Bouldering, Ghar Lapsi, Malta

On the hillsides above the restaurants at Ghar Lapsi, there are several routes for sports climbing and traditional climbing, but also the possibility to try lots of sections for bouldering.. Especially in and around the shallow caverns that are spread out on the hill side, there are plenty of choices, both very easy and much harder sections.. Superb weather, like a Swedish summer day, a strong breeze that cooled us nicely..

Kayak Surfing, Ghajn Tuffieha Bay, Malta

Saturday paddle session from noon onwards. Blue skies, around 19 C in the air, 16 C in the sea and force 4-5 winds.. A very pretty bay and beach and the waves were ok, just a tad more wind would have been perfect.. As usual in this sport, the best waves are the ones that comes in when you are on your way out, but I still got quite a few quick rides back to the beach.. And didn't swim more than twice I think..

Kayak Surfing, Gnejna Bay, Malta

Finally the winds were quite strong and in a direction that had a suitable beach.. But force 8 (gale) turned out to be a bit over the top, at least for me.. Just holding the paddle in that wind requires an effort, and paddling out from shore head-on into the gale is pretty hard work.. The sea was wipped into a mix of foam and sand and I was glad for the shorty wet-suit under the gore-tex for the numerous swims.. Gnejna Bay is a really nice location on the North-western side of Malta and I'll probably be back next time the waves comes in the same way..

Scuba Diving, Um El Farud, Malta

I never thought I would go scuba diving with a wetsuit in early February on Malta, but with a 2.5 mm shorty under the regular 5 mm wetsuit it turned out to be a surprisingly pleasant last minute decision.. Back at Um El Farud, the tanker ship close to Blue Grottos and the best dive I had last season.. Blue skies, calm winds, and 16 C at the surface.. We had 2 great dives with a hot meal and a rest between them.. Bottom time for both dives was 44 minutes, max depth 33.2 meters.. We whisked around the ship and had a peek into a little cave as well.. Happy day! :-)

Kayak Surfing, Mellieha Bay, Malta

Saturday paddle for 2,5 hours, wind coming in from NE so pretty good conditions in Mellieha Bay although even more wind would have been great. I was surfing and handling the waves a lot better than last time, but still had a few tip-overs as the conditions also was more difficult with larger breaking waves and choppy conditions next to the rocks on the south side of the bay.. I might get a neoprene shorty wet-suit, the sea-temperature is still dropping, around 16 C now..

Kayak Surfing, Ramla Bay, Gozo

Went to Ramla Bay on the north coast of Gozo not expecting to get more than a lazy paddle in calm waters, but to my surprise there were decent waves. So decent in fact that I tumbled over several times, so I got to try the 17C sea water properly.. Being a beginner in this sport, combined with a slight hangover and a long while since the last session, the breaking waves near shore proved quite a challenge.. But despite that, I caught quite a few waves and it was lots of fun! Some 2,5 hours later with heavy arms and a change of clothes, a pint and a pizza completed a great day..

Trekking, Ghar Lapsi, Malta

I drove to Ghar Lapsi to do some kayaking but instead went for a walk to an old watch tower and back along a trail following the sea.. Sunny and warm with a nice SW breeze.. Might try the same route on mountainbike later, although it would mean dragging/carrying the bike quite a bit. Not much of an adventure really, but a nice Mid-January day anyways..

Snow-shoeing, Vitsand, Jamtland, Sweden

..Apart from the cross-country ice skating during the short winter days, we took a couple of trips in the woods.. Markus tried to hunt for birds but with the hard snow it was impossible to move silently enough.. I used my snow-shoes, that are pretty good in difficult winter terrain.. Nice to get some fresh air and get a bit of excercise before the very long night starts, when we played a lot of poker instead..

Cross-Country Ice Skating, Vitsand, Sweden

These last couple of days of 2006 was spent in a log cabin in Vitsand, Jamtland, some 700 kilometres north of Stockholm in Sweden.. The weather was very mild for the season, with most of the snow melted away. After re-freezing on the ice, the conditions for cross-country ice skating was simply fantastic, the best I have ever seen up there.. Moving much faster than you can run but with much less effort is a nice feeling.. On the pictures are me, Hans and Markus..

Indoor Climbing, Stockholm, Sweden

This blog is about outdoor activites, but I'm in Sweden now, it's winter (sort of) and indoor climbing is currently the only thing I have time for.. Anyways, I've been climbing indoors 4 times since arriving in Stockholm with my brother. The first times revealed bluntly how much strenght, technique and stamina we had lost since we climbed regularly indoors last autumn and spring.. But now we are getting back into the stride and finding the old form again.. Best today was a "aha-moment" when I didn't get up on a long wall due to fatigue, I decided to "speed-climb" it, and then managed to get up on half the time with half the effort..

Bouldering, Wied Babu, Malta

Very short bouldering session in the green little valley Wied Babu on the south side of the island.. Traversed some sections around the fallen rock.. Nothing difficult but still fun.. 2nd of December, last climbing on Malta this year, nice day, warm enough for shorts and t-shirt..