Spring is finally here, so it’s time to recap the winter season!
At the moment, there is still snow in the mountains, but the days are longer, the sun is shining and the first migratory birds have arrived. 😎
We look back at a cold but great winter. While the rest of Europe broke yet another record for being warm, this was not the case here in Norway. The coldest I had at my house was -35°, and our neighbor actually documented -40° (!). Luckily, the coldest safaris were “just” around -20°. 😉 And the guests handled it really well!
We had over 30 muskox safaris, so here are some of the highlights.
The cold is not the only challenge in the winter mountains; the wind can be really gnarly too. There was one day in March where we had 20+ m/s wind. Sometimes, with those conditions you can experience whiteout; everything is just white and it is difficult to orientate. Thankfully, this was not the case that day, but I’ll admit I was thinking of calling it quits and turning around multiple times. However, the group handled it so well, I decided to continue. Unfortunately, the muskox had moved away and we were not able to see them up close. But as some of the guests said, being out in such extreme weather conditions is an experience in itself!
Moose
And I can’t forgot the moose of course! When working office from home, I’m often lucky to see them from my living room, so the binoculars are always closeby. However, one day I didn’t even need them - there were two just 40 m from the house!
The best moose safari was without doubt on December 31. I had the pleasure of guiding the guests on muskox safari earlier that year, so it was fun seeing them again. We ended up spotting around 24 moose! (After 20 moose, you easily loose track of counting. 😉) What a way to end the year!
But my absolute highlight this winter was this gorgeous bull. I first photographed him on 28.12.23.
Then, I spotted some moose on 18.02.24, and was excited as most moose will have lost both their antlers by then. But not his one! When I got home and looked at the pictures, he looked suspiciously familiar… It was the same moose!
But it doesn’t stop there. Just two days later, my father in law found a pair of antlers. I was super excited, because often, you find them during spring, and only one… But this was a pair, and they were fresh!
And upon further inspection, it was from the same moose! 🤩🤩 For sure an absolute highlight!
Now, we area busy preparing for the summer season. And with temperatures up to 20° these days, it really starts to feel like summer. 😎
- Kim