Eschewing the mainstream conformity of skiing and boarding, they packed for their trip to Europe’s biggest glacier with inflatable sups, drysuits, an off-road-trailer and a twenty square meter tent. They also brought along Lars Jacobsen, a photographer from Hamburg and Maximilian Stolarow, a cameraman from Berlin. Kai and Lena craved adventure and exposure, far removed from their urbane Hamburg existence, and far away from the well-known, warm destinations normally associated with sup. Exploring landscapes and waterways that no one had thrown a board into so far, not meeting a single soul on the way was their manifesto.
After three days setup time and a lot of research the car and trailer were loaded with enough camping and watersports kit to start a small retail outlet. They took the ferry from Hirtshals on the northern tip Denmark to Langsund in Norway, the mundane highways and service stations giving way to beautiful, lonely valleys and frozen landscapes with lakes and rivers covered in ice and snow. Finding a place to stay for the night, with just a thin a tent in the rough landscape was quite challenging. They knew it would be cold, however no one was expecting the plunge to minus 21° on the first night. The iciness didn’t only affect their bodies; it froze most of their food and the gas for the stove. That´s when they started to doubt if it was such a good idea after all. But even though they underestimated the temperature and harsh environment, they were unswerving in their goal: to discover the biggest fjord in Europe by sup.
The four pressed on, driving northwards, always looking for lakes or rivers which had yet to succumb to the ice so they could sneak in a little paddle session. After a long trip through deserted, snow-covered landscapes driving along roads that were difficult to navigate, they arrived at Sogne Fjord. The loneliness and quietude that settled on the landscape was oppressive; it felt kind of scary for the city slickers from Hamburg and Berlin.
