snow splashed again the windows and I
was happy to be well
protected against the winterweather in my campingcar. ... |
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... Some days later, when I came
to this place again, the weather had changed
completely. The nearby viewpoint offered a stunning view
over Austnesfjorden with the Sildpollen chapel in the foreground. |
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| Late winter is high season for fishing, and fishing boats are everywhere in the harbours, in the fjords and the open sea. |
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Much of the freshly cought fish is hang on wooden frames to become the
famous stockfish after some weeks of drying. |
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Svolvaer is the capital of the Lofoten. Although it is a small town it has
the flair of an upcomming tourist center. |
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| My first visit to Svolvær was still under snowstorm conditions. ... |
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| ... But a few days later the doves took a bath in the melting ponds on the central place of Svolvær. |
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| Driving threw a stormy snow shower is a little advantureous. ... |
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| ... But I had not to wait longtime until the weather cleared and everything including the road was covered with a marvelous coat of fresh snow. |
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| I visited many of the small harbours. A very nice one is Henningsvaer, which I photograhed in the short minutes between a leaving and an upcomming snowshower. |
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| Nyksund is another place which I like very much. It is restored from an old fishing harbour to a small cultural town. It is located at the northwestern tip of Langøya (Vesterålen). |
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Small settlements are scattered all over the archipel. The vivid coloured houses contrast nicely with the water and white landscape. |
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The main reason why I came here was to see
and photograph the wild and natural coast in
winter. The inner parts of the fjords were covered with ice. But some warm days and the tide let it break up. (↑) In the clear cold nights a thin layer of ice freezes along the shoreline. As the tide lowers the ice coats the costal rocks like a thin skin. (→) |
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 Torsfjorden , Moskenesøya Panorama stitched of 14 frames in 2 rows (Single shot: Nikon D70, f8, 1/30sec 18-70mm at 46mm, corresponding to 69 mm for 36-mm-film) |
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Water, the coast line and the ever changing light create breathtaking views again and again. |
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The landscape still looks like winter, but the bird life points toward the
upcoming spring. The kittiwakes are going to occupy their breeding colonies, although the temperature is obviously below zero. |
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_________________________________________________________________________ Part Two: Views From Snowshoe Hiking Tours
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The first walking tour was on a nameless ridge just
a few hundred meters northwest of Sundklakks-traumen bru. This short trip
was undertaken to test my equipment, especially the modern snowshoes
(msr-denali-classic with flotation tails) which are very helpful
particularly in steep terrain. The short effort was rewarded with a fantastic view over Sundklakkstraumen to the mountain Hoven in the western part of Gimsøya. (↑) |
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| Searching for new tracks, I scanned the mountains with my binocular and found many tracks in the snow. That was the case with the mountain in the background of this photograph. It is called Kleppstadheia. |
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| The port of Kleppstad from sea level (→) |
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The port of Kleppstad and Gimsøystraumen from Klepstadheia after sunset.
(→) (The first image of this site shows the same view at sunset.) |
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The most beautiful mountain top I
climbed was
Offersøy-kammen, which is found at the western shore of
Vestvågøya. When I scanned the landscape with binoculars from the
roadside, I saw a fresh track in the snow leading right up to the top. I
followed the track and came to a top with breathtaking view. In the south you see the line of the E 10, the Nappstraumen and the Skottinden near Ballstad.(↓) |
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