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Tim and Penny had an amazing ski touring trip to Armenia with an English guide Jim Blyth with whom they previously skied in Arctic Norway and the Lofoten Islands. Taking in different hotels and mountain areas in Armenia, the skiing looks wonderful and the scenery quite stunning. In addition to the skiing, they took the opportunity of seeing the sights of Armenia and take in the local culture. Thanks to Tim for this article about the trip. Feel free to be envious!

Sue Fuller organised a small group for a week of cross country skiing at the Solheimstulen DNT hut on the edge of the Hardangervidda. The 'hut' was fully catered and very comfortable (and for much of the week they had it to themselves). They were led by a Norwegian guide Bjorn, who some of us have met previously at Mosstrond. Sue is keen to return in February 2027 and is hoping to be joined by more Loipers. There is lots of good skiing to be had including plenty of easier off-track day tours, harder routes up onto the plateau, and also nearby track skiing. Sue is hoping to book the 3rd week in Feb, to fit in with the Snowsport England track skiing week at Geilo the previous week. Hoping…

The Kungsladen is a classic 450km route from Abisko (near Kiruna) in the far north of Sweden to Hemavan on the Arctic Circle. Sweden's highest mountain Kebnekaise is just off the route and only a few days skiing south from Abisko. The northern section of the Kungsladen, from Abisko to Kebnekaise, is great for a week of ski touring (using lightweight Nordic skis) with overnight stops at the conveniently spaced huts operated by the Swedish Touring Federation STF. The huts are all self service but looked after by hut wardens who each volunteer their time for a week or two at a time. South of Kebnekaise the route passes through the Sarek National Park which is a wilderness area in which there are no mountain huts and no access allowable…

Tyneside Loipers is hosting the 4th and final event in the 2025 Northern Roll series. The event will be run on the 750-metre circuit at Summerhill Country Park on the outskirts of Hartlepool. Unlike the events at Preston, Leeds and Lancaster, participants this event must use classic or combi skis, using only classic technique (no skating!). In addition to the one-hour challenge with skies covering as many laps as they can within the hour, there is also the opportunity to compete in a single-lap sprint race, run in heats. There will be prizes for both races! For more information and entry details follow this link.

Tim and Penny cannot keep away from Arctic Norway! This year's trip took them on a guided trip to the Lofoten Islands and Norway's mainland coast around Narvik. Whilst we were bemoaning the shortage of snow in the Jotunheim and elsewhere, northern Norway had tons of the stuff (just in time - as you will see from Tim's article). Plenty of fresh snow but maybe not enough sunshine (you cannot have everything)! It sounds like a fun week. Read Tim's article here.

Eight hardy Loipers were in Norway in late March, all set for two weeks of high mountain touring. Neil, Jon, Keith, Ros and Alan were on Telemark skis and Peter and Alison and Paramjeet on Alpine Touring gear. It was a well planned trip. Guide books and maps were studied. We stayed for our first week in Hemsedal, picking off various summits at 1500 or so metres and then moving on to Glitterheim (in the northern Jotunheim) to tackle the nearby accessible peaks including Glittertind (Norway's 2nd highest), We hoped and expected to have lots of good skiable snow! But sadly that was not the case - this was Norway's least snowy year for at least 50 years. We picked our routes carefully and had plenty of good skiing. We…

Just back from a fantastic week in the Dolomites! Alan, Neil, Jon, Ros, and Tim and Penny (plus 'honorary Loiper' Mark) were the only telemark skiers seen all week. The snow was in perfect condition and we had great weather for 5 out of 6 days. The Dolomites scenery was stunning! There were plenty of mountain restaurants and we always had a choice of places to stop for coffee and lunch. We stayed in a nice hotel in the town of Ortisei (not far from Selva). Local skiing was accessed by fast gondolas ascending from either side of the town. In both cases, the lifts whisked us up from 1200m to over 2000m altitude, with easily a full day's skiing to be had on the upper slopes. We did 3…

Tyneside Loipers hosted another great day of roller skiing on the Summerhill Track at Hartlepool. The 3rd in this year's Northern Roll Series with the other events hosted by the Yorkshire Dales and Manchester and Lakeland Clubs. We had a good turnout with 18 competitors (including 6 of us from Loipers) with everyone enjoying the superb track which is a twisty 750 metre circuit, great for participants and spectators alike. There was some excellent racing and we had great weather. The main race was a one-hour endurance event with everyone skiing as many laps as possible within the hour, using classic technique only (double poling or diagonal stride, or double-pole kick). The overall winner, Ros Brown Grant from Manchester, got to the finish just ahead of Mike Smith of the…