Hanna Jonsson and friends head to Scandinavia to check out some of the awesome riding on offer with an all-girl crew ready to shred, check out what they got up to right here!

A Scandinavian adventure that takes four strangers from the Norwegian fjords to Sweden’s biggest bike park

“Wooooow”, the four of us exclaim simultaneously. We’re sat on the deck of a small Norwegian sailboat named “Westland” sipping our morning coffees, while some of the most stunning landscapes in the world slowly float past. The Norwegian Fjords are truly mind-blowing with its high fells shooting out of the deep, turquoise water, peaceful little fishing villages lining the shores and the raw wildness of it all.

We are currently in the Nordfjord, the first stop on our two-week bike adventure trip in Scandinavia, after which we’ll make our way up to Åre for some chilled laps in Sweden’s biggest bike park. It was set up to be a dream trip in so many ways and the stunning backdrop was setting up as one to remember already!

All-Female Media Team

Back to the boat and morning coffees. After two days of heavy rain, we’ve woken up to some glorious August sunshine and we’re all enjoying the warm rays and the insane show that nature is putting on right before our eyes. I look over to my left. Tina Gerber, the trip’s organiser and main protagonist, is stood at the front of the boat looking content. Next to her is Monet Adams, hanging over the railing worryingly close to the water surface in order to catch some “edgy” shots. And to my right is Samantha Dugon who is currently pointing her camera very close to my face in order to catch my emotions.

I laugh and awkwardly pull away. Having a camera in your face never gets any more comfortable, although I’m starting to get used to it after having spent two days with this group of women. In fact, it’s hard to believe we were all strangers before Monday. Well, at least kind of. Tina knew Sam, who knew Monet, who knew me. And now we’re here.

Doing what exactly? Well, we’re here to capture our adventures on film and photo and, as you might well have worked out by now, we’re doing it in an all-female team. It might not sound like too much of a big deal nowadays, but this is actually the first time any of us have worked in a media team with only women. Even if it shouldn’t matter that much, there is definitely a different, almost electric, vibe in the air. Giggling and weird dance moves overlap with serious subjects and work chat. We’re all really excited about this trip and the thought of working with other rad women from the mountain bike industry.

The Ultimate Fjord Trail

We boarded the boat two days ago at the very tip of the Nordfjord, in a small town called Måløy, where we did an amazing hike and some cool water activities, but after a few days away from our bikes we’re all really excited to check out our first MTB stop of the trip, Gloppen.

Mountain biking has been booming all over Scandinavia in the last few years, and the fjord area is no exception. Gloppen has a small, but driven crew, working to promote its riding and making it more accessible to tourists. Little did we know that this place also holds one of the most stunning fjord-typical trails.

Riding trails where you have a clear view of the fjord are actually quite rare, and finding one that is really freaking fun is even rarer. Yet, that is exactly what the trail “Haugsvarden” is delivering this afternoon. Located just above the main town of Sandane, the mountain rises straight out of the water, surrounded by high snowcapped mountains, giving us a view that is… how to even describe it? Ridiculous. Once we reach the top at around 850m there are literally mind-blowing views in all directions.

The top is rough and fast. The good kind, where you can just let go of your brakes and feel like a world cup downhiller for a split second. Small loose rocks fly past underneath my wheels and my bike and I are doing the dance. Monet, Tina and I ride the top section in a train of squeaks and giggles. Sam is ahead taking pictures. Monet and Sam take turns shooting pictures and film and try to work efficiently together so that we can all take turns at enjoying the ride.

The trail constantly changes. It goes from rough and rocky up top, into fast natural berms, to some north shore and eventually popping us into the woods, filled with challenging, but fun, roots. The whole way down, cameras are being swapped and sections are being re-ridden. It’s the first day riding bikes together and we’re slowly, but surely, finding our rhythm.

Eventually we pop out of the forest in a train of bikes and giggles. We’re back down at the waterfront. Exhausted but stoked we don’t know whether we need food, beer or stretches and we end up doing all three at once. Yes, we look mad, but we’re laughing so hard we’re almost crying.

17th Century Gnar

The next day we make our way to the very end of Nordfjorden, to a town called Stryn, where we swap from our water-based vehicle to a land-based one, driving about an hour inland. Folven is a small place that literally has a couple of streets, a campground and a petrol station. It’s a completely different landscape here compared to Gloppen. It’s bigger, bolder and wilder. With snowcapped mountains and rushing rivers, the views seem to be taken straight from the Lord of the Rings.

Guided by the famous free skier Fred Sylversen himself, who’s planned some proper adventure gnar for us. The trail is fittingly named the Himalaya trail. After some tricky pedalling up and down rocks, past fast-flowing rivers, we make our way to the main part of the trail. It’s a path blown out of the mountain side during the 17th century, for locals to transport cattle and as we make our way down it all I can think is that “it must have been some tough-as mountain cattle to make their way down this!” Some sections are so hard we have to stop and look at them several times before we dare try them.

It’s good to be challenged though, and even if I had my heart in my throat more times than once, it’s a stunning trail through wild landscapes. The kind that makes you feel small and vulnerable. Suddenly, Tina takes one wrong step in front of me, as we walk across one especially treacherous piece of trail, she looses her footstep and half her body disappears into the bushes to our side before she manages to grab hold of a branch to stop herself falling down the mountain side. I pull her and her bike up to safety, but it’s enough for us to look at one another with a “that was close”-kind of look. We all love the outdoors, the adventure. That is why we’re here. However, we must never forget that nature always wins. Always. We shake off the fear and keep going.

The trail eventually mellows out over some smooth rock slabs and into fast singletrack and it’s so much fun we’ve soon forgotten about Tina’s incident. Thinking things couldn’t get any better, a hand-built jump line suddenly appears out of nowhere. Sam, who’s been struggling with a heavy camera bag all day, literally screams with joy, drops her pack and rides up and down the lines more times than any of us can count. It’s so cool when you see the pure happiness that biking can bring out in people. I think that’s why we, as a group, have bonded so quickly. Being out in the wild, pushing our physical and mental limits, dealing with crashes and energy bonks as well as moments of pure joy and happiness, just instantly creates memories and brings everyone together.

Night Bussing It To Sweden

After an amazing week in Norway, it’s time to head across the boarder to Sweden and Åre. Home to Sweden’s biggest bike park, this place is a hidden gem and I couldn’t be more excited to show my newfound friends around. Scandinavians flock here each summer to sample some of the best lift-accessed trails in Northern Europe, yet many Europeans don’t seem to have discovered this little bike park paradise yet. I might be biased, being Swedish and all that, but Åre has a huge variety of trails and a chilled vibe that has me coming back year after year.

As we start the new week with a rest and work day, I drag Tina, Monet and Sam around town to sample some of our finest Swedish cuisine - from moose and lingonberry pizza, to meatballs, fish and of course, the must have “fika” breaks with coffee and cake. All my Scandi dreams come true when I realise our hotel has a Sauna Spa with several different heated saunas and an ice-cold plunge pool. After a week of wild adventures in Norway, this is actually pure paradise.

Åre Bike Park

After a day of spoiling ourselves, we head up to explore the bike park. As it’s the end of august, the off-season vibes have started and the park is strangely quiet from when I was there earlier in July. There is just enough riders to give the park a nice buzz, but without the lift lines and busy trails. We literally feel like we’ve got the trails to ourselves.

I love pedalling and big adventure rides, but after a big week in Norway it’s so nice to just sit back and enjoy the chairlifts and swooshing down the trail, after trail. Åre’s got a huge selection of natural singletrack-type trails, and while the top section is barren, rough and rocky, the lower part of the mountain is full of small white birch trees and lush greenery. The variation is stunning.

We start off with one of the flowiest trails on the mountain named Månskogen (read: Moon Forest), and with luck on our side, it’s just got some fresh love from the trail-builders. The small, fast corners are actually ridiculous and it feels like you’re riding a rollercoaster. It’s so much fun. We stop and session some parts before we head off to explore further.

The jump line Shimano is always good fun with a mix of big and small tabletops and flowing corners, and Sam who’s once again in jump heaven, has us doing it several times, over and over, before I drag them across to my personal favourite, Bräckebäcksleden. A fast, rough trail with so many roots you feel more shaken than stirred at the end of it. In a good way. As the roots are a bit wet from the occasional showers that keep falling from the sky, we’re sliding all over the place, while going at full throttle down the track. Is there anything more fun than riding on your limit?

The 6 days in Åre fly past in a blur of sick trails, good coffees and fun nightlife. Åre’s 30+ trails gives us more than enough to chew on, and we barley scratch the surface of all it has to offer. We’ve had too much fun riding our favourites, over and over again. We film, take photos, learn to shralp, and try our best at looking stylish over jumps. And most importantly, we laugh. These two weeks have been some of the most fun days on a bike. The places we’ve seen, the people we’ve met and the adventures we’ve been on reminds me that I don’t need to fly halfway across the world to have the adventure of my life. I’ve got one of the most stunning parts of the world pretty much on my doorstep.

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Just Be. A Scandinavian MTB Adventure
By Hanna Jonsson

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