Blåbærtinden

Lyngen

A big mountain offering fun freeriding with a true alpine touch

Ski Touring Difficult

Distance: 7.8 km
Ascent: 1.2 km
Descent: 1.2 km
Duration: 5-6 hrs

Low Point: 245 m
High Point: 1.4 km
Gradient: 45˚

Blåbærtinden is a beautiful ski mountain with some great freeride terrain to discover!

Ski touring up on the east ridge. Photo: Aadne Olsrud

Overview of the Blåbærtinden moutain. The avalanche path left of the forest is visible in the middle of the picture. The route starts here. Photo: Aadne Olsrud

The summit climb seen from the east ridge. Photo: Aadne Olsrud

The Blåbærtinden normal route and visible ski tracks in the South face. Photo: Aadne Olsrud

The author enjoying some fun freeriding on Blåbærtinden in February seconds before the sun sets early afternoon! Photo: Johanna Stålnacke

Summit of Blåbærtinden with the Lille Russetinden behind Photo: Johanna Stålnacke

Overview of parking pockets Photo: Johanna Stålnacke

Description

The mountain is one of the true Tamok classics both for the ski quality and the impressive views. Blåbærtinden means blueberry mountain in Norwegian but there is no blue run type of skiing on this tour.

Much of the skiing on Blåbærtinden takes place in avalanche terrain or in avalanche paths. To ski safely here it requires skiers to have great snow assessment skills as well as profound understanding of terrain choices. From the top ridge you will have several options of where to ski down depending on conditions and ski ability. Good skiers will have a lot of fun charging down the top ridge in stable conditions and the small formations offer playful riding on much of the descent.

The Blåbærtinden normal route starts by the road underneath the visible avalanche path in the area of Olsrud / Sletta. It is important take care of where you park in the Tamok Valley and to ONLY use the parking areas along the road that are mowed. Do not park on the road where there is no parking as this will cause problems for both the general traffic and the local farmers! Ask the locals if necessary, they are happy to help out.

Place the skin track through the scarcely separated birch trees. At around 600m, the slope angle steepens to around 35° as you find your way up through a band of cliffs. Once through, the terrain eases out a bit until you climb up towards the east ridge. From here it is easy to scout line choices for the descent. Again, be aware of the snow conditions! The south face of Blåbærtinden offers amazing skiing but in a terrain formation that can cause huge avalanches when there are weak layers lurking. Make sure to check the local avalanche bulletin for the area.

Follow the ridge up to the summit and be prepared to use crampons and an ice axe for the final section. The last 50 vertical meters are steep and require carrying the skis.

The descent follows the ascent line or alternatively (as shown here) drops into the south face where the first 200 vertical meters of the descent goes in terrain up to around 40°.

Follow the ascent line from around 800m elevation and down back to the parking.