Engadine Valley

What do you get out of the mountains when you're in the mountains? Questions like this pops up on trails and long given discussions will continue. What makes this a great question is that all of us have different answers. Even if I got the same question day after day the answer would probably be different. Even days when the answer is he same the journey to the answer might be different. The answers to that question depends on how you feel at that special moment and reflects about you as a person.

Finally I got the Müsli I been dreaming about, for almost a year. In Pontresina at the Steinbock Hotel. They have the best Birchermüsli in the world. If your passing through, might be worth a stop. And it was well deserved after a running and swimming challenge with my self to set a new record on the cours I have set up here. It starts in Pontresina, through a beautiful forest on a gravel walkway to a pond. This is located in between Pontresina and St:Moritz and are about 400 meter long. Than up to continuing down towards St:Moritz running, there cross the bitter cold lake (It snowed here 2 weeks ago...) of St:Moritz and than backtrack my way through the pond to Pontresina. Old record, 1,20 minutes, todays time: 1,04 minutes! Hoyaaa! =)

Tomorrow, Sils Maria!

Great Barley soup with fresh goat cheese!  

Happy Hut people!

Yes, this is how a restroom could look like on 2700 meters.

On the left side you see ST:Moritz!

Back in Engadine

As of yesterday I spent the whole day traveling, from Austria to Switzerland. Many of you who knows the area would think this don't take a day and so did I. But I was wrong, 9 hours I arrived Scuol, close to both the Italian and Austrian border but still in the Süd Tyrol. Today we hiked from Scuol to Guarda,  took us a couple of hours and when we got to our hotel I went for one hours of running!

So lot of people wonder how I stay in such good shape even when I'm of training. And it's a great question to ask. What I do is staying active through what I chose to work with. Because that's what I do, I just work with things that I can support and love doing. For exemple, in he morning today I woke up. Had a great breakfast, fantastic Müsli and some salmon. At ten a'clock we started to hike until 4 pm (16.00) for 20 km up and down in the mountains. I had one hour of rest before I went out running for 60 min, uphill intervals backtracking the trail we came in on to Guarda. Now I just push the button repet for tomorrow and it will be simular to today =) I also do push ups, core straight and lower back training everyday at lest one time a day. 

Tomorrow we're heading up valley towards my favorit part of the Engadine valley.

Me traveling w. everything I own basically, to big bags and my back pack. I had to change from train to train to bus five times before I reach my final destination, Scuol in Engadine. 

The sign told me I was on the right way! Ritzy St: Moritz! 

Great window decoration.

Hiking along beautiful and flowery hillsides!

The Shepard keeping track of all the sheep. Awesome backdrop and still plenty of sone covering the mountain after one of the best winter season this area have seen in many many years!

Day of.

A day of were about to be spent in the mountain above Cortina with a multi pitch climb on one of the towers of the famous rock lump of "Tre Cime", but plans where changed. Due to a late start we hit the road and called some friends in Pörtschach am Wörthersee. The temperatur showed 28,5 celsius and the water was not far off. We ended up wake surfing all afternoon, laughing and playing in the water. I finished our session with a "shorter" swim along the shore. Training for ÖtillÖ.

Peter eating it!

Peter and Lulu!

Captain Alina.

Superman, no... it's just Peter!

10 points for Babsi water ballet acrobatics, but weren't we supposed to stay on the board? 

Alina is dancing.

Martin, the floating artist with majestic mountains in the background. 

Lulu is the Pro.

PRO!

Lot's of pointers, do this and that, I still eat shit. But I learned one thing, if you have to pee, you have to pee, Thanks Lulu!  

Glad Midsommar!

As Swedish Midsummer as it can be in the Italien Alps, Dolomites. We're staying in a 4 star hotel in the little town of Corvara, in the center of Dolomite Superskis. But we are not skiing this time, we're here to hike from west to est in the Dolomites with people coming from all over the world. La Perla is the hotel we been in last two days, the best hotel I have ever stayed in. Everything is so well set up and I can't enough tell you how great it is if you haven't been here you're self. As of today we spent 5-6 hours hiking, 2,5 hours on the climbing wall training fall technic and finally finished of the day with a One Star Michelin Restaurant 5 course dinner, Cheers!

 

Lunch pic nick on the high alpine alm. 

There are several dinning room and each of them have their own theme.

Dinner was amazing, Sallad buffe followed by Smoked Salmon and Trout, Gnocchi and Kantarells, Fish and chip Italien way. Finally some Italien vanilla Gelato with Strawberries. Pretty Swedish after all. 

The meny! 

Sella Gruppo! 

Anniversary

Welcome to join me on this One Year Anniversary of my blog! I'm back in Corvara guiding where it all started one year ago. First I like to apologize for weeks without updates, not even a singel note. So to make it up I picked out a numbers of photos from last 6 weeks. Because you might have actually thought that "The Never Ending Tour" ended, but it didn't. It's been as active as usual and lost have things have happend. The pictures will tell the story.   

Changing tiers on the car on our way to Tunaberg and our climbing course.  

Golden sunset from Grönskärs light house.

Nice austrian pasture. 

Meditative and very relaxing!

I love swimming and when you take a breath you just see mountains surrounding you. 

After a swim...

Beautiful evening light on the church.

Why can just Italien people do proper Panini and Ice cream?

Electric boat motors, when will they do this w. 300 horse powers.

Wood carving above the beautiful town of Völs.

Climbing course with Jesper (to the left) and Stefan (to the right).

Weeeee goats, eating green gras on the alp meadows. Getting ready to produce amazing goat cheese!   

Seiser Alm

Daniel showing how much longer it is to next Italian coffe!

Midsommar blommor! 

Dolomites, Plattkoffel and Longkoffel in the far distance!

In between Plattkoffel and Longkoffel!

Flatt tier on our way to Tunaberg and climbing course.

Need a big camp fire at night, that calms you down!

Linus in a magic sunset out somewhere in the Stockholm Archipelago.

Playground for our climbing course.

Peder coming through a tight passage happier than ever!

Magic!

Inside the old but SUPER COZY fisherman shed.

Linus enjoying every second!

More sunset on Sandhamn!

Cerrybloms!

Stockholm Archipelago!

More glowing houses!

Summer is finally reaching out into the Sthlm Archipelago.

Campsite Tunaberg!

LOFOTEN!

Lofoten!

Lofoten!

Lofoten and torrfisk!

Reine on the souther island of Lofoten!

Some activities you can do here! 

Midnight sun, 02.45 in the morning!

Nusfjord, Lofoten!

Just amazing!

There wasa pier here...

Look at the mountains the shoots up 1000 meters from sea level!

Henningsvaer.

Henningsvaer, lot's of climbing.

Henningsvaer, Lofoten!

Torrfisk!

Puffins.

Sea kayaking in Lofoten.

Great contrasts. 

Peaceful. 

Kabelvåg.

Grönskär!

Skiing 30 cm of powder LAST of May.

Going for the sauna. 

The Baltic quine 

Jonas, my ÖtillÖ partner came to visit me. This is on top of Grönskärs light house. We have now started our serious and hard training for Island to Island on september 3. Follow our journey on my blog and support our way there! www.otillo.se