overcome a mountain to earn its respect, and also, whale beef with cold beer

The journey started in Svolvaer in Norway, where two of my friends and I, ate a surprisingly well made hotel breakfast in the morning before driving to the toe of the mountain, approximately one hour away.

We were climbing the mountain called Moeysalen (not the one in the picture above). It's the highest mountain in the region, so were really excited about the hike. It was certainly going to be a challenge!

We began next to a nice little lake not far from some waterfalls. From there we walked through wet marches up until we reached the snow. We had read it would take us 2 hours and 40 minutes to reach the top. When we were 3 hours in the hike and not even half way up, we got a bit worried we wouldn't get down in time. You see, we had a reservation at a restaurant back in Svolvaer that very evening. We were going to eat whale beef and enjoy cold beer together with the rest of the group we were travelling with. A very motivating thought when you are weary on your way up a mountain. We decided to start running, mindful however, of sketchy patches.

I had been bouldering a couple of times before this trip and I really felt like it helped me at some parts of this climb!

At this point we were all exhausted, luckily, everyone was in a good mood. Come to think of it, I don't think it was lucky at all. All three of us are experienced hikers, meaning that we are able to manage feelings of being tired, hungry, cold and grumpy. We know how important a high moral within a group is, so to complain about how hard it is doesn't come across as something worth doing. I think we all were actively behaving positively and cheering each other on as we struggled our way upwards. Uplifting one another as an unspoken strategy to manage the hardship together as a team. I wonder if the others were thinking about it the same way I was, or if they were just acting out of instinct. I certainly did it knowingly, but I didn't mention it. It was kept inside my head along with the rest of my thoughts. I remember, however, feeling proud of my friends, and also, of myself, every time we turned to each other and just smiled as our legs were shaking and sweat poured down our faces. It was great fun!

We were closing in on the mountain peak.

After 6 hours of tough hiking and some steep climbing, we reached the peak. The view was amazing but as I mentioned earlier, we had friends waiting for us. So, we had to get down as fast as possible.

We figured the fastest way down was by sliding on the snow. What took us 3 hours to climb, took 20 minutes to slide! Sliding down as if we had skis on our feet gave such a thrill, not only because of the exciting speed but together with the view down the mountain side, it made for a truly amazing experience.

We kept running and the snow was no more! We were almost home.
At this point I was too tired to take pictures so the visual ends here. I have to say though, what an experience this was. I feel both proud and happy that we went ahead and did this. A truly amazing trip! If you ever find yourself in the north of Norway, climb this peak - Moeysalen. Just wow!

To end this story, the whale beef and cold beer both tasted heavenly after a challenge such as this hike. Note to self, plan a great meal after hardship. It will carry you further than ever imaginable. haha ciao!