“Bjørg Selvåg is the woman behind Hemsedal Mountain Guides
and I’ve been on a tour with her
Even as an experienced mountain local from Hemsedal who loves spending time in the mountains, both summer and winter, I have attended several courses on mountain safety and avalanche awareness. In recent winters, ski touring has become increasingly popular, and so has the need to expand our knowledge and skills.
One Saturday in February, three girlfriends and I headed out with Bjørg Selvåg, a certified guide within the international IFMGA system and a member of Nortind. The morning started with theory, where we learned how to read avalanche forecasts and make decisions about where to go. We’ll keep the exact location a little secret – it gave us a long day with no other people around and plenty of beautiful snow.
On day two, we headed to Svarthetta, where we dug snow profiles, practised searching for each other’s avalanche equipment and, not least, enjoyed some incredible turns in the deep snow.
Touring with Bjørg was a real pleasure. It felt like going on a trip with a good friend who shared plenty of great advice along the way. Steeper sections were tackled one at a time, the snow was checked continuously, and decisions were made as we went.
I can highly recommend two days with Hemsedal Mountain Guides. And when our Sunday tour was over, Bjørg didn’t need much convincing when the girls wanted one more trip to the summit.
