Zigzagging along the eastern ridge of Store Kvittind in Norway’s Lofoten Islands, rock-hard granite and the Atlantic Ocean meet in abrupt beauty. It’s otherworldly and spectacular, cloaked in a vast white canvas. At the very least, the eye candy is enough to offset our leg-burning ascent. 

After a long, cold winter, springtime arrived overnight in the Arctic. A few days ago, now in May, it was still frigid in this far-reaching archipelago, with powder skiing down to the ocean. Now it’s 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and we’ve gone from checking avalanche beacons and testing for windslabs to looking out for wet slides and the leg-chattering melt-freeze effect. 

Chad Sayers leads our pack upward as David Kantermo, Anna Segal and filmer Elias Lundh follow close behind. It’s my third ski trip to Lofoten, but the first one that is fully human-powered. I was here with the Norwegian film company Field Productions many years ago, but flying up above, capturing most of the action from a helicopter.  Now I’m here in it, part of a group of friends exploring the island chain’s cinematic grandeur on foot…

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