Peru; skiing the Cordillera Blanca
In 2013 I had visited the South of Peru. The Inca trail with a beautiful finish in Machu Picchu and the city of Arequipa were the highlights during that trip. Huaraz, the More »
Bulgaria; mountains and a lot of meat
In 2017 I traveled for about 6,5 months with my skis and part of the plan was to ski in Bulgaria. I arrived in Sofia in the beginning of March of that More »
Russia; cities, trains and cold smoke
Last year I rode a chairlift in Goderdzi (Georgia) together with Jesper from Denmark and we discussed our skiing plans for the near future. We found out we were both inspired by More »
Tajikistan; traveling the Pamir highway
A Central Asian country that is still relatively under the radar, is located south of both Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, countries which are currently well-known by travelers. It is the smallest country in More »
Kyrgyzstan; a ski expedition to Ak Sai
The last weeks I have been traveling around Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have all showed me some amazing culture and landscapes. The landscapes showed me the potential for ski mountaineering. More »
Uzbekistan; the pearl of the Silk Road
When I think about the Silk Road and Central Asia, Uzbekistan is the country I associate the most with it. The history of the country reaches millennia back, culture is abundant and architecture is More »
Kazakhstan; cities and a lot of steppe
The largest country of Central Asia is Kazakhstan. Being more than 60 times as large as the Netherlands, it’s the 9th country of the world in terms of size. However, due to More »
Kyrgyzstan; exploring the vast wilderness
Somewhere in Asia is a region I wanted to visit for several years now. It is historically defined by its nomadic people, a region with an extreme continental climate and where few More »
Alaska; skiing the Chugach
For the last decade I have been skiing all over the globe and the objectives and goals within the sport of skiing are getting more and more specific. In the end, steep More »
The Balkans; skiing the unexpected
When it comes to skiing in a different culture not too far away from home, the Balkan region offers plenty of opportunities. A wealth of culture and history can be found in More »
Peru; skiing the Cordillera Blanca
In 2013 I had visited the South of Peru. The Inca trail with a beautiful finish in Machu Picchu and the city of Arequipa were the highlights during that trip. Huaraz, the base for trekking – and climbing expeditions in both the Cordillera Blanca and Huayhuash, was not yet on the radar back then. When I read about ski mountaineering adventures in that part of the world, things changed quickly. Having skied Cotopaxi in Ecuador, I figured some more high altitude skiing wouldn’t hurt…
Bulgaria; mountains and a lot of meat
In 2017 I traveled for about 6,5 months with my skis and part of the plan was to ski in Bulgaria. I arrived in Sofia in the beginning of March of that year and explored the Balkan region but, due to bad conditions, I did not ski in Bulgaria. Instead, I went ski touring in Kosovo and Greece. The mountains of Bulgaria have been in the back of my mind ever since and this year I have spent a week in the end of March for some exploration of the Rila and Pirin mountains.
Russia; cities, trains and cold smoke
Last year I rode a chairlift in Goderdzi (Georgia) together with Jesper from Denmark and we discussed our skiing plans for the near future. We found out we were both inspired by “Skiing around the world”, a fantastic book written by Jimmy Petterson, and as a result we were skiing as many different places as we possibly could. I like to say I’m seeing the world through skiing since the cultural experiences one gets by skiing in exotic locations are simply invaluable. Jesper and myself had never skied in Russia which made things pretty simple, either Kamchatka or Siberia was on the agenda for the next year!
Tajikistan; traveling the Pamir highway
A Central Asian country that is still relatively under the radar, is located south of both Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, countries which are currently well-known by travelers. It is the smallest country in the region and more than half of it is over 3.000 meters. This country is of course Tajikistan. One of the main attractions of this destination is the Pamir highway, a road that passes through an autonomous region called Gorno-Badakhshan with a population density of only 3,2 per squared kilometer!
Kyrgyzstan; a ski expedition to Ak Sai
The last weeks I have been traveling around Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have all showed me some amazing culture and landscapes. The landscapes showed me the potential for ski mountaineering. After all the sightseeing, a trip with my skis into the high mountains of Kyrgyzstan seemed like a great adventure!
Uzbekistan; the pearl of the Silk Road
When I think about the Silk Road and Central Asia, Uzbekistan is the country I associate the most with it. The history of the country reaches millennia back, culture is abundant and architecture is simply spectacular with its significant buildings made of marble, richly decorated with mosaic and completed with turquoise domes. But, at the same time bureaucracy is around every corner and the heat can be unbearable this time of year, let alone in the middle of Summer. Nevertheless, welcome to the pearl of the Silk Road!
Kazakhstan; cities and a lot of steppe
The largest country of Central Asia is Kazakhstan. Being more than 60 times as large as the Netherlands, it’s the 9th country of the world in terms of size. However, due to the fact that the vast majority of the country is empty, there is not that much to see and or do. With two potentially interesting cities and a nice train ride, I visited a country that somehow captures the imagination even though it felt more as a transit than a proper visit…
Kyrgyzstan; exploring the vast wilderness
Somewhere in Asia is a region I wanted to visit for several years now. It is historically defined by its nomadic people, a region with an extreme continental climate and where few cities have been developed. It’s also a region which has acted as a crossroad for the movement of people, goods, and ideas between Europe and Asia. In my perception it had not yet been discovered by mass tourism and in addition, some very interesting culture, architecture and scenery would tickle my senses. I’m referring here to Central Asia, or “the Stans”. Of course, I couldn’t wait any longer to go explore…
Alaska; skiing the Chugach
For the last decade I have been skiing all over the globe and the objectives and goals within the sport of skiing are getting more and more specific. In the end, steep and remote skiing is what it all comes down to for me. Only few places offer this combination and Alaska is definitely one of them. The Chugach mountain range is known for having great and stable snow conditions on a huge variety of slopes. Valdez is supposed to be one of the best places to experience the Chugach to the max. This spring I simply had to check it out!
The Balkans; skiing the unexpected
When it comes to skiing in a different culture not too far away from home, the Balkan region offers plenty of opportunities. A wealth of culture and history can be found in the many countries that form the region, making a trip to this part of the world very interesting. However, snow coverage, the weather, finding reliable ski partners, language barriers and tough logistics can make a ski mountaineering trip difficult. So, while facing many challenges, was I able to make something happen?
