What we offer
At Gálav Ski Guides our ambition is to offer nature-based activities that will create life-long memories and insights into local nature and culture. Some of our featured products are:
The Iron Ore Railway ski traverse
On this four day ski traverse we will travel on skis and by train from the mountains and fjords near Narvik in Norway to the vast mountain area close to Björkliden and Riksgränsen in Swedish Lapland.
The Stetind skiing and heritage experience
Norway’s national mountain is not only a popular summer climbing destination, it’s also a great place for ski touring at the birthplace of ecophilosophy. We guide on summits in the area that fits beginners as well as experts.
Narvikfjellet backcountry
Narvik has been selected as the host of the Alpine World Championships in 2029. The ski area also has some of the best off-piste skiing in Scandinavia, with fjords surrounding the mountain and up to 1100 vertical metres of skiing in one go.
The Matterhorn of Narvik
Rombakstøtta is a seaside mountain overlooking Narvik that resembles the iconic Matterhorn in the Alps. It is a beautiful ski tour, topped off with a few short and steep sections on foot to reach the spectacular summit. From here the view is amazing!
CEO High Camp
Meet other highly experienced industry leaders and mountain enthusiasts in collaborative ski touring events in either Lofoten or Narvik. Together we will learn about relevant sustainability topics and co-create tomorrow’s solutions.
Avalanche courses
Do you need an introduction to snow and avalanche safety? Or maybe a refreshing of skills you have learnt before? We organize courses for different needs and focus on learning while having nice skiing and enjoyable ski touring.
Inspiration
We regularly guide media production teams that produce spectacular images and video. Here are some examples from productions we have supported in the field. Click on the images to be inspired!
The dark and the light
When iconic Powder Magazine visited Narvik we guided them to the backcountry skiing in Narvikfjellet as well as some of the best ski tours. This resulted in a 15-page article in the magazine as well as a short film.
Apogée – Andreas Fransson and JP Auclair memorial film
Half a year prior to their deaths, the world famous skiers Andreas Fransson and JP Auclair, together with filmer Bjarne Salén and photographer Daniel Rönnbäck, visited Narvik to film for their new project Apogée. While in Narvik we joined them on some of the classical big runs in Narvik as well as pioneering a new descent on Stetinden. The segment from Narvik starts halfway into the film.
Guidebooks
Gálav Ski Guides owner Mikael af Ekenstam has written several guidebooks for ski touring and climbing in Northern Scandinavia. Some are sold out, but you can you get a copy of the classic ski touring guidebook for the Narvik area (in English or Norwegian) from the web shop at Fri Flyt.
About us
We’re a guide company based in Narvik in Northern Norway and with Northern Scandinavia as our extended backyard. Although the company is new we have a lot of experience and extensive local knowledge in-house.
Owner Mikael af Ekenstam is a former professional skier who has lived in Riksgränsen and Narvik since 1993. He has written several guidebooks for ski touring in Northern Scandinavia and pioneered numerous first descents.
Mikael is currently in the process of becoming a NORTIND certified ski guide. The ski courses in this certification program is equivalent to those that international IFMGA mountain guides have to take to become certified.
You may also meet these extraordinary individuals
Brita Staal
Founder and Impact Investor. Brita facilitates the CEO High Camps in Lofoten and Narvik.
Josef Nyström Baksaas
Mountain Guide and Partnership Director at Houdini Sportswear. Josef is a guide at CEO High Camp Lofoten
Carl Lundberg
Mountain Guide and
ECO-Travel pioneer. Carl is a guide at CEO High Camp Narvik.