Every summer in Tromsø they organise something called “Ti på Topp” – ten (times) to the top. Basically you buy an envelop which contains maps and descriptions of 10 mountains to climb. 5 are relatively easy, 5 are moderate and then there are 5 extra ones which are a bit more challenging. If you climb more than 7 between June 1 and September 30 you get a mug. Of course you don’t do it just to get that mug 😉 but it’s a great way to climb some mountains around Tromsø. There’s also a really nice photo competition that goes with it.

So this year I decided to join, even if we’re away quite a lot this summer.  The weather finally changed, it’s still cold but at least it’s sunny! Last Sunday I worked until 22:00 but the good thing about the midnight sun is that you can still go for a walk at midnight 🙂 We started with the easiest “mountain” on the list – Varden/Romssavárdu, which is the top of Tromsø island and only 159 m high. To get there, you walk over the lysløpe (ski tracks) most of the way.

Paul having a chat to a reindeer… I think this is part of a research station belonging to the university, but I’m not sure. As we had so much rain lately, part of the path was still very muddy!

A beautiful lake we found on the way. I have skied past it a couple of times, but never noticed it!

The views were nice along the way! It didn’t take very long to reach the top. On top was a strange building which looks UFO shaped from a distance. We found out that it’s a navigation facility for the airport. On the building was a letterbox with a book to write your name in. Ti på Topp has only been going for a week, but many pages were filled already! They also put a code next to the box, you need this to register the top on the website.

The views from the top were really nice! This is at about 1 in the morning… nobody else around 🙂

Finally a few panorama images I took. This one was on the way to the top. I always find it amazing how you can be in the middle of Tromsø island and find such quiet places with great views. Ok it isn’t a very big city 😉 but still!

The panorama’s below are taken from the top. The first one is a rare view where you can see the bridges on both sides of the islands! I have put extra large versions of the photos below, click to enlarge…

It was a beautiful evening! We got home at about 2 in the morning, a bit crazy, but it was nice to get away from work for a bit and get some fresh air. I’m not sure when we’ll next have time to go hiking, the thesis is eating up must of my time at the moment. Plus we’re a bit limited as well since our car is still not working properly and it might take a while before it’s fixed. We still have our bikes though 🙂