MV Dirona travel digest for Lofoten Islands, Norway 2018

Position: 66°33.97'N, 12°5.15'E

We've just crossed the Arctic Circle, the yellow line on our chart, at latitude 66°33'47.2N. We'll remain north of this point for almost two months until we return back south to Trondheim in July.

Position: 66°44.39'N, 12°3.14'E

For the first time since we've arrived in Norway we're out of cellular connectivity for more than a few minutes because we are far offshore. But away from the steep fjords with an unimpeded view to the satellites, our KVH V7hts mini-VSAT is working well.

Position: 67°10.01'N, 11°56.87'E

Also for the first time since arriving in Norway, we have no AIS targets visible. We've always seen something so far.

Position: 67°22.12'N, 11°53.82'E

The distinctive peaks of the Røst group of islands, and the lighthouse on Skomvær at left, visible in the distance.

Position: 67°24.46'N, 11°52.60'E

A temporary anchorage off Skomvær at the southern tip the Lofoten Islands, to run the tender in for lunch at the lighthouse. Even in today's relatively settled weather a substantial swell is running through the anchorage. We're glad conditions are calm enough to be able to launch the tender. We wanted to stop at the first island in the chain as we did at Berneray Island at the southern tip of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland.

Position: 67°24.58'N, 11°52.27'E

The tender moored with bow line to shore and the stern held in place with an Anchor Buddy to keep the swell from tossing it against the shore.

Position: 67°24.55'N, 11°52.34'E

Dirona at anchor off the south side of Skomvær. The anchorage is as exposed as it looks.

Position: 67°24.57'N, 11°52.43'E

The Skomvær Lighthouse was built in 1887, automated in 1978 and closed in 1988.

Position: 67°24.65'N, 11°52.50'E

Lunch at the base of Skomvær Lighthouse with a view north to the unusual peaks of the Røst islands.

Position: 67°24.77'N, 11°53.93'E

Triple-peaked Trenyken just north of Skomvær in the Røst group of islands

Position: 67°30.03'N, 12°3.49'E

Fish statue at the entrance to Røst Harbour.

Position: 67°30.31'N, 12°4.60'E

Old commercial buildings along the Røst Harbour packed with nesting Kittiwakes.

Position: 67°30.46'N, 12°4.98'E

We were impressed at the size of this cod drying rack. But it turned out to be quite small compared to others we saw later.

Position: 67°30.57'N, 12°4.98'E

Dried cod is a major export from Røst. Racks and racks are everywhere in the village and outskirts.

Position: 67°30.45'N, 12°4.88'E

The tender moored at Røst for a walk ashore.

Position: 67°30.43'N, 12°4.82'E

Several outdoor photographs were mounted on a fence at Røst, including this dramatic shot of a fish boat working in very rough conditions.

Position: 67°30.41'N, 12°4.94'E

A great-looking seabird off Røst.

Position: 67°30.46'N, 12°4.91'E

Jonh Greger AS is a third-generation family run business on Røst specializing in stockfish export. Steinar Greger and his two brothers run the business, which also includes the restaurant and bar Skomværkroa. We stopped in for a beer and had a great time with Steinar and one of his brothers learning about the history of Røst and its stockfish.

Position: 67°30.46'N, 12°4.91'E

At Skomværkroa we sampled some Skrie Crisp, fish skins fried in olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. They were delicious and we bought two packages to bring back to the boat.

Position: 67°30.46'N, 12°4.93'E

Nesting Kittiwakes in the wall behind Skomværkroa.

Position: 67°30.44'N, 12°5.00'E

Someone mentioned the whaler moored along the wall and we both assumed they were referring to the Boston Whaler brand of boats. Nope—that's a harpoon on the bow.

Position: 67°30.38'N, 12°4.93'E

Dirona anchored at Røst with the 560-ft (140m) peak of Stavøya in the background.

Position: 67°30.40'N, 12°5.30'E

Final view to Røst as we depart on a calm morning.

Position: 67°36.98'N, 12°34.29'E

A first view to the soaring cliffs along the south end of the island of Værøy.

Position: 67°38.61'N, 12°36.13'E

At anchor off the once-abandoned fishing village of Måstad. Several new houses have been built in the past few years, with more under construction while we visited.

Position: 67°38.56'N, 12°35.76'E

Locals have built fairly extensive landing channels along shore. With two boats already moored in this one, we opted for one a little further along the beach so as not to get in their way.

Position: 67°38.40'N, 12°35.21'E

A well-trod trail, with a marked trailhead, leads through the nature reserve Måstadfjellet and up into the cliffs above Måstad. This is the already impressive view partway up at 440ft (134m). Dirona is the farther of the two white specks in the bay.

Position: 67°38.51'N, 12°34.95'E

The village of Sørlandsvag at the southeast side of Væroy.

Position: 67°38.53'N, 12°34.95'E

The bay Måstadbukta viewed from an altitude of 1,215ft (370m).

Position: 67°38.54'N, 12°34.96'E

Looking north across the top of the Væroy to the channel Moskenstraum with the steep cliffs of the island of Moskensøy beyond. Moskenstraum is one of the strongest system of tidal eddies in the world and is the inspriation for Jules Verne's Mælstrom at the end of his book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

Position: 67°38.54'N, 12°34.96'E

Our tender moored at the entrance to one of the man-made channels at Måstad.

Position: 67°38.80'N, 12°34.61'E

View south to the Røst Archipelago.

Position: 67°38.82'N, 12°34.89'E

The fabulous view from the summit of Måstadheia at 1,480 ft (450 m) (click image to enlarge).

Position: 67°38.82'N, 12°34.88'E

A picnic lunch with a view at Måstadheia.

Position: 67°38.82'N, 12°34.88'E

A radar station, similar-looking to the one at Sanna, across the bay at Håen.

Position: 67°38.82'N, 12°34.89'E

The northern portion of the village of Sørlandsvag viewed from Måstadheia.

Position: 67°39.62'N, 12°41.80'E

After our hike we ran the tender over to the village of Sørlandsvag. The harbour there is quite large, with plenty of swing room to anchor inside. This is looking back south from the head.

Position: 67°50.09'N, 12°59.93'E

An example of why it's hard to predict the course of a fishing vessel. We'd passed closely by Jens Eilert, sometimes the CPA (closest point of approach) was well over a half-mile and sometimes as low as 200 yards.

Position: 67°50.31'N, 13°0.21'E

Calm conditions and great mountain views as we cruise north up the east coast of Moskensøy. We were considering stopping for the night along the southern tip, but the winds will be picking up from the southwest tonight and the anchorages there are fairly exposed.

Position: 67°54.54'N, 13°5.16'E

Dramatic mountain scenery looking into Djupfjorden. The camper parked at the bottom left has a great spot—Norway looks ideal for travelling that way.

Position: 67°56.22'N, 13°4.91'E

At Skomværkroa in Røst, Steinar Greger mentioned he had a group coming up from Trondheim today in 50-knot high-speed RIBS. This is one of three boats in that group. They stopped by to say hello as they passed through Reine en route to Røst for the night.

Position: 67°56.22'N, 13°4.93'E

Our davit has had a slow leak that worsened in the past few days, so we investigated today. The O-rings where the hoses connect to the ram were hard, so we replaced them. In order to access the hoses, we needed to take load off the davit, so we've got the boom resting against one of the stack winglets. We didn't have sufficient clearance to remove the 90-degree fittings on the ram, so we had to remove the ram as well to change the O-ring.

Position: 67°56.22'N, 13°4.91'E

After replacing the O-rings, the crane still was leaking hydraulic oil. The crimp-fit hose connector on the end was showing signs of crevice corrosion. James broke it away with force and it's rusted right through in places. It's suprising it wasn't leaking worse.

Way back in 2013, while in the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, we'd replaced the davit hoses with spares when they leaked due to cracks in the connector crimp fitting. After that we bought bulk hose and field-installable fittings instead of buying spares for each length hose used in the crane. Unfortunately, through a specification error on our behalf or a fullfillment error in the supplier's behalf, we have fittings and hose that are incompatible. This puts us in a tough spot where we don't have an immediate way to get the crane operational. We're not sure why, but we kept the old hose with the broken crimp fittings that was replaced in 2013. It leaks, but is still servicable. James used two hose clamps to close the cracked crimp fitting and amazingly it stopped leaking entirely. So we have a solution that will last until we can get the proper parts made.

This is an example of why its worth having spares on the boat. Not having use of the crane and not being able to lift the tender back up would be tough to live with. Having spares on board for everything is not possible and certainly there is a cost in space and the parts themselves in having spares. But in this case, because we didn't have a spare, it cost us an afternoon to get it back operational. It's working fine, but when we do get the right parts we're going to have to change them. There is overhead to not having the right parts in time spent jury-rigging or attempting to find a solution locally. There's lots of hydrualic cranes here, and the fish boats are full of hydraulics, but there are absolutely no JIC-3 tiny steel-braided hoses in use anywhere near hear.

Position: 67°56.22'N, 13°4.90'E

We found another spare Spitfire under the guest stateroom floor when digging out the davit parts.

Position: 67°56.26'N, 13°5.06'E

Reine was recently voted as the most scenic village in Norway and it is clear why. The mountain scenery is spectacular. This is looking north across the anchorage.

Position: 67°56.12'N, 13°5.30'E

We had an excellent meal at the Gammelbua Restaurant with a view to the mountains of Reine.

Position: 67°56.11'N, 13°5.10'E

The view northeast of the anchorage to the mountains around Kirkefjord. We're just loving it here.

Position: 67°56.21'N, 13°4.90'E

The evening was warm enough with the patio heater that we had an evening drink outside with a view to that fabulous mountain scenery.

Position: 67°56.10'N, 13°5.16'E

The tender tied off at the guest dock in Reine for a six-mile bike ride to the village of Å.

Position: 67°55.72'N, 13°5.24'E

View across the harbor at Reine. Dirona is a small white speck at the far end of the harbor.

Position: 67°55.48'N, 13°4.93'E

Where newer tunnels have been built, the old road has generally been kept in place, providing a safer place for cyclists and pedestrians to pass.

Position: 67°54.63'N, 13°4.03'E

We decided to take one of the tunnels. It was well-lit, wide and felt safe to cycle through.

Position: 67°54.13'N, 13°2.53'E

The ferry dock just north of the village of Sørvågen.

Position: 67°53.31'N, 13°0.15'E

A river gushing through a culvert that passes under the road near Sørvågen.

Position: 67°53.02'N, 12°59.59'E

Looking across the bay to our desination, the village of Å.

Position: 67°52.81'N, 12°59.13'E

We had a great lunch overlooking the water at Brygga Restaurant in Å.

Position: 67°52.85'N, 12°58.93'E

We'd come to Å to visit the Fishing Village Museum, a restored fishing village looking much as it did in the 19th century. This weighted door-closer at the bakery caught our attention.

Position: 67°52.88'N, 12°58.89'E

Shoe-making machine in one of the houses in the Fishing Village Museum.

Position: 67°52.87'N, 12°58.93'E

Boat shed with Lofoten fishboats.

Position: 67°52.81'N, 12°59.05'E

A real highlight of our visit was a tour of one of the fisherman's cabins with a local historian. She did a great job of bringing history to life.

Position: 67°52.87'N, 12°58.95'E

Net shed full of nets and floats.

Position: 67°52.86'N, 12°58.94'E

This picture shows how packed the local waters can be during the height of the cod fishing season. It's a winter fishery, so most of the fishing is done in the dark and the cold.

Position: 67°56.10'N, 13°5.28'E

Rain poured on our way back and even with rain gear we arrived at Reine damp and cold. We warmed up with a pint at the local pub, Vertshuset Lanternen. And we got a delicious take-home pizza for dinner.

Position: 67°56.17'N, 13°5.03'E

We're expecting high winds for the next couple of days and today have seen gusts to 44 kts.

Position: 67°56.17'N, 13°5.01'E

The red line shows Dirona's movement at anchor as the winds have come up from the northwest and the south. The two longer dashed black divider lines are us just checking clearance when choosing the anchorage. The two shorter divider lines mark the extent of our possible swing radius so we can quickly see any problems with anchor dragging. The Rocna anchor is almost always rock-steady, even with changing winds and current.

Position: 67°56.18'N, 13°5.02'E

Lifting the bikes up to the boat deck to return them to their storage place on the flybridge after yesterday's bike trip. The winds were gusting so much yesterday when we returned to the boat that we just kept them in the cockpit overnight and waited for calmer conditions to lift them up.

Position: 67°56.18'N, 13°5.01'E

We took this picture at midnight. Other than a few lights twinkling along the road, you can't really tell the difference in light between this and noon.

Position: 67°56.18'N, 13°4.96'E

The village of Reine lit up in the morning sun.

Position: 67°56.21'N, 13°5.16'E

Our dramatic anchorage at Reine on a clear sunny morning as we head off for a tender tour of the area.

Position: 67°57.87'N, 13°6.35'E

Reflections at the head of Vorfjorden, one of three mini-fjords that branch off north of Reine.

Position: 67°57.07'N, 13°0.76'E

Beautiful waterfall at the head of Forsfjorden.

Position: 67°57.34'N, 13°1.39'E

We're all bundled up for the tender run in our flotation suits, among our favourite cold-weather boating gear. The suits are similar to ski jumpsuits, but with built-in flotation and extra insulation. We use Mustang 2175s, which are standard issue with the Coast Guard on both sides of the Canada-US border. We can toss these on over light clothing, add a pair of gloves and perhaps some ear warmers and be instantly warm in the coldest weather.

Position: 67°59.49'N, 13°0.92'E

Tranquil scene at the head of Kjerkfjorden.

Position: 67°56.16'N, 13°7.06'E

A last view to Reine as we depart for Svolvær.

Position: 67°59.12'N, 13°23.17'E

Snow-capped mountains on the island of Flakstadøya.

Position: 68°0.75'N, 13°32.06'E

Calm seas and blue skies as we cruise along the island Vestvågøya.

Position: 68°4.52'N, 13°52.65'E

Fish boat departing Svolvær as we approach.

Position: 68°13.43'N, 14°33.64'E

Svolvær, the main center of the Lofoten Islands, has a dramatic entrance from sea with the statue of a fisher woman on the approach and steep mountains visible beyond. The statue, Fiskerkona, depicts a fisher woman waiting for her husband's safe return.

Position: 68°13.96'N, 14°34.03'E

Moored at the pier in Svolvær. The city does have floating docks, but the depths there are 2m or less and we draw 2.1m. Tying to a fixed pier is a little more challenging in that we need to allow the boat to rise and fall with the eight-foot tidal range. Long lines run criss-crossed, from the stern forward to shore and from the bow aft to shore, are the best way to ensure the lines are long enough for low tide, but not so long at high tide that we drift excessively off the dock.

Position: 68°13.96'N, 14°34.03'E

Our boat has a 90-ft 50-amp cable which is more than enough for the vast majority of marinas. But we have encountered situations where the closest pedestals nearest the boat aren't working or its an unusually long distance to reach a pedestal, so we have four extensions. The first is a heavy 50ft extension that will carry 32 amps with minimal voltage loss, and the other three are 16-amp cables of 75ft each.

The only power sources near us at Svolvær are three-phase, but Dirona is a single-phase boat. We have in the past connected Dirona up to a single phase or a large 100-amp 3-phase connection, but its more work to go that route and you have to carry or borrow the appropriate connector. Here we thought we'd found 16 amps by running two of our 75ft lines to the top of the fixed dock, across to the other side, down the ramp heading into the floating pontoons, and then halfway down to the end of the pier. We were pretty proud of ourselves for being able to get 16-amp power over such a large distance, but it turned out the 16-amp receptacle was actually a 10-amp service. We added yet another 75-ft cable and went all the way to the far end of the pier where there was a 16-amp service available at the blue pedestal near the blue-roofed boat. In this case, we're reaching out about 180 ft with still acceptable voltage loss. Using all the cables we have, we can actually move 16 amps 365 feet, or the length of a mid-sized ferry.

Dirona can't run efficiently on much less than a 16-amp shore power service. However, we have a solution for locations with less than 16-amp service. We're adding a second shore power connection to supply each of our two charges independently. The shorepower connections will not be interconnected (isn't safe and most jurisdictions don't allow it) and we can adjust the draw on each to stay within the service capacity limits. With this design we'll be able to run on 2 connections of 8-16 amps.

Position: 68°13.93'N, 14°33.89'E

We watched this crane easily pick up a small building and deposit it on the dock. The crane can lift more than 1,000kg and reach more than 30ft. We'd love a crane like that one.

Position: 68°13.86'N, 14°33.89'E

Mine outside the Lofoten War Memorial Museum. The museum is only open from 6:30pm to 10:30pm in the off season.

Position: 68°13.88'N, 14°34.01'E

View to Svolværgeita ("The Goat") a twin pinnacled formation supposedly resembling a goat's head. A popular activity for climbers is to scale one horn and leap to the other.

Position: 68°13.90'N, 14°33.96'E

Looking northeast across Svolvær harbour. Svolværgeita is roughly in the center of the mountains in the distance.

Position: 68°13.86'N, 14°33.88'E

Mural on the side of a building showing Svolvær major lighthouses in the vicinity.

Position: 68°13.79'N, 14°33.94'E

This boat had suffered an interior boat fire where the heat was so extreme that in some places the aluminum melted away and in other places it had crystalized and became brittle and was easy to crack away. Boat fires are scary.

Position: 68°14.01'N, 14°33.60'E

Svolvær has a fair-sized mall with an unusually large proportion of outdoor gear and clothing stores.

Position: 68°14.04'N, 14°34.14'E

Norwegian SAR vessel Sundt Flyer at Svolvær.

Position: 68°13.93'N, 14°34.05'E

Kystvakt is Norwegian for Coast Guard.

Position: 68°13.93'N, 14°34.05'E

Dirona is sitting much lower in the water now. Through much of the tide we can step across directly onto the boat deck, but at extreme low tide we climb down a ladder on the pier and get on into the cockpit.

Position: 68°13.94'N, 14°33.95'E

We had a great dinner at Du Verden restaurant with a view to the Hurtigruten pier and Dirona. In the background is the Hurtigruten Polarsys that arrived about a half-hour earlier. Dirona is moored, but not visible, down the pier off the left side of the picture.

Position: 68°13.86'N, 14°33.97'E

The Hurtigruten boats only stay on port for about 90 minutes. The Polarsys was leaving as we walked past after dinner, with it's two folding ramps already partially tucked away.

Position: 68°13.77'N, 14°34.02'E

Evening view across Svolvær harbour from the Hurtigruten pier.

Position: 68°13.77'N, 14°34.00'E

The bar at Magic Ice, a gallery housed in an old fish-freezing plant featuring ice sculptures and frozen furniture.

Position: 68°13.77'N, 14°33.99'E

James with a drink in an ice glass seated on an ice bench in front of an ice table. Because the temperature is about 21°F (-6°C) Magic Ice supplies capes and gloves for warmth. It was a little touristy, but we had fun and are glad we went.

Position: 68°13.82'N, 14°33.98'E

The Hurtigruten Kong Harald was arriving as we exited Magic Ice. We had seen that ship heading south near Trondheim about two weeks ago.

Position: 68°13.83'N, 14°34.00'E

The Kong Harald car ramp rested several feet below the car. They use an elevator to lift cars up to pier level.

Position: 68°13.84'N, 14°33.97'E

Crowds disembarking from the Hurtigruten Kong Harald at Svolvær. Some will stay in town, but many are just getting off for a brief walk around town and will continue on with the ship.

Position: 68°13.90'N, 14°33.96'E

The fast catamaran Salten also had arrived int Svolvær while we were in Magic Ice.

Position: 68°13.85'N, 14°33.91'E

We were the first on the bus at the first stop for a one-hour ride to the Viking Museum in Borg.

Position: 68°12.89'N, 14°25.89'E

Despite the overcast day, the scenery along the way was impressive.

Position: 68°14.64'N, 13°45.42'E

The remains of an 1000-year-old, 86-meter Viking chieftain's house, the largest known in the world, were discovered at Borg in 1985. The chieftain's house has been reconstructed near the excavation site, along with a museum displaying discovered artifacts and detailing the Viking history of the area.

Position: 68°14.64'N, 13°45.51'E

A wild boar is part of the display depicting Viking-era livestock.

Position: 68°14.64'N, 13°45.51'E

Some very cute piglets.

Position: 68°14.66'N, 13°45.48'E

We got a kick out of this emergency exit sign.

Position: 68°14.67'N, 13°45.50'E

The feast area is one of several large rooms in the 86-meter chieftain's house. The fire threw a fair bit of heat on this blustery day, but if visitors look carefully they can see central forced-air heat, a popular option with modern Vikings. :)

Position: 68°14.68'N, 13°45.53'E

One section of the chieftain's house was dedicated to crafts such as shoe-making. Here two cobblers are making shoes while playing a board game.

Position: 68°14.65'N, 13°47.13'E

Replica Viking ships at the Viking Museum in Borg. In the summer, visitors can take a ride in them.

Position: 68°14.63'N, 13°46.76'E

A reconstructed iron-age forge.

Position: 68°13.93'N, 14°34.05'E

We are in the process of installing a NMEA2000 system in the new tender and it's coming along very well. We'll blog the system once we have had more experience with it.

The above map is from this morning's tender run from Reine up to the end of Kjerkfjorden. The tender GPS system (Maretron GPS200) produces speed and location data multiple times per second. 100% of the data on the NMEA2000 network is stored by the Vessel Data Recorder (Maretron VDR100). Using N2KExtractor, this data can be inspected, exported, viewed through Excel or directly plotted using Google Maps to show the tender track (pictured). I'm finding the Maretron VDR100 a pretty interesting addition to a NMEA2000 installation.

Position: 68°13.92'N, 14°34.04'E

The Hurtigruten Vesterålen departing Svolvær.

Position: 68°13.93'N, 14°34.04'E

The Lofoten was the second Hurtigruten of the evening at Svolvær. Commissioned in 1964, the Lofoten is the oldest vessel in the Hurtigruten fleet.

Position: 68°13.93'N, 14°34.04'E

Jennifer unpacking our folding cart to go grocery shopping.

Position: 68°13.93'N, 14°34.04'E

A load of groceries, mostly fresh produce, from the nearby grocery store in Svolvær. We haven't done any serious shopping since London and only picked up a few items as we left Harlingen.

Position: 68°13.92'N, 14°34.04'E

The NMEA2000 power on the new tender is switched using one of the standard AB-provided dash-mounted switches. This works fine, but it's easy to forget to turn on the NMEA2000 system on, more likely, fail to turn it off. Here James is installing a relay driven by the engine ignition switch to power the NMEA2000 system on engine start and to depower it on engine shut down. We could have powered the system directly from the ignition power source, but overloading engine ignition systems is a frequent cause of low voltage at the engine ECU and and other hard-to-trace engine faults. Better to just drive a relay and put the non-engine loads on a different circuit.

The other issue being corrected here is the engine was previously wired directly to the battery rather than through the battery switch. This means that shutting off the battery switch will do just about nothing since the engine is by far the biggest load and definitely the biggest electrical fire risk.

Position: 68°14.02'N, 14°34.09'E

A beautiful calm afternoon looking west across Svolvær Harbour from just north of our berth.

Position: 68°14.53'N, 14°34.45'E

We're going to hike to the top of Fløya this afternoon. Svolværgeita ("The Goat") is on the left and the 1935ft (590m) summit of Fløya is on the right. If you look closely, you can see the two horns of "The Goat" It's hard to believe people jump between them.

Position: 68°14.71'N, 14°34.78'E

The 1.2-mile (2km) track to the summit of Fløya is steep, with an average grade of about 30%. Climbing chains at only 200ft (60m) gave us a taste of what we were in for.

Position: 68°14.74'N, 14°34.90'E

At 400ft (121m) up, the view back to Svolvær already is pretty impressive.

Position: 68°14.82'N, 14°34.94'E

Another great view to Svolvær at 787ft (240m) up.

Position: 68°14.89'N, 14°34.98'E

At 900ft (275m) up, we could see climbers scaling Svolværgeita (circled in red at bottom right—click image for larger view).

Position: 68°14.96'N, 14°35.81'E

One hour in, at 1535ft (467m), we took a break with this fabulous view south.

Update 06/05/2018: Improved photo editing by Edwin Hardesty

Position: 68°14.84'N, 14°35.81'E

The incredible view northeast across Høya was the reward for 1.5 hours of pretty strenuous going.

Position: 68°14.83'N, 14°35.73'E

Looking down onto Svolvær from 1912ft (582m) at the summit of Fløya.

Position: 68°14.83'N, 14°35.75'E

The Royal Norwegian Navy has six 193ft (59m) diesel-powered Ula-class submarines. One was running north through Høya while we were atop Fløya.

Position: 68°14.83'N, 14°35.66'E

Our topographic maps showed a trail leading south from the summit of Fløya that ran near Svolværgeita and eventually joined our original trail. We found a well-trod path following that route, so we decided to give it a try for the descent.

Position: 68°14.83'N, 14°35.52'E

The first portion of the the track down was steep, but manageable. Here Jennifer is making her way down a near-vertical ridge.

Position: 68°14.82'N, 14°35.49'E

As we descended through a narrow gully, we got an excellent view to climbers on Svolværgeita. A little beyond, at 1480ft (450m), the track came to a steep slope that we didn't feel was safe for us to traverse. We tried to find another route, but eventually gave up, climbed back up the gully and found an easier way down farther north that brought us to our original trail.

Position: 68°13.91'N, 14°33.94'E

We arrived back at the boat exhausted and sweaty, but very happy we made the hike. After hot showers, we had a beautifully-presented and delicious meal at Paleo Arctic with a view to Dirona (out of picture to the left.)