Students in Fjellgruppa go the distance

Mountain touring group provides opportunities to explore the North-Norwegian landscape

(Bilder tatt av: Øystein Skari and Sarah Wendel)

Finally, SNOW!  After a few months of wet and icy conditions, Tromsø is finally getting some of the fluffy stuff!  To those who are interested in doing some skiing and exploring outside of the city, TSI’s Fjellgruppa is a chance to get outside and enjoy the best that our late winter has to offer.

Students in the snow

“Fjellgruppa is for people who want to experience the mountains,” says board member Øystein Skari.  The group is open to both students and non-students and organizes weekend trips which provide members with an opportunity to meet new people while exploring the countryside. Skari reports that the group is very popular with international students, who might not know how to get out into the mountains or where to go, but want to take in the beautiful landscape of Northern Norway.  Fjellgruppa provides an easy way for all students, both international and Norwegian, to go on group mountain tours while saving on costs and providing companionship.

Members of Fjellgruppa’s board feel that it is very important to provide a range of tours which vary in difficulty.  For example, last weekend’s trip to Tønsvika on the mainland, north of Tromsø, was listed as a relatively easy tour: 11 km of skiing per day.  One night was spent at a cabin in Nonsbu and then the group continued on to another cabin in Skarvasshytta, returning via Tromsdalen valley on Sunday.

While Fjellgruppa offers flatter tours than TULL (the top-tour TSI group focuses on downhill mountain skiing and snowboarding) some opportunity for top-tour and downhilling are available on Fjellgruppa trips.  Group leader Mikaela Tillman emphasizes that safety comes first in these situations.  Fjellgruppa members are not required to be proficient in avalanche safety – mostly due to the flat nature of most of the tours, as well as the fact that many students interested in joining might not be able to complete an avalanche course just to participate for a weekend or two.  However, Tillman and some other board members are proficient in avalanche safety and always make decisions based on the best interests of the group.

“Last year we canceled a trip through a narrow valley… although there isn’t much danger of our members getting caught in avalanches because mostly we are on pretty flat ground, there is no reason to take risks,” says Tillman.  She expresses her sadness regarding last month’s tragedy on Kvaløya in which two outdoorsmen lost their lives in an avalanche.

However, Fjellgruppa leaders also feel that for some members who are more experienced in the mountains, longer and more challenging tours are important to offer.  Hike leaders rotate, giving group members the opportunity to experience new terrain and places.  Fjellgruppa’s website, http://www.fjellgruppa.no describes each weekend trip in both Norwegian and English, so that interested members will know if the trip matches their ability levels and interest – the group tries to organize at least one weekend trip per month.

One of Tillman’s goals is to begin arranging short afternoon and one-day weekend trips.  This will provide opportunities for some students who may not be able to join the group for an entire weekend.  Tillman encourages any members intrigued by this type of trip to use the facebook page to communicate their interest or propose tours.  While there, be sure to click through some of the awesome pictures from previous Fjellgruppa trips – you’ll be immediately inspired to strap your skis on and get outside.