The Black route up the south face of the Montain Sainte-Victoire was established back in 1898, but it was not till 2023 that I got the chance of trying it out. Anne was waiting for a hip operation at the time, so I went with 3 local friends 17^th May 2023. We passed “pas de l’elephant” after only 30 minutes (perhaps the only real problem for some) and was up through the big “hole” in the mountain called “Grand Garagai” after about 2 hours.

ALLOS became a new hiking location for us in September 2024. It’s located in the north-western corner of the Mercantour National Park, just south of Barcelonette. The advantage here is the well maintained road up the Parking du Laus (2.100m) only 20 minutes drive from the village of ALLOS. From here you have only 30 minutes walk up to Lac d’Allos and a series of walks in the area. We did a walk to Col de l’Encombette (No. 7) and a walk to Col de la Petite Cayolle (called le Circuit des Lacs – No. 8). The downside was the fact that Allos was partly “shut down” for the summer season with only few restaurants open.

We spent a few days in MURAT in the Auvergne region of France (half way between Bordeaux and Grenoble!). Cantal is famous for its vulcanic past and the landscape is formed by old volcanos. Perhaps equally famous is the Cantal cheese and the more matured cheese from Salers, also in Cantal county.

England February/March 2024

A short visit to friends in East Midlands (Medbourne & Loughborough) and Cambridge where our grandson Ole (17) takes one year at Cambridge Regional College. I had a days visit to Loughborough University where I did my first degree (1970 – 1973) together with Vernon who also graduated from here a few years after me. I found a lot of the old charm of Loughborough had dissapeared which I guess is only natural, the University having increased from 4,500 students in my days till 20,000 now. The campus must now be bigger than “Blindern” in Oslo. But the University have been rated among Britains top 10 Universities for more than 10 years in a row now by the students themselves. The day down memory lane was concluded with a lunch at the old pub The Otter (called the White House in the 1970’s) by the river at Kegworth. This is half way between the Universities in Loughborough and Nottingham where there also were a few Norwegian students wanting a beer among Norwegians once a week.

Prague March 2023

A short visite to friends in Prague. We met Milos and Jarmila high up in the French Alps in 2018 and again in 2019. This visit was originally planned for 2020. The City  was charming and impressive at the same time. We also got time for a visit to the «country side» about one hours drive north of Prague. Here, the Kalich Rock Maze was hiding in Besediske Skaly (Mala Skala), not far from the Polish border. For a special video from the latter, follow the link below, while you click the photo on the left for my photographs.

New book: Luberon Mysterieux.

The Luberon is full of mystery in one form or another. In the old days, the mystery was more present in everyday life. The aim of this book has been to show some of the mystery that still exist in the Luberon and «Luberon Mysterieux» has brought me to a number of locations around the Luberon during 2021 and 2022 in search of this mystery. My passion for landscape photography for over 30 years has helped me to record these memories of mystery.

You can flick through the whole book in your own pace with the Arrow Keys in this link to the Publishers Blurb (first press the full screen button, top right):

https://www.blurb.com/books/11423139-luberon

Lofoten Islands 2022

Last trips to Lofoten (2003 & 2004) were purely for photography. This year we went mainly for hiking. Ramberg is a great location for exploring Lofoten. Short access to mountain walks, long sandy beaches (including the Flagstad beach with its new surfing camp) and a good grociery shop, 3 cafees and a very nice restaurant at Ramberg Gjestegård. The walks started with Ryten and down to the Kvalvika beach and on day 2 we simply walked along the coast south of Napp. The weather turned against us, so we missed Moltinden (Ramberg) and Mannen (Hauklandstranda).