We think of Roy as our own mountain goat as he’s never happier than when scaling mountains, albeit with his eyes on the prize of the ski back down. Here is a taster of his last Norway trip and if this whets your appetite for adventure, check out BASS + Adventures to find out where he’s going in 2025.

For many of my colleagues and most of our clients, Easter sees the end of the season. Boots are put away, skis are waxed (oh really?) and it’s shorts and flip flops for the next few months.

However, I head to Arctic Norway for some ski touring in the midnight sun. April saw me guiding BASS clients in the mountains of the Arctic, based out of the city of Tromso.

It is a truly amazing feeling standing on the top of a mountain gazing out into the Barents Sea. The uphill slog is behind you all that remains is to engage Boots, Bindings, and Brain and commit to sweeping turns down to that sea. Now you can’t do that in the Alps!

There is of course the small matter of the uphill and I didn’t use the term ‘slog’ lightly in the last paragraph. There are no ski lifts, and every mountain is accessible by touring on skis. Mountains in this part of the world are relatively small, rising to around 1,400 meters but with ascents from sea level, it can lead to quite big, yet rewarding days. One such day was the ascent of Ullstinden….

We left the comfort of our hotel after indulging in the sumptuous breakfast. Safe in the knowledge that that feast would sustain us for the day. Our destination was the mountain of Ullstinden (wool peak) about 45mins drive North of the city.

The drive was not merely a way to get to our destination but an integral part of the journey. There was a chance to see otters and eagles perhaps a passing whale (yes, it is possible) as we worked our way up the coast. Alas, we did not see any of these on this particular day but were confronted with a herd of reindeer who passed calmly on the road.

The ascent starts gently through birch forest and with skins on our skis and the sun already high in the sky we set off trying to memorise the best descent route through the trees for our return ski.

Once out of the trees it really feels like you are on a mountain in the Arctic. A hare shot off at lightning speed and the ‘croak’ of distant Ptarmigan filled the air. Apart from that the sound of our skins brushing across the snow and the odd puff and pant kept us company during the ascent.

As the steepness eased, we spaced out to avoid all being exposed at once to a potential avalanche-prone slope above. Successfully navigated, we headed for the ridge to the East of the summit and began the final ascent.

The views were breathtaking, we could see out towards the Lyngen Peninsular with its glaciated spiky mountains. The other way allowed our eyes to focus on Tromso where we had breakfasted. Before the eyes settled on Tromso they had to pass over mountain upon mountain, covered in a layer of sparkling snow. This snow was going to make us look like heroes on the descent, or so we hoped 😉

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