Sun Day (official)
Today – February 7. – is the official Sun Day in Narvik. That is the day, the sun is no longer obscured by the mountains and it shines down on the town square. The dark season of 2013 is over officially, although a lot of valleys and villages in the municipality has to wait for days, even weeks for the sun to get high enough in the sky to shine down on them. Time flies – and soon the midnight sun will shine in through windows from the oposite side of the Ofoten Fjord.
The official sun day is celebrated with taking half the day off and of course eating sun buns.
The sun is shining downtown today. To the left is the town hall (square building) and the newly built Rica Hotell. Further up the mountain slope Narvik University College is partly lit by the sun beaming down the mountain side.
Winter is here!
Winter is here. I defied my crippling back pain and went out to shoot a few photos. Enjoy!
Snow showers coming in the Ofoten Fjord – Eibhlin of Panama is being loaded at pier 5
A tiny waterfall on Ankenes freezing up
Beisfjord and the mountain Beisfjordtøtta farthest away in between the snow showers
The alpine slope on Ankenes needs a little bit more snow to be in service
The Winter Creeps up on us – or should I say down
Took this photo today of the Roasme Mountain range, and winter is just 1,000 meters away from us now. Soon we’ll be engulfed by the magic of snow..!
Winter is coming – the snow coveres mountain peaks gets whiter by the day
Calm Fjord covered in Freshly Fallen Snow
Panorama of Narvik yesterday when the snowing stopped. Please click the photo and see all the details!
Spring is in the air! (-nope, false alarm, it’s just snow)
A commentary on today’s weather in Narvik…
What you (almost cannot) see in today's photo; The Narvik peninsula with Narvik Airport and the bulk carrier Island Green(...) at pier 5
It never ceases to amaze me
The Sky in Northern-Norway never ceases to amaze me. The snow, sea and ever shifting weather reveals the most fantastic light shows sometimes. This evening was no exception.
Evening sky
Evening Sky 2
Flashing Auroras
Coming home from a late night meeting last night, I found the skies ablaze. And I was in a hurry with more pressing matters (hmm, is there any good reason not to look at auroras..?) So in a hurry I set up my tripod and camera. Unfortunately the tripod was a little wobbly in the snow and quite a few photos was a bit blurry, but a few turned out alright.
Aurora Borealis yesterday over the Ofoten Fjord
Aurora Borealis - Northern Light - over Narvik last night
Hurtigruten Leaving – Winter Festival Over
Hurtigruten just left, hurrying out the fjord. It means that the Winter festival in Narvik is almost at an end.
Hurtigruten is leaving Narvik after having served the city for the duration of the winter festival - Vinterfestuka 2012
Beautiful Painted Sky
I just shot this photo of the evening sky above Narvik. Pastels all around with the mountains running like a white jagged edge throuh the landscape.
Pastels all around
There they are again – Beautiful contrasts
Narvik in between the showers this evening…
Beautiful contrasts of snow showers in the Ofoten Fjord - Narvik to the right
Evening sun shines on the city Narvik - in between the snow showers
32,600 feet treading on “eggshells” – The Deadly White Monster
These days 16,300 troops from 14 nations are battling the cold climate of Northern-Norway in the biggest joint military exercise in ten years Operation Cold Response (well, the name says it all).
But they are battling a real, and very dangerous enemy. The 5. March 1986 a platoon of Engineers was working on a route for belt-vehicles through the Valley of Vassdalen. An avalanche started high in one of the mountain sides and came thundering down towards the soldiers.
I remember it like it was yesterday. My uncle – a police officer – was flown in with his service dog Arco, a highly trained avalanche rescue dog. They were in the middle of an exercise in Saltfjellet mountain region when the call came in. All day long an endless chain of hueys – Bell UH-1 – helicopters came from the valley, landed on the airport here, and then flew in again. After having spent several days without sleep, my uncle finally got som R&R.
I met him at the local police-station. Arco, his German Shepherd police dog just lay there, totally exhausted and my uncle was very worn. His face said it all. Digging all those victims out of the snow and seeing what terrible destiny had struck them down had, set a lifelong mark in my uncle. 16 soldiers were killed in that accident. The heaviest loss of Norwegian military personnel in peace-time.
And right now, 32,600 feet are really walking on eggshells. The Avalanche Warning is currently at its highest! Lots and lots of snow, combined with periods of mild weather earlier this month, and heavy winds, has set the scene for many new avalanches in the days to come. So I cross my fingers that the guys and girls out there tread lightly and stay away from the danger-areas. I am crossing my fingers that all the 32,600 coming into the area also will exit the area, unskaved, every last one of them.
officers from the exercise avalanche group use their skills and experience to take preventative measures against avalanche. (Photo: Morten Hanstad, Norwegian Armed Forces)
Soldiers and officers from the armored engineer company is preparing a triple hurdle during winter exercise Cold Response 12 (Photo: Torbjørn Kjosvold, Norwegian Armed Forces)
HNoMS Steil at sea during winter exercise Cold Response 2012 (Photo: Torbjørn Kjosvold, Norwegian Armed Forces)
These
Norwegian Home Guard arrives Bardufoss for the exercise Cold Response 2012 (Photo: Nils Bernt Rinde/HV, Norwegian Armed Forces)
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