SAMAYA x FELIX RAUPACH

 

 

Immerse yourself in the adventure of Felix Raupach and Nici Burk, two friends who spent 10 days in total autonomy in Norway's most remote and wildest mountains. For Samaya, they recount their epic journey through skiing, mountaineering, paragliding and bivouac.

 

Felix: We started scouting out places where we could set up our base camp, on flat terrain and away from potential avalanches, yet close to great ski faces. We discovered Jotunheimen in Norway, an isolated, wild and technical place. We found an area close to Uranostinden, in the heart of one of the most remote and wild mountain ranges Norway has to offer.

 

Nici: There wasn't much information about ski touring at this location. All our friends and locals warned us that the trip would probably fail because of the weather and the snow. Usually, these two factors make such a trip impossible so early in the spring season. However, when we left on March 2, we were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by clement weather.

 

Felix: We set off across the frozen lake, pulling our 40 kilogram pulkas without a hitch. For the first two days, we couldn't see a thing. The weather was very cloudy, and there was a sort of great whiteout that we had to cross. At the end of the first day, we quickly set up our Samaya ASSAUT2 ULTRA in which we spent a comfortable and restful first night. On the second day, things got tougher: visibility was poor and I ended up taking the pulka down a one-metre ledge. It wasn't deep or dangerous, but it did add a little spice to the adventure. Later that day, less than a kilometer from our base camp, the terrain became steeper and suddenly my pulka slipped, twisting before me at the end. I couldn't move and had to wait for Nici to help me out.

 

Nici: I joined Felix, staying calm and trying to sort out the situation, making sure that neither Felix nor the pulka started to slip. We abseiled the pulkas down to flatter ground using a snow anchor made from our skis. We finally reached our base camp, levelled the ground to set up our bivouac and after pitching the tent in stormy weather, we were happy to settle into what would be our home for the next 10 days. We made some food and soon fell asleep.

 

Felix: A few days later, we were surprised to see the perfect blue sky for the first time, when we slid our heads out of the tent one morning.

 

Nici: We found ourselves completely amazed by the environment around us, which we could truly see for the first time. It was love at first sight.

 

Felix: On this day, we headed for Uranostinden S1, the fog gradually returning as we crossed the ridge line. Then the fog cleared, leaving us to enjoy a breathtaking view of the whole massif. We couldn't believe our eyes. The landscape was so beautiful, so isolated. Everywhere we looked, there was nothing but pure, raw nature nestled in a totally wild environment. We took off our shoes and began to climb steeper sections of rock in Norway's typical frozen snow. Close to the summit, piles of snow towered over us, preventing us from climbing the last few meters. The rock beneath our feet was unstable, making it impossible to secure the more committed pitches. We turned around and enjoyed the powdery descent to the glacier on skis. We didn't want to leave it at that and reached the summit of Langeskalvtinden, culminating at 2014 meters, offering a breathtaking panoramic view. After enjoying these unique moments, we skied the face under the blazing colors of the sunset. To celebrate the day in style, we prepared a 3-course meal in the warmth of our 5-star tent.

 

Nici: Between these big outings, we took advantage of rest days, if you can call them that, as we were always on our skis and on the move. On the sixth day, after an excellent breakfast, we set off on a ski tour, with an idea that had been in the back of our minds since our arrival: to take off paragliding over these virgin peaks. When we reached the summit, the wind was blowing in the wrong direction. Optimistic and patient, we took the time to pause and observe the evolving situation. Not far from the summit, we found a good place to take off, and while we were getting ready, the wind shifted and started blowing in a perfect direction, with ideal speed.

 

Felix : I took off. In an instant, my skis no longer touched the snow; I was light, sucked into the air. The view of the surrounding mountains was indescribable. It took my breath away. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. Seeing the mountains at sunset, so far from civilization, was incredibly beautiful. The fact that it was real was, and still is, hard to believe. I landed on the frozen lake we had crossed on the first day and Nici quickly joined me. We packed up our paragliders in the last rays of sunshine and headed back to base camp. While we were cooking, I recognized a green light on the horizon: an aurora borealis was beginning to form. They intensified into a grandiose spectacle lasting almost two hours. The aurora borealis surrounded Uranostinden, to which the clear night sky and Milky Way were added, making the experience even more spectacular.

 

Nici: After this superb and soothing night, we tried to find a way to reach the summit of Falketind, one of the most remarkable mountains in the whole region. A little further south, there was a steep rock and snow face where we devised a route. We'd have to use ice axes and some passages would be drytooling.

 

Felix: Orientation was tricky on this huge face. The snow was quite crumbly and made our progress difficult. We progressed slowly but surely until we were blocked by a huge boulder. I tried to get around it, but the ice was barely frozen on the rock and broke every time I tried to place my ice axes on it. We found no opportunity to secure a pitch, so we took the decision to turn around and de-escalate the whole face. Once we'd reached the glacier, we were able to put on our skis and enjoy the descent with the magnificent Falketind West Face at our backs.

 

Nici: The next day, we made another attempt. We reached the summit of Stølsnostinden at 2074 metres and continued along the narrow ridge towards Falketind. Visibility quickly deteriorated and as the afternoon drew to a close, the descent was going to be difficult. We decided not to aim for the summit. We descended onto the glacier again, put on our skis and navigated through thick white fog. Glad to be out of this inhospitable terrain and back in the light, we began our return to base camp, another 2-hour walk away.

 

Felix: We took a day off, then started to run out of gas. So we made the decision to return to civilization, sad to leave behind the scenery, the experiences we'd had and the emotions we'd shared, but happy and grateful to have been so lucky with the weather, the good times we'd had together and all the lessons we'd learned.