New web site

I have my new website up and going. I hope to post news there on a regular besis from now on. Take a look at www.oppnord.no

Happy Cristmas

Snow is falling and trailconditiones are good. We can now run on the river and that makes for easy training and no need to use the car when we go for the longer runs. but for now it is relaxing days and short runs before the next work out over the holly days.

Breaking News

Well, what is the news? Its that I am once again updating my blog, and hopefully I do so more frequently than in the last year. But mayby I get my new website up and going, and then I will move all the blogging over to that site. But whit my progression I think this is were the news will come.
So what is happening? We actually have winter. If it continues like this it will be the best November ever. Last year was really shitty as you can read below. So far this year its great. We have been on the sled for more that two weeks all readdy. This week end I had three days of sleding in the mountains and to day I was back up again for a 50 kilometer run. The next days we are going to open the trail system back home, hopefully get som 30-40 kilometers of trail groomed, whit dogteam.
The training is going as planed and we are getting all the miles we have planed for so far.
This year is also a puppy year. we had 10 alltogether, but 3 of them is sold. The rest are going to stay. They have grown a bit since the pctures is taken, but are still cute.
Hopefully I will write some more later.

SNOW

The dark time has come to an end. Yesterday we got snow. Not Much, but it is white outside and I am going to the mountains to morrow to try sledding whit the dogs. Hopefully it is enough snow there.

Black days

The worst November in history is soon comming to an end. Outside there is nothing but missery. If you try to sneak out the door you are most likely to end up in hospital, either whit a broken leg or at mental hospital whit severe depression. There is nothing that is fun. Even the birds have stoped to sing.
But there is hope. Someday the snow must come. As it does every year. It is just a question of when. Someday the ice that cover the ground must be gone. Someday there must be posible to train the dogs whitout driving hundred of kilometers to find snow. We cant even train on bare ground back home, because there is no bare ground It is just ice.
There is no pictures this time. I dont want any memories from this November. That will send me into depression if I ever get to see it.

Doggydog dog

Its winter, and its dog season up north. The last weeks have seen some more long training runs for the dogs as well as one race, Tromsquest. Tromsquest is a 170km long race in our backyard, Rostadalen and the mountain around Devvdes. Here we ran a 85km trail twice, whit a 4 hour mandatory rest between each lap. 15 teams compeeted in the 8 dog class and 17 in the 12 dog class. Much more than we had hoped for.
I ended up as number 6 in the 8 dog class. which I am satisfied whit. The dogs did OK, and we ran both laps at the same time. That tells me that the doggys are in good shape and able to keep a steady pace for a long time.
This weekend me and Lotta was back in the mountains. We did some good runs in the mountains of Dividalen and Rostadalen. Some of it was trail breaking and some on good trails. After the weekend we could log another 160km for the dogs. In five weeks it is Finnmarksløpet, and Lotta is more or less ready for the 500km in the back country of Finnmark. Lotta in Dærtavagge

Wilma resting inside.
Store Rostadvatn

Time for update

Into the arctic mountains.

Its dog-season again. It has actually been that since August. So I think it might be time for some updates from the deep forest. This year WE HAVE WINTER!!!!!!!!!!! We have been on snow since early November and it has been below zero since the snow came. We have about 50km of trail out of the dog yard, and can go everywhere in the mountains. What a difference since last years F.... up winter
Life is going well, we are well installed in our new house and the training of the dogs is taking a lot of time. And this is the reason for the missing updates. There is a lot to do whit the house, and that takes quite a bit of my spare time. There is a bathroom to be made, a kitchen to readjust, insulating the roof and so on. And its the dogs of course. This year we are not training as much as earlier, and we are 3 persons to do the training, so at least I have some time for working on the house The reason that we are not training as much as the last years is that 7 of 16 dogs are yearlings, and we do not want to train the young ones to hard. They are not going to race this year, so the training we do this winter is more a preparation for next year (dog mushing is always next years sport). But the adults are going to do some racing. Lotta is going for Finnmark 500k (http://finnmarkslopet.no/race/musher.jsp?year=2009&entr.id=1219). And I will run Troms Quest, a new early season race we are having here in Troms.
To day I have been in to Dærtahytta for the first time this winter (we have been part of the way some times all ready). I took 15 of the 16 dogs whit me in one team (Vosko is resting after some surgery) . That is a long team! It was OK, whit 80 kg of wood in the sled (for the cabin), I was able to control the team and get the speed down. The weather was as good as you can get it. Clear sky all around, pink, yellow, orange and blue. And on the way home an almost full moon!!! Espen is out now for a second run after 4 hours of rest for the dogs. He is running under the full moon during the arctic night. I wish it was me!
Making the TromsQuest trail.

On Sunday I was braking some new trail from Rostadalen to Devvdes. This is part of the Troms Quest trail. It was new ground for me and the dogs. The trail looks good, its just to get it well groomed for the race. At least I have started. It was heavy conditions and slow going, but good fun. That's all for now, hope to be back soon.
PS I keep on forgetting my camera, so all the pictures are taken whit my mobile phone, sorry for the bad quality.