Mega But Mellow Ski Adventures in Tamokdalen

The legendary Tamok valley has a reputation for being a serious place to ski, but there are some fabulous easier routes there too!

Charlie Boscoe

Images

Making our way into the alpine with Rostavatn in the distance.jpeg
Making our way into the alpine with Rostavatn in the distance

by Kyle Miller

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Looking toward the col between Nerotinden and Brattilfjellet.jpeg
Looking toward the col between Nerotinden and Brattilfjellet

by Kyle Miller

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Making our way up to the col.jpeg
Making our way up to the col

by Kyle Miller

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Snowboarding towards Camp Tamok with ski poles in hand.jpeg
Snowboarding towards Camp Tamok with ski poles in hand

by Tiiti Hynninen

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Looking-at-Melkefjellet-and-Istinden-Ridge-in-the-Tamokdalen-Valley-of-Northern-Norway-1536x1024.jpeg
Looking at the North facing slopes of Melkefjellet and Istinden Ridge

by Kyle Miller

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Melkefjellet-and-Istinden-Ridge-in-the-Tamokdalen-Valley-of-Northern-Norway-2-1536x1024.jpeg
A closer look at both the first and second runs of the trip

by Kyle Miller

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Snowboarding down Melkefjellet on our first run.jpeg
Snowboarding down Melkefjellet on our first run

by Kyle Miller

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Snowboarding down Melkefjellet on our second run.jpeg
Snowboarding down Melkefjellet on our second run

by Kyle Miller

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The final run off Istinden Ridge with the Tamokdalen valley in the distance.jpeg
The final run off Istinden Ridge with the Tamokdalen valley in the distance

by Kyle Miller

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Istinden Northeast bowl.jpeg
Looking at the Northeast Bowl of Istinden

by Kyle Miller

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Waiting at the crux zone of Istinden.jpeg
Waiting at the crux zone of Istinden

by Kyle Miller

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A busy day on the upper bowls.jpeg
A busy day on the upper bowl

by Kyle Miller

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Snowboarding down Istinden.jpeg
Snowboarding down the skiers left gully

by Kyle Miller

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Powder day on Istinden.jpeg
Powder day on Istinden

by Tiiti Hynninen

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Sjufellet East Bowl Tamokdalen Backcountry.jpeg
The East Bowl of Sjufjellet

by Kyle Miller

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Sjufellet East Bowl from Tamokhuset Tamokdalen Backcountry.jpeg
Sjufellet East Bowl from Tamokhuset

by Kyle Miller

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Skiing down Sjufellet East Bowl Tamokdalen Backcountry.jpeg
Skiing down Sjufellet East Bowl

by Kyle Miller

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skitour_sjufjellet.jpg
Comfortable touring up Sjufjellet normal route

by Johanna Stålnacke

sjufjellet_aadne.jpg
Aadne Olsrud aka Mr Tamok, local legend and ski expert in the area, on way up Sjufjellet Aadne Olsrud

by J Stålnacke

sjufjellet_people.jpg
Touring up Sjufjellet

steep_sjufjellet.jpg
About to drop in to the front face. Photo by Aadne Olsrud

by Aadne Olsrud

sjufjellet_avalanche.jpg
Typical avalanche debris under the front face towards the ridge. Be careful and keep distance below! Aadne Olsrud

by Johanna Stålnacke

skred_tamok.jpg
Another usual view: old avalanche in the con vexity just above the treeline where the terrain gets steeper. This is the steepest secion on the normal route, be careful here. Aadne Olsrud

by Johanna Stålnacke

parking_tamok.jpg
The parking spot

overview_parkingpockets.jpg
Further parking areas if the first one is full.

Looking-at-Blabaerfjellet-South-Face-behind-Tamokdalen-in-Northern-Norway-1536x1024.jpeg
Looking at the South Face of Blabaerfjellet from the Backcountry behind Tamokhuset

by Kyle Miller

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Blabaerfjellet-behind-Tamokdalen-in-Northern-Norway-1-1536x1024.jpeg
The South Face of Blabaerfjellet as seen from Tamokhuset

by Kyle Miller

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Snowboarding down the south face of Blabaerfjellet behind Tamokdalen in Northern-Norway.jpeg
Snowboarding down the south face of Blabaerfjellet

by Kyle Miller

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Looking at the south face of Blåbærfjellet.jpeg
Looking at the south face of Blåbærfjellet

by Kyle Miller

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Looking at some of the best tree skiing in Northern Norway.jpeg
Looking at some of the best tree skiing in Northern Norway

by Kyle Miller

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Making our way up to treeline before choosing one of many gullies.jpeg
Making our way up to treeline before choosing one of many gullies

by Kyle Miller

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Wide open slopes lined with trees.jpeg
Wide open slopes lined with trees

by Jukka Piirainen

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Dropping into the upper section.jpeg
Dropping into the upper section

by Kyle Miller

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Riding down one of the pipes back to our skin track at the base.jpeg
Riding down one of the pipes back to our skin track at the base

by Kyle Miller

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Looking at Oksetinden and Kjempetinden in the Tamokdalen backcountry.jpeg
Looking at Oksetinden on the left and Kjempetinden on the right

by Kyle Miller

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Looking back up at Oksetinden.jpeg
Looking back up at Oksetinden

by Kyle Miller

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Snowboarding down Kjempetinden.jpeg
Snowboarding down Kjempetinden

by Kyle Miller

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Description

Even driving into the Tamok valley is intimidating; the mountains are big, steep and - for most of the year - blanketed in deep snow. It's a place renowned for its serious high-end ski tours, suitable only for experts, but - as this guidebook proves - there are still options for those seeking an easier day.

Some of the routes in here are long, but we've also included some short yo-yo tree skiing routes too, as well as several lines which are ideal for days when the avalanche risk is high. It can be hard to believe that such tours exist in such a dramatic and steep-sided valley, but they're there when you know where to look! That said, the terrain all along the Tamok valley is large and serious so the routes in here still deserve respect and - like in any mountain region - there still might be some days where staying at home is the best option!

Another excellent option is to head just north and hit the famous peaks of the Lyngen Peninsula - https://fatmap.com/guidebooks/3158/spectacular-ski-tours-in-the-lyngen-alps - or the even mellower mountains of Kvaløya - https://fatmap.com/guidebooks/9348/ski-to-the-sea-on-kvaloya.

Suffice to say that you'll be spoiled for choice if you make the effort to reach this wild, remote and legendary valley.

Adventures

Sjufjellet

Ski the fantastic classic normal route or drop big on the front face when conditions align