Spor Guiding in the Far North

You’ll probably hear Tore before you see him!

Tore has an insatiable enthusiasm for life and a booming laugh, both of which you can’t help but enjoy. So, when at the Arctic Splitboard Festival gig night, as he was rocking out to a local metal band, he asked if we’d like to go out with him tomorrow I was in without a second thought.

Spor Guiding is a family business, based in Langfjordbotn, Finnmark, with the main guides being Tore and his son, with his wife Gro being the Managing Director and general all-round problem fixer, be it car hire, accomodation, guiding…

Tore has some dance moves, but his greatest attribute is his multi generational knowledge on the mountains of Finnmark. Tore’s family have lived in Langfjordbotn, Finnmark for generations, with a short hiatus when they moved away from Finnmark during WWII.

But once the region was liberated by a joint Norwegian and Soviet force, they soon returned to the ancestral home, a home which, when I opened the front door, greeted me with the welcoming aroma of apple cake.

But unfortunately, we had no time for cake and Tore was soon jumping into our SUV as we had a boat to catch.

After a short drive on some very snowy fjord side roads, we loaded our boards into a couple of fast little boats along with Tore and his son Vegard, who is guiding a large group of Japanese skiers, all of which are over seventy.

Before we know it we’ve crossed Jøkelfjord and the bows of our boats are gently bobbing over large time-rounded pebbles, which are covered in seaweed and really slippery. I watch in amazement as the group of Japanese almost lept from the boat onto the seaweed and quickly unloaded their skis. This was when I was informed that they’ve been ski touring together for over forty years and one of them was the first Japanese man to climb the North Face of the Eiger.

Inspired and duly impressed at their maneuverability, with my ageist preconceptions well and truly put in their place, our small group of three set off in a different direction up a secluded valley.

A few hours later, and after a long conversation on the region and Tore’s family history, we arrive at a flattish mountain top plateau , choose a rock for lunch, and let the warming sun and clearing skies wash over us. Staring at the breathtaking view we all slip into silence and simply sit with our own thoughts, most of mine being ‘How can I rearrange my life to let me spend more time in Finnmark?’.

We couldn’t just sit there all day, as much as I wished we could, as we had some riding to do, and after a nervous jump off a small cornice we were soon speeding across wonderful spring-like snow back towards the fjord.

After a little bushwhacking at the fjords edge we were back at the shore far too soon, but isn’t that always the way. The Japanese group had got there first and were all smiles, accusing us of being extreme, and when we did look back, the cornice we’d jumped off and line we’d taken it did look a lot more rad than it really was, but I’ll take any kudos I can get, even if its not truly deserved.

Touring with Tore is something that shouldn’t be missed, he not only knows the mountains like the local he is, but is great company, and there’s never any stress; you can relax into the skin track without being harried, and as there’s so much terrain to choose from there’s always a line that will put a smile on your face.