All my life, I’ve preferred tropical destinations, ideally with a samba beat and a cold drink in my hand. The change came with snowkiting, which captivated me the first time I tried it. You can kitesurf on the water in the warmth, but the cold and snowy plains broaden your horizons and give this activity more opportunities for endless frolicking with the wind.
Norway offers great conditions for snowkiting, where I have been for the fourth time. Hardangervidda is the most popular place for snowkite. Wide snow-covered plains, hills, lakes, just a perfect playground where you can have fun regardless of the opening hours. Many Czech schools head here. KITEFORCE has prepared for its clients, besides the standard Harda, a snowkite expedition to Varangerhalvoja National Park in the very north of Norway, 300 km north of the Arctic Circle.
I didn’t have to decide for a long time, and it was clear to me that this year I will go to Harda and at the same time I will not miss the Varanger expedition. I knew that the trips in the national park would not be free, so I thought of the first stop as a preparation for the trips beyond the Arctic Circle.
Our northern expedition consisted of five members: Lafoun, Šlapák, Jirka, Míra and Marcela. Chief “Lafoun” is an eternal adventurer, a charismatic personality who can push you beyond your limits and has probably the widest experience in this sport in the Czech Republic. He surprised us all with his general outlook and took our breath away with his cooking skills. He took care of our stomachs so perfectly that we all have a few extra kilos after returning from the expedition. Jirka is a great athlete, having participated in and completed an Ironman, several marathons, and he is also an incredible jokester who makes you laugh in every situation. Míra is a former soldier who participated in several military missions (e.g. Afghanistan). His military service has trained him to be perfectly prepared. Mira’s sports gear made us all uncomfortable. Gradually, each member of our expedition took away something that was missing. And then there’s me, Marcela, an outdoor enthusiast, a ski mountaineer. A girl from the city, who rather fits into this group only by the amount of alcohol she drank. I can’t compare with the guys in kiting. The only plus points I can collect are in trying to match them and not getting shaken off after the first hill.
Based on his experience from previous expeditions, Lafoun managed to select a good team that complemented each other perfectly throughout our expedition. Jirka and Mira chose to travel by plane to Kirkenes, where we were to meet. Me, Šlápak and Lafoun took a crowded minibus from Hardy to the very north of Norway. The journey was 2000 km long, the vast forests made me fall asleep so hard that I woke up only at the destination. The flight of the remaining members of the expedition was delayed due to a storm in Tromso. Out of curiosity, we drove to the Russian border. Nowhere to be seen, everything was closed, and it was immediately clear that we should not try to cross into Russia. We had a few bovine ideas how to cross the border on our kits, but none of us wanted to risk the failure of our planned expedition because of the games at the Russian border. The time zone change was interesting, whenever you get close to the border the time changes on the smart watch. Russia by two hours, Finland by one and Norway has the same time as the Czech Republic. I was totally confused, shying away from the fact that we had to go to the airport to pick up the other members of the expedition before I realised how things were. Finally we were in place with a complete lineup. Lafoun had rented a large house on the shores of the Barents Sea in the village of Vadso. A short distance behind the house (about 250m), all we had to do was pitch our kits and Varangerhalvoy National Park was ours.
The first day was a start-up day. We drove to Varda, where the wind was the best for that day. Just off the road we picked up our kits and rode until dark. Curious locals rode scooters around us to test our speed, they don’t see kiters here very often.
For the next three days (two nights), due to the weather forecast, Lafoun planned a crossing of Varangerhalvoja National Park. The trip had several clues and variants with the possibility of changing the route, depending on how we would “feel”. We started right behind our house and in light winds. After a while the rest of my party disappeared behind the first hill. It was pouring with the kind of heat I could wring out trying to ride in no wind. The male part of our party was really excited for the crossing and it seemed for a moment that no one wanted to wait for me. Right at the start of the ride I felt like I had no business being there and my preparation for this event just wasn’t enough. A few miles away, still in sight, the group was waiting for me. The prominent point of our crossing was the Falkefjell mountain. I climbed the hill with an “over-powered” kite and terror in my eyes. In other words, the wind was strong, the kite was big and I had a lot of work to do to hold it. At the top of the mountain, it was back and forth on the ice, and it was obvious at first glance that I was riding at my limits. In the strong winds at the top of the mountain my ski went off, I had a lot of work to do to snap it back on with the kite tied on. Falkefjell was only about halfway through the shortest possible stage for the day, and Lafoun began to urge the whole expedition forward so that we could make the first aid station before the snow storm arrived. I had a promoted line by the kit, but due to the high winds and lack of time there was no room to take the smaller kite. I was advised that the kite was still running, we didn’t have time for any more delays. The hooker was my guide so I wouldn’t wander anywhere anymore and he was watching the rest of our expedition. For the last 8 km of the route, we skirted a deep and wide valley that we didn’t want to drive through. It was clear that it would be windless inside. We took a longer route around it on the snowy peaks. While I rode light, the guys pulled sleds with food, kits, tents and all the other gear. About 5 km before the finish we went downwind again and the wind was dynamically increasing as predicted. It was snowing heavily and the wind was definitely over 10 m/s.
We’re finally at the cabin! We’ve arrived, TOP. Euphoria. Míra and Jirka closed chambers of AEROS NAVY and GIN Instinct 15qm, Šlapák GIN Spirit 12qm, Lafoun his “black mamba GIN Boom” 10qm (he didn’t ride anything else for 10 days in the north). I had 8qm GIN Marabou – hybrid singelskin. All of us were very overpowered (Note: a lot of wind, big kite). Lafoun landed Jirka first and then he caught the other participants of the expedition, nobody could land alone in the terrible wind. We had to spend the night in the tourist hut. Soon the fire was already burning in the stove, I gradually recovered, and relief was visible even on the men’s part of the expedition.
The next day we were caught in a snow storm, we didn’t get out of the cabin until late afternoon. The sun shone on the beautiful snow-covered plain and we took off with our kits in all directions and enjoyed a great ride in the heart of Varangerhalvoja NP. In the morning we got up and headed back to our base, a barracks near the town of Vadso.
After a three-day trip we were all longing for rest, except for Jirka the ironman. Meanwhile, Chief Lafoun prepared a plan for another two-day expedition trip. Now I went into it with the idea of spending the night in a tent. This time we started from Vardo. The trip was always planned to the predicted wind strength and direction. From the start I tried to pace myself with the boys, however the 20 km of riding in one direction, this time a sideways-easy climb, gave me a real hard time. The gentlemen enjoyed kiting and spent the excess energy riding the impressive canyon. Hooker decided to ride the place with the bobsleighs strapped on. He got stuck a few times and the others got a chance to explore the local plains. Another stunt went well for the chief, whose sled fell into the creek. The sled disappeared under the snow in a flash, and Lafoun was left dangling over the newly formed chasm. There were a few more similar snags along the way. At first you are glad to be able to breathe, but if you wait another hour, the ride around the area suddenly stops being fun and you get cold. However, that’s what an expedition is all about too, you don’t ride alone, you have to watch your partners, you ride in one direction, you stick together in fog or bad weather and if something happens you have to wait for the others. The weather here changes all the time. From no wind you suddenly have a snowstorm and after a while the sun can come out again. I actually spent the night in a tent at -20 °C, the quality of the equipment kept me warm, I did not miss anything. From our two day trip we skied with kites all the way back to the starting point where we had a car. After the mission was accomplished, the reward again followed, Šlapák cooked huge king crabs for dinner, which we washed down with excellent wine from Jirka. A lot of snow fell overnight, I have never seen such a beautiful and fluffy powder. The wind was blowing great and I even got used to the “overpowered” kite. We went to the “grand canyon” 10 km away, it was far from the Colorado Plateau in the USA, but the snow covered canyon looked impressive. Lafoun was balancing on its edge, Šlapák was riding in his footsteps, Jirka was tirelessly trying his high jumps and Míra and I were keeping a reasonable distance.
With each trip we covered about 70 km, the improvement of our kiting skills was evident with each ride. We were down to our last two days before departure. After a hearty breakfast, which Lafoun always prepared for us promptly at 8 o’clock, we headed out of the house and onto the kite to Jakobsleva, the wind blowing lightly to our backside. The road led between trees and cottages. You have to be careful not to get tangled up somewhere. When the wind is light you are very sure to hit a tree, when it is strong it keeps your kite in the air but it can snag on a tree. The best is a medium wind, which was the wind we had that day and we successfully zigzagged all the way to Jakobsleva where Lafoun picked us up. On the last day we went kiting only with Jirka, this time we wanted to come from Jakobslev to our house. The beginning of the trip scared me, Jirka told me that we had to climb the rock above us in our skins, backpack on our backs and skis, so that we could start our kits at a magical elevated place. I thought it was fun, but when Jirka started chasing the white rabbit to find the best route for us, I got a little choked up. I had to take my gloves off while climbing, the rock was snow covered in places and there was nothing to hold on to properly. Jirka climbed up first and lowered his trapeze down which I climbed up without belay. We patted each other on the shoulders and started the kits. On the way I got tangled in a tree twice, I was unlucky, the wind had stopped blowing. I had no choice but to pack everything up and head out on the skiffs. At the top it was blowing again, there wasn’t much wind, but at a glide pace and with a hearty looping we made it to the house.
The Varanger expedition lasted 10 days and we covered a total of 500 to 800 km. It was an incredible 10 days out of 10. It wasn’t about the kilometres we travelled, it was about the experiences that came with the journey. KITEFORCE, Lafoun took care of everything fantastic from the food, complete expedition equipment to the amount of kits prepared. Everything was prepared and he was able to handle every emergency situation so that nothing would interfere with our expedition.
Today I know from my own experience that the expedition is not for everyone, you have to count that you go in a group for several days and you can’t return alone. There is no retreat option here, unless you have just broken both legs, you just have to finish the route. The cold accompanies you all day, even if you have the best gloves, you will still have frozen fingers. You don’t dry your stuff when you sleep romantically in your tent, and the next day you’re riding in frozen shoes at the very least. Instead of a toilet, you dig a hole in the snow, if you want to wash yourself, it’s only in the snow. The whole expedition is about the discomfort you voluntarily undergo, but you are extremely happy when you reach your destination. You realise that the things that have become commonplace to you are not available on the desolate, freezing plains of northern Norway, and on your return you begin to appreciate the utterly banal. Despite all that, the days spent in the Arctic Circle were some of the best days of my life.
