Europe 2011: A day in Tallinn

While in Helsinki, I noticed quite a bit of ferry activity going on down at the harbour. I was aware that it was possible to travel to Sweden and Russia but I wasn’t aware that it was possible to get a ferry to Tallinn in Estonia. I was enjoying my time in Finland but the opportunity to visit a new country, to experience another new culture and to get another stamp in my passport was too good to pass up.

I arranged to get an early ferry and was sipping weak, long-life milk coffee and eating a warm sweet croissant at the terminal at 8:00am the next morning. There was some really cool drawings of ferry’s done by local kids, I particularly liked the “Spider Line” complete with angry/sad clouds.





On the ferry I got chatting to the fella sitting across from me. He kindly offered to show me the way to the old medieval part of Tallinn. I found my first half hour in Estonia fascinating, from my first steps along dilapidated soviet era industrial foreshore, over a large dual carriage way modern road and then into the medieval town, it was a feast for the senses. I held off taking photos for a bit and asked Mario as many questions as I could. We organised to meet up for a beer later in the afternoon and I was on my own.

Wandering around the old town I was initially interest in the near field. Strange sculptures looking down on the street, exotic writing, shop signs, street stalls and doors.







Wandering, I was drawn to the centre and highest point of the town. At the top, the view of the spires and turrets poking out of the crammed houses was spectacular.





The town was quickly filling up with hundreds of tourists who had disembarked from a large cruise ship. Walking back to the lower part of the town I ended up in a full on tourist bottle neck, it was hectic!



I made my way to the centre of the town where there are a number of stalls set up selling stuff. I picked up a nice woollen beanie and piece of linen (I know wtf right?! It is nice though).





It was nearing my time to meet up with Mario and I was hungry and ready to try the local brew. I met him at the restaurant and we sat and enjoyed a delicious roast pork with mushroom sauce lunch watching the all the tourists. The beer was great, crisp cold lager in an enormous glass.



After lunch we checked out a few more spots. Mario works for DC in Estonia and manages the junior skate team. He was waiting for his girlfriend to arrive after being on the med for a few weeks. Thanks for showing me around!



I walked back to the ferry terminal this time whipping the camera out and getting some shots of the dilapidated foreshore. It’s a beautiful coastline just needing some love.



Estonia was so awesome, great people, beautiful things to see and delicious food and beer. The country has only been independent of the Russians since 1991 and with continuing self determination I can imagine Estonia being a major, and interesting, tourist destination in the future.

Europe 2011: Wandering Jetlagged Around Helsinki

A cheap flight from Australia to the UK on Finnair with the alluring opportunity to check out some of the Nordic countries meant I recently spent a few days wandering around Helsinki.

Arriving at 6am after a long flight I jumped in a cab and headed to the YHA. I was way too early to check-in so had a quick shower dumped my bags and hit the town.

First thing I noticed was the unpronounceable words that were all around me.





I also came across this amazing mural which I was struggling to comprehend in my jetlagged haze.



I stumbled upon Helsinki harbour and took a seat at one of the market eateries. Sitting eating my sweet croissant I noticed the steely gaze of the local beanie model and a seagull that appeared to have dipped its head into some black paint.





I love coffee and find great delight in sampling the coffee in whatever random place I end up. The coffee in Helsinki was mostly of the drip filter variety, however, I did find an espresso machine and ordered a cappuccino. With trepidation I sat down and waited for my drink to arrive. Sadly, the coffee was not good, long-life milk, half filled in a ridiculously large beer glass.



After breaky I got back to wandering. Found some nice texture around some doors, some churches and a park with some nice flowers.









I went back to the harbour a took a ferry out to Suomenlinna, an inhabited sea fortress off the coast of Helsinki. I had a nice afternoon wandering around taking photos and watching the people.









It got really hot and when I came across this beach I was gutted that I didn’t have my board shorts for a swim.



The view coming back into the harbour was pretty cool. On the seawall was an old market building that had the most amazing salmon gravlax dishes, a local delicacy. I ate some on a rye bagel, it was delicious. I also came across some free outdoor music, a cool jazz band that was enthusiastically being listened to. The central station building was also pretty cool with its giant sculptures holding glowing orbs.











During my time in Helsinki, I noticed that most statues had a seagull perched atop their heads. Travelling alone I was going a bit crazy and started to imagine what the statues were thinking, “seriously, do you have to sit on my head?” type thing. This made me laugh which I guess would have freaked out anyone close by as it would have appeared that I was laughing to myself while staring at a statue. Anyway, check out the pic and imagine what they are thinking… see what I mean??



My time in Helsinki finished with a night out on the town. I came across a Spanish pub and went in for a beer. Throughout my time in Finland I had not come across any other Antipodeans. As I walked into the bar, I heard familiar accents. Seems I had run into an aussie and a kiwi both travelling alone. We hit the town for dinner and a few beers ending up in an ice bar which was being managed by another Australian. I guess we are everywhere.





Walking back to my room after a few beers at 1am I noticed that it hadn’t got completely dark, indeed, the sun was rising! I have lived in Canada and the UK but never experienced the long days of the north. People were still sitting in the parks and I even saw someone walking a dog! I got back and was up at 5am (ouch) to catch a flight to the uk.

Home (and some bonus aussie pow & gnar)

Well, after a 2 hour drive to Heathrow, a 3 hour flight to Helsinki, a 5 hour stopover, a 10 hour flight to Bangkok, a 5 hour stopover, a 9 hour flight to Sydney, a taxi, a flat car battery, a 6 hour drive to Jindabyne (with 3 double shot coffees and a coke) I am finally home :).

I had an awesome time in Europe. So many photos and stories to share once the dust settles.

In the meantime, check out these vids of some of Australia’s “Men of the Backcountry” scoring some great oz pow conditions whilst I was tanning on the med.


Men of the Backcountry 2011 - Part 1 from James Morrow on Vimeo.


The boys also hit this line, possibly a first descent. I’m pretty jealous and very keen to get back out there.






Men of the Backcountry 2011 - Part 2 from James Morrow on Vimeo.


*shout outs to James (www.ozbc.net.au), Rohan and Dibble for the vid and pics. Bit of discussion regarding the vids here and here.

im in Helsinki

As the title would suggest, I am currently in Helsinki. Here for another day then heading to the UK for the missus' brothers wedding. After the wedding we are going to my ancestral home, the Aeolian Islands in Italy and then back to oz.

Plenty of photos and stories of adventure once im home, until then, peace.

Islands off Helsinki 07/07/2011

An Escape

Yesterday I snuck off to one of my favourite slackcountry runs, The Paralyser. While the area is hardly a secret, and is relatively easy to access from Perisher, it is usually uncrowded. My attempt to escape the school holiday crowds got me thinking about the importance of having some sort of outlet where it is possible to escape the daily grind, the mundane or just a crowded ski run.

Growing up in Sydney, I found the solitude I needed surfing. To avoid crowds my mate Jon and I would get a bus to Maroubra Beach and hit the water as the sun rose. It was a good feeling sitting at school tired, sandy and salty. Once we could drive, there were endless surf trips up and down the coast trying to find the perfect, and importantly, uncrowded wave.

When I was a city slicker I would surf most morning before work and spend my lunch breaks in book and ski shops escaping the city grind. My favourite place to switch off for an hour was an antique print room, rifling through sketches and charts from Australias early days. The sketches of some of our weird animals were fascinating, what must have people thought seeing a platypus or a kangaroo for the first time? Equally fascinating were the early charts by Captain James Cook and co.

I have taken a similar approach to skiing, always looking for that secret line that no one has hit. Getting more into alpine touring the past few years has been a revelation. Ironically the very people I was escaping from at Perisher are on holidays at the resort attempting to escape their own lives!

Purchase: Maintaining Grip While Ski Touring

The storm last week got everyone pretty excited, myself included.





Perisher looked pretty good once the storm cleared and I went for a quick ski to check out the conditions. Boot packing a small side country hill it became apparent that it had rained at the tail end of the storm as there was a bullet proof layer of ice at the surface. It was horrible to ski on and the sun was having little effect.

Not withstanding the dodgy layer of ice, my ski buddy Rohan and I were keen to hit the main range and hopefully score some nice snow. We met early and drove up to Guthega, we were first in line in the car park. Rohan made the call to head out to the western faces of Mt Twynam.

Getting ready in the carpark, access to the zone behind the peak at the top left



We clicked in at Guthega and skied down to Farm Creek. The cover was bullet proof ice, not fun to ski on. We crossed farm creek and started the skin to Illawong Lodge. Horrible ice and skinning on a cross slope, not much fun. We reached the Snowy River swing bridge and began the climb up to Mt Twynam.

Crossing the Snowy River, Mt Twynam is the big round peak in the centre



On the other side of the Snowy, conditions didn’t improve. We struggled for grip on the steeper slopes. I had heaps of scary moments when my skis would give way. At one point I was switching to boot packing and lost a ski which slide down the slope I had just spent ages ascending.

Booting up ice, not fun



Compared to our struggle, Guthega looked decidedly tranquil



After nearly 3hrs of ice we reached the northern side of Twynam and got our first look at the terrain of the western faces.

The Australian backcountry; a breathtaking sight.







The ice was still hanging around. I wasn’t to keen to lose a ski or other kit down Watsons Creek never to be seen again. Luckily, the face we had picked to ski had copped some sun and softened up nicely. We dropped in and got some great turns down to the creek. Skinning up the creek was interesting as large chunks of ice were falling of the surrounding rocks and rolling down our path. A solid, football sized chunk hit me, it hurt.

Lunch at Watsons Creek



The skin back up



Our lines from the first run



I spent some time taking photos and videoing Rohan on his second run. He picked a line on the next ridge. It wasn’t pretty, I could here the ice crunching beneath his skis from my vantage point.

Rohan searching for a line



Oz terrain







I dropped in for another nice run down to the creek. The days are short at the moment, and, as we took longer than expected to reach the zone, we made the call to hit it back to the car.

Bootin the final steep pitch of Watsons Creek



We skinned back up the western face of Mt Twynam admiring our handy work.





Usually you score some nice turns skiing from Mt Twynam to the Snowy River. This day was different, the dreaded ice hadn’t budged and we spent 45min side slipping. Rohan had a couple nice falls leading to the phrase “edging skills or hospital bills”.



By this time it was getting dark, we crossed the snowy and started the final leg back to the car. Eventually head lamps were required.



In the darkness I missed the Farm Creek bridge and ended up rock hopping over the water. Snow I thought was stable was in fact hanging, and, once weighted, my right foot ended up in the creek. I pulled myself out and traversed along the opposite bank meeting up with Rohan at the bridge he had successfully navigated too. We made it back to the car in the complete darkness and released our feet from their prisons.

It was an interesting day, looking back at it, I am glad we went out. I guess the sense of accomplishment we get from overcoming the challenges that the mountains throw at us is why we get into touring in the first place.