November 2022

November 3rd

Guests / Country: 11 guests from Germany and USA.
Weather Tromsø: Part clear.
Destination / weather: Nakkevatnet lake / Ramfjord / Signdalen valley / Skibotn beach / clear / cloudy / holes in clouds / part clear.
Aurora activity: 6/10.
Aurora show: Several bands across the sky, curls, spikes and two colors visible curtains.
Tour km: 320.
Tour hrs: 7,5.

Tonight my guests got a taste of a real Aurora Chase ... just for your information; "Chasing the Northern Lights" it`s not a question of finding the Northern Lights, because we knew it`s "always" there above the clouds ... it`s more about to find clear sky and being at the right spot when the best shows arrives ... oh yes, it´s always a question of little gambling ...

So, my Plan A was to do a short drive and stay on the coast all night, since the weather forecast was perfectly good for this, and when I drove into the city for pick up my guests the sky was super clear, and I had to make my own stop for shooting some pics of the great Aurora show at 5.35 pm ... one hour before I should pick up the guests ...

But, my plan changed rapidly ... at the half way out to the coast I got a message from one of my colleague in our good Aurora Team; It was totally overcast where I was planning to do my first stop ... so, I checked the sky camera in Skibotn and it showed 100% clear sky and great Aurora all over ... so, I decided to head east instead ... but, we didn`t came so far ...

The Chase of the Northern Lights begin;

1st stop: Nakkevatnet lake, Sjursnes
90% clear sky ... 20 mins later 90% overcast ... what now ?
There`s no mobile phone reception at this lovely location, so I had to drive back for get in touch with my colleagues and hear what they was doing; 95% clear sky and Aurora on the south sky ... it was only 15 km south of us (over the mountains), but 60 km drive around ... so, I decided to go there ...

Instead I should drive down to Sjursnes by the Lyngen Alps and little south, since then we should be close to the same area where they had clear sky and saw the nights best Aurora show ... In the map; Nakkevatnet (where we was), Stordalsstrand (where we should go ..), Ramfjordmoen (where we was when the show started) and Lakselvbukt (where they got it!). https://goo.gl/maps/6Vw7cAEzvPaQ4GbA8

2nd stop: Trail head Hamperokken, Ramfjord
10% clear, Aurora visible in cloud holes and through the thin cloudy layer

3rd stop: Signaldalen valley, Storfjord
50% clear, an okey Aurora show with 2-colors dancing curtains and the south sky was green ...

4th stop: Skibotn beach, Storfjord
Overcast ... little Aurora in the south in some holes ...

Finally we was at the planned location, but ... after a long drive, with many stops and little stressful moments ... I decided to set the camp fire, and serve my guests some hot drinks and some local made snacks ... 30 mins later we returned back to the city as the last bus out ...

It`s always a question of little gambling ... especially in bad weather ... where to drive and where to stop ... and how long time you have to wait ...

November 4th

Guests / Country: 10 guests from Israel, Brasil, Hong Kong and China.
Weather Tromsø: Cloudy / haze.
Destination / weather: Kvalsundet / Dåfjordeidet / haze / part clear.
Aurora activity: 3/10.
Aurora show: Several bands across the sky, small curls and spikes. Faint cause the haze, but the last band over the north sky was little brighter.
Tour km: 130.
Tour hrs: 6.

A short drive on the coast where the was little clear ... haze, but Aurora was visible ...

November 5th

Guests / Country: 10 guests from Denmark, Germany, Greece, Iran and China.
Weather Tromsø: Cloudy / rain.
Destination / weather: Tamokdalen valley / Sørmo, Bardu / cloudy.
Aurora activity: 0/10.
Aurora show: Too cloudy!
Tour km: 385.
Tour hrs: 8.

The weather forecast showed overcast all over, except far south ... so, we headed there with no luck ... the forecast was wrong ... again ...

November 6th

Guests / Country: 12 guests from India, Singapore, Germany and UK.
Weather Tromsø: Cloudy.
Destination / weather: Skibotn beach / cloudy / clear / part clear.
Aurora activity: 4/10.
Aurora show: Coupleof bands across, curls and spikes. Little moving in just a few seconds.
Tour km: 240.
Tour hrs: 6,5.
Space show: Two huge fireballs, one white and one orange.

I decided to go for my first plan; just drive to the Skibotn beach since the moon light should make the fjord landscape incredible beautiful ... but, when we arrived it was 100% overcast, but I decided to trust the weather forecast and learned my guests what patience it ... with success.

Some of my colleagues went only 45 km from the city, but we drove 120 ... sometimes I can`t leave my plan for the night ;)

November 10th

Guests / Country: 14 guests from Brasil, New Zealand, Australia, China, France and Germany.
Weather Tromsø: Clear.
Destination / weather: Kattfjordeidet / Vågsbotn Bay / Grøtfjord / clear.
Aurora activity: 1/10 ... maybe 2/10 ...
Aurora show: Couple of bands, curtains, spikes and curls ... but, very very faint. Two colors on camera.
Tour km: 90.
Tour hrs: 6,5.
Space show: 3-4 huge and bright fireballs.

It went into a rush of bookings and guests who wanted to change to this night ... the reason; Clear sky and next nights forecast shows bad weather ... in Tromsø ...

Just for your information: Clear sky is not a guarantee for see the Northern Lights!

Join my chase, or read back in my Aurora Blog, and you`ll get an picture of how I and my colleagues are working when the weather is bad ... and yes, this autumn weather has been really bad ... but, still ... we´re experts to find clear sky ... never any guarantee, of course, but we`re doing our best ;)

So, this night; beautiful clear sky all over so we went out on the coast ... but, I knew the activity was very low, only around 340 km/s, so I told my guests ... "it didn`t looks good, so I hope you have a lot of patience".

After 4 hours waiting on three different locations we got tonight`s "show" ... and then we returned back to the city.

November 11th

Guests / Country: 9 guests from China, Singapore, Germany and Argentina.
Weather Tromsø: Cloudy / rain.
Destination / weather: Naimakka / cloudy / holes in clouds.
Aurora activity: 3/10.
Aurora show: Several bright spikes and little dancing.
Tour km: 435.
Tour hrs: 9.

It was an new tricky weather night, but I can`t really cancel when I see there`s a little hope in with different cloud layers ...

So, when we arrived into the planned location far inside Finland it was still totally overcast, but far south into the wilderness where there`s no roads (or, if we had drive 300 km one way we could maybe reach it) there we saw clear sky ... so, I hope the weather forecast was right which showed it should clear up closer to midnight ... which it did ;)

So, we had a clear hole ... will the Lady cooperate ? Yes, she finally did ...

On the late return it was more clear sky closer to the border, but then we was little too late for get tonight`s best show ... but, my guests was more than happy for seing at least little this night, when nobody thought they should see anything.

Patience is King! If you don`t have that then you`ve lost this game ...

And if you like to book your chase at "Get your fucking Guide", and like to cancel 24 hours prior the chase cause bad weather in Tromsø ... you`ll not get the chance by booking directly with me ... since I am never cancel a chase cause bad weather ... and why should I do that mistake when I am "always" finding clear sky!

Only the Real Aurora Chaser travelers are joining me ;)

November 12th

Guests / Country: 9 guests from China, Malaysia, Germany, USA and New Zealand.
Weather Tromsø: Cloudy / rain.
Destination / weather: Signaldalen and Kitdalen valleys / Kvalsundet strait / holes in clouds / part clear / cloudy.
Aurora activity: 0/10.
Aurora show: No visible ... 15 mins before the show started at 2 am, the clouds returned ...
Tour km: 250.
Tour hrs: 8,5.
Wildlife: One reindeer.

Tonight, my guests and I experienced something I really hate !!

An follower - a car with tourists who was following us …

Why I hate this;

- it can be dangerous moments when cars stopping in middle of the roads when I stop on a safe place.
- It’s disturbing when cars turn into the small parking spot where I give my guests the service they have paid for.
- So, please find your own path and your own place to stop! Thanks.
- But, you’re welcome to join my chase at your first night in the city as a paid guests, and then I will give you some secret tips for a more successful chases out on your own. If you pay for my service, I can also lead you to the right places for rest of your stay.
- It’s a question of little “take & given” and safety first!

- New service: When I am fully booked you can still get this service via WhatsApp for a fee (more info will come on GuideGunnar’s FB).

So, back to tonight’s chase when the Lady was shy and very late out …

Again, an new night with bad weather all over, but the forecast says it should clear up on the coast around midnight, so I decided to leave the coast (!) …

Instead of sitting and waiting for the clear sky in 4-5 hours, then I decided to “kill some hours” by driving into the country side for just let the time go, and maybe it was clearing up there too … at the same time we kept contact us colleagues between, and followed the three sky cameras in Ramfjord (20 km from Tromsø), Skibotn (120 km) and Kilpisjärvi (165 km).

And tonight my colleagues I work together with for making your night as the best, was really wide spread out …

- Magne in NLT Guide Company and Brynjar in Arctic Breeze: Mikkelvika, 90 km north (part clear, then cloudy)
- Geir in Borealis Expeditions: Brensholmen, 60 km west (cloudy)
- Knut in Tromsø Friluftsenter: Finnish border, 155 km SE (part clear, but only straight above)
- Stefan in NLT Guide Company: Skibotn, 120 km SE (cloudy, holes in the clouds)
- And me: Signaldalen / Kitdalen valleys, 90 km SE (holes in the clouds, cloudy)

We are also cooperating with; Dan in ArcticX, Vidar in Creative Vacations and Roy in Arctic Trip, but they had an night off.

Around midnight, when the weather forecast went right to quite good party clear sky, we gathered together north and south of Kvalsundet strait, 30 km north of Tromsø …

15 mins before tonight’s very late show started at 2 am the clouds came back … so, we missed it … it`s pity, when the clouds and Lady Aurora don`t cooperate ... at 2.50 am the Northern Lights was visible on the Sky Camera in Kilpisjärvi, Finland ... but, that`s too late for us ...

Now I am looking forward to next week weather with several nights with beautiful clear sky … let’s hope it’s right … since at November 18th and 19th it can be a couple of great nights with new moon and Leonids Meteor shower … up to 200 shooting stars per hour.

You’re most welcome to join! Seats still available.

November 13th

Guests / Country: 14 guests from Norway, China, Germany and USA.
Weather Tromsø: Cloudy / rain.
Destination / weather: Saarikioski / Keinovuopio, Finnish Lapland / part clear / cloudy / snow / lovely clear.
Aurora activity: 0/10.
Aurora show: No activity! (the little who came around 1 am, was too low in the north into the clouds)
Tour km: 390.
Tour hrs: 10.
Wildlife: One reindeer and a white rabbit.

This has been a tragic bad weekend re; Aurora activity !

After the first first crazy good 2,5 months of this Aurora season, then Lady Aurora took a break …

As you can see in my Blog above the results of the last four chases I set only 1 - 3 - 0 - 0 of 10 points.

First we was worried about the bad forecasted weather this weekend, but we’re quite good to find clear sky in this microclimates weather conditions we have around Tromsø, so we had success all four nights, thanks to our great cooperation between our team while we’re out for chasing …

And that`s our main job for you; Finding clear sky ... so, it`s pity Lady Aurora didn`t cooperate little better for make you happy ...

Now I will take three nights off, so let’s hope the Lady are little more willing to dance for us from November 17th, when also the lovely Leonids Meteor Shower (up to 200 shooting stars per hour) will give my guests and me several lovely nights.

Last year it was full moon during this nights, but this year it will be a new moon and dark sky ...

Re, the Aurora activity … the next years will be just better and better since we’re climbing up to the solar max in 2024/25 or 26 …

The best Aurora activity this night was happened before the chase begin, and while we left the city ... from about 5-7 pm ...

November 18th

Guests / Country: 14 guests from Norway, France, Ireland, Taiwan, Brasil and China.
Weather Tromsø: Clear.
Destination / weather: Kattfjordeidet / Sommarøy / clear.
Aurora activity: 9/10.
Aurora show: All over and far south, spikes, curls and three colors curtains visible for the naked eyes. A couple of faint coronas.
Tour km: 110.
Tour hrs: 6,5.
Space show: 3-4 fireballs and shooting stars (leonids).

Finally a clear night in Tromsø and at the coast ... or the last 3 nights has been lovely clear, but I missed it since I was sick in bed.

So, it was time for a short chase ... or maybe not, since it´s not me who decide that, since Lady Aurora is the boss here ... and when our good Aurora forecast showed probably an better than the first 8/10 show very early in the evening about 2,5 hours later I couldn`t really drive super early back to the city ...

I could, but I always like to give the best for my guests, and I am close to never brake my min. 6 hours limit, so we drove further out towards Sommarøy ... where I made a camp fire by the sea with an lovely view over the surroundings mountains and the ocean ... and as forecasted it came little deleayed at 11.30 pm ...

After a quiet start of November, except November 2nd when it danced crazy pink over the city harbor, which I "missed" since I wasn`t in the city, then this night was the best one on my chases ... when all the sky danced crazy ... so, I went back to the city with a bus full of happy guests from six countries ...

The time will show what happens rest of the weekend, since it was first on Sunday the forecasted huge (?) solar storm should arrive ...

November 19th

Guests / Country: 9 guests from Norway, Belgium, Ireland, Hong Kong, Australia and China.
Weather Tromsø: Clear.
Destination / weather: Grøtfjord / Rekvikeidet / clear.
Aurora activity: 7/10.
Aurora show: Several bands across, little towards south too. Spikes, curls and three eye visible colors in dancing curtains, and maybe a faint corona. Much red on camera in the beginning of the evening.
Tour km: 105.
Tour hrs: 6,5.
Space show: 5-6 fireballs and shooting stars (leonids).

A new short and lovely chase out on the coast west of Tromsø, to the fjords & mountains of Kvaløya island.

And tonight I had with me two girls from a local Tromsø school, since they have a travel project about the Northern Lights, so they got several interviews of my guests and me, and a very good Aurora show too.

Thanks for your lovely company and good luck with your Aurora Travel Project, and welcome to this wonderful business if you choose this way in your carrerer.

Lovely guests from six countries worldwide which made the moment around the campfire very cosy, so I just want to thank you all very much for making the evening beautiful and harmonic.

It`s made my night ... an nice memory that I choose the right job for over 25 years ago ... and which I still love

November 24th

Guests / Country: 14 guests from Germany, Singapore, Malaysia and UK
Weather Tromsø: Clear.
Destination / weather: Dåfjord / clear.
Aurora activity: 9/10.
Aurora show: All over and far south, curls, spikes and 3 colors intense dancing curtains, visible for the naked eyes. A couple of small coronas.
Tour km: 150.
Tour hrs: 6,5.
Space show: Several good shooting stars.
Wildlife: One reindeer.

Finally, after being sick the last week and missing out most of the lovely 10 days beautiful clear sky at the coast of Tromsø (November is not always so rainy many Aurora travelers thhink or have heard about out on SOME), then I was back on the roads again ... not 100% recovered, but now I missed the chases and my guests too much.

It was lovely clear sky when we left the city, but with minus degrees and strong wind from south east, we had to find an location away from the wind, so we headed far north, as long we could on the islands north of the city.

My favorite place in Dåfjord, 25 km north of my home, was already taken, but with this great show we surprisely got I am glad that we had to find an another spot, so we had good view to the south too.

The solar wind speed was slowly tonight, but with verry high density the night got very good ... with a slowly, but colorful start to an crazy good Aurora show, so thank you Lady Aurora.

November 25th

Guests / Country: 13 guests from Germany, France, Italy, Taiwan, China, USA and UK.
Weather Tromsø: Clear / haze.
Destination / weather: Laksvatn / Malangen south / clear.
Aurora activity: 8/10.
Aurora show: All over and far south, spikes, curls and two colors dancing curtains. And a couple of small coronas.
Tour km: 220.
Tour hrs: 7.

November 26th - Private Aurora Chase Dinner

Guests / Country: 4 guests from USA.
Weather Tromsø: Cloudy.
Destination / weather: Rostavatn lake / cloudy / haze / clear.
Aurora activity: 6/10.
Aurora show: All over and far south, but faint. Then several strikes of bright dancing Aurora in green and pink, visible for the naked eyes. Curls, spikes and curtains.
Tour km: 235.
Tour hrs: 7,5.

Aurora Chase for babies ?

No probs at all if you ask me ... I am one of the few Aurora Guides in Tromsø who bring with me babies out on the chase!
- in all my 17. Aurora seasons I have bring with me babies, like tonight when I had a 6 months old with me ... if you are a family with small once, please join my Private Aurora Chase Dinner ;)

BUT, you as a parents have to know how to dress and keep your babies and smaller kids warm outdoor ... my bus will be warm!
Please check the info about "Clothing & gears in the Arctic Environment" and especially the link about your kids.

Please follow my instructions if the weather are too cold! If I know the temperatures will be too cold at the area into the country side where we have to drive to clear sky, then I can denied the babies / kids follow on the chase, cause security first!

Tromsø can be "warm" during the Polar Nights period, but December and January is the darkest and coldest time of the winter, especially into the country side and inside Finland. Below 10 minus degrees and 10 m/s wind can be dangerous freezing cold!

The warmest, and the most beautiful Aurora month is September ... and the "warmest" snowy winter months is from end of February - March - to mid April ... when the sun warming up you and the environment ...

Tonight`s chase: After 10 beautiful clear nights in Tromsø and along the coast, the clouds was back ... or haze all over with an option to maybe see some stars and Aurora through the thin cloud layer ?

We went south as all the another guides and then we saw Jupiter ... the brightest star on the south sky ... then five stars ... 15 ...

So, I choose to drive on an tiny gravel road into the forest where I never has been during my over 1800 chase nights and I found a beautiful spot on a beach at a lake ... last time I was in this area, was when I was in the special army forces in 1987.

And, we was lucky, suddenly the sky got more and more clear, just in time for tonight`s Aurora show ... and what a beautiful spot it was ...

November 27th

Guests / Country: 7 guests from Germany, Malaysia, Taiwan, Brasil and Chile.
Weather Tromsø: Cloudy.
Destination / weather: Trailhead Hamperokken / Nakkevatnet lake / clear / cloudy / part clear.
Aurora activity: 8/10.
Aurora show: All over and far south. Spikes, curls and three colors eye visible dancing curtains, and a couple of small coronas.
Tour km: 110.
Tour hrs: 6.
Space show: One huge and white fireball, then a smaller one.
Wildlife: One fox.

An lovely night out on the frozen lake ... a hour fight with the clouds, but with enough patience we got finally an succesful night ...