Skiing Norway’s Seiland with Ayla Peacock and Aidan Jones

Travel to Seiland, a remote island north of 70° in the Norwegian Sea, and you’ll find one of the best places to experience spring ski touring in the Arctic. With snowy peaks rising directly from the sea, this rugged, glaciated destination is famous for its “Fjell til Fjord” skiing and offers a perfect introduction to northern Norway’s unique culture and environment—with the added bonus of long days and stunningly photogenic surroundings.

Based out of Seiland House, a beautiful Scandinavian lodge with great food, wood-fired hot tubs and a sauna—it’s Norway, after all—Seiland has become a favourite Sawback Alpine destination. After a short flight from Oslo, trips here are marked by a unique combination of exclusive access, expert guiding, uncrowded terrain, a reliable snowpack and unforgettable views with epic lines dropping directly to the sea.

On our sea-to-summit adventures, we start and return to the Seiland House lodge and spend most days boating to nearby objectives that can be easily adjusted based on skill and energy levels. Instead of hearing about it from us, though, we thought we’d let two Sawback guests share their own words. So shortly after this trip to Seiland House last spring, we sat down with Ayla Peacock and Aidan Jones to chat about their adventure.

But first, a bit about these two committed skiers. Ayla is a former freeride athlete and coach based out of southwest Alberta with Aidan. This past winter, she was looking to enjoy some long days of ski touring, and figured that a Sawback Seiland House trip was a perfect choice.

Aidan, who initially started down the guiding path before turning towards media, has been able to combine skiing with his artistic and creative interests to become a ski photographer. Currently working with the media teams at Selkirk Snowcat Skiing and Island Lake Lodge, he’s always up for a chance to tour with his camera and capture more aesthetic lines.

“Having been on a few trips with Tom Wolfe,” he says, “it was a great opportunity to explore somewhere outside of Canada on skis.”

Now on to our conversation…

Was this trip to Seiland House your first ski trip in Norway and your first time skiing with Sawback?

Aidan: This was my first trip to Norway and my 3rd trip with Sawback.

Ayla: Travelling to Seiland was both my first time in Norway and my first time with Sawback.

What was your favourite ski day of the trip?

Ayla: It’s hard to pick just one—each day had its own highlights for many different reasons. But one day does stand out, which was Day 3 near Seilandstuva, the highest point on the island. The objective for our group that day was just to have fun and ski lots. Our guide was Sophia, and I knew she’d find us fun lines, because that woman really loves skiing. Around 10 in the morning the sun came out and softened things up into perfect spring corn. Each lap was like a “choose your own adventure” where we could pick from different lines. There were so many little chutes and wind lips to play around on, and the views of Seiland at the top of each lap were incredible. All in all, it was a perfect spring ski day.

Aidan: I also really enjoyed Day 3. I went out with my dad, and we had Peter as our guide. It was a big day with lots of skiing. We skied three fairly big lines with lots of great corn snow. We chose some more couloir-type lines which were a lot of fun—and our last line was one of the few times we could fully ski to the boat, which was an added bonus.

How were the accommodations at Seiland House?

Ayla: Seiland House is a beautiful, historic building that’s been transformed into a cozy lodge. Our room was very spacious which made it great for spreading out gear, and the bed was so comfy and much-needed after our long days touring. Two of my other favourite things about Seiland were probably watching the sunset over the fjords and drinking coffee next to the ocean in the mornings.

Aidan: Seiland House also had a chef on site that made delicious dinners each night and had hot soup waiting for guests as we returned from our days out skiing. There’s also a Caribbean bar with cocktails made by Diamela, a sauna, and two wood-fired hot tubs that were perfect for unwinding at the end of each day.

What did you think of travelling by speedboat to explore different regions of the fjord?

Ayla: The speed boats were so cool—it really added to the adventure of each day, and it was awesome just being on the water. Coolest approach ever.

How were your ski guides on the trip?

Ayla: I loved all of our guides for many different reasons. They all brought their own style to guiding and the objectives they chose for the group. Each day had its own personality based on who our guide was, and they all made the most out of the conditions.

Aidan: I thought the guiding was great. A good mix for different wants in terms of day length and difficulty.

Did you have the opportunity to encounter any cool wildlife on your trip?

We saw reindeer, ermine, ptarmigan, sea eagles and many other sea birds. The starfish were great, too.

Would you like to return to Seiland House or go on another ski trip in Norway in the future?

There’s still so much that we want to ski on Seiland and nearby, so yes, we both agreed that we’d return to Seiland with Sawback if we had the opportunity. The skiing in Norway is unlike anywhere else, and anyone that can should experience it.

Aidan, what was your favourite image you captured during the trip?

This one!

Ready to ski long lines and experience Seiland for yourself? Ready to explore Seiland for yourself? Contact us to learn more about the Seiland House ski adventure and join us for an unforgettable week of skiing, fjord travel and Arctic adventure this spring.

If you enjoyed hearing from Ayla and Aidan, follow them to see more of their skiing, photography and mountain exploration—and a big thank you to Aidan for sharing the images in this story.

Follow Ayla: @aylaapeacock Follow Aidan: @dexdogmedia